Purdue's Kramer steals the show

Rarely does a coach preach the value of a player who had 1 field goal in a 25-point victory.

Purdue's Matt Painter gladly did just that for Chris Kramer on Saturday.

The sophomore captain had 6 steals and 3 assists, and No. 16 Purdue beat visiting Northwestern 68-43 to move into a tie with Wisconsin for first place in the Big Ten.

Kramer's steals all came in the first half when Purdue couldn't shoot straight. Northwestern led for most of the half, but Purdue finally pulled ahead on a 3-pointer by Marcus Green with 2:13 left that made it 24-23.

With the score 24-23, Northwestern had a chance to take the lead into the locker room, but Kramer blocked Nikola Baran's 3-point attempt as time expired.

"Getting 6 steals in a half, in a possession-type game -- it's amazing," Painter said. "He's a very good player. He's the best defensive player in our league."

Purdue shot 62 percent in the second half to pull away. When Kramer left the game with 5:27 to play, the crowd was nearly silent.

"People don't understand or appreciate guys that play defense," an annoyed Painter said. "It's only people who play the game, coached the game, or just been around the game and understand it."

Kramer guarded Northwestern's Craig Moore, who scored 25 points and made eight 3-pointers in the Wildcats' win over Michigan on Tuesday. Kramer held him to 8 points on 3-of-6 shooting.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said players like Kramer who are willing to fit into a team concept are the reason Purdue (23-6, 14-2) has been successful this season.

"They have a nice team, they can go a little bigger or small," he said. "Those guys are good players, most of them can shoot and the guys who can't know their roles."

Purdue celebrated Senior Day with a victory that gave it a perfect conference record at home and moved it into the first-place tie with the 10th-ranked Badgers, who were idle.

Ivan Peljusic had 13 points for Northwestern (8-19, 1-15), while Kevin Coble added 10.

Northwestern led 29-28 early in the second half before Purdue's E'Twaun Moore hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, then Robbie Hummel made 3 free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer to give Purdue a 34-29 lead.

Purdue continued to punch holes in Northwestern's 1-3-1 zone. Calasan made a 3-pointer from the left corner, then Hummel made one from the same spot to make it 40-30.

Purdue outrebounded Northwestern 23-9 in the second half and held the Wildcats to 32 percent shooting.

Carmody said Purdue's defense in the second half made the difference.

"I thought Purdue was a little out of whack in the first half," he said. "They just showed why they're near or at the top of the conference. We weren't getting the shots we needed in the second half."

Minnesota 71, Ohio State 57: Lawrence McKenzie scored all 20 of his points in the second half, highlighting the final regular-season home game for him and his two fellow seniors with a victory over Ohio State (17-12, 8-8 Big Ten).

McKenzie made three 3-pointers and went 7-for-7 from the foul line. Lawrence Westbrook added 16 points and 6 rebounds for the Gophers (18-10, 8-8).