WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – JaJuan Johnson scored 24 points in leading No. 12 Purdue to a 73-61 win over No. 16 Minnesota on Saturday.
The Big Ten's leading scorer made 8 of 13 field goals to notch his sixth straight game with at least 20 points.
Ryne Smith scored all 15 of his points in the second half and Lewis Jackson had 13 points and five assists for the Boilermakers (18-4, 7-2 Big Ten), who remained in second place in the conference. Purdue bounced back from an 87-64 drubbing at Ohio State on Tuesday night.
Trevor Mbakwe had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota (16-5, 5-4), and Blake Hoffarber added 14 points.
It was the Golden Gophers' first loss since losing point guard Al Nolen, who is out indefinitely with a broken right foot.
Minnesota won the first meeting between the teams 70-67 in Minneapolis on Jan. 13.
Purdue struggled with Minnesota's 2-3 zone defense in the first half, but the Boilermakers made 7 of 11 3-pointers after the break, at times causing Minnesota coach Tubby Smith to switch back to man-to-man.
Minnesota led 22-17 before Jackson got hot. The 5-foot-9 point guard made two 3-pointers to help the Boilermakers take a 25-24 lead. Jackson, who had made only three 3-pointers entering the contest, made 3 of 4 in the game.
Minnesota briefly regained the lead on a free-throw line jumper by Ralph Sampson III, but Johnson scored the last four points of the half to put the Boilermakers up 29-26 at the break. Purdue shot just 39 percent in the first half.
Jackson and D.J. Byrd hit 3-pointers to push Purdue's lead to 37-28 two minutes into the second half, and a pair of free throws by Smith increased the margin to 14.
Smith's third 3-pointer of the half increased Purdue's lead to 59-44, and the Boilermakers led by at least 10 points the rest of the way.
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