Purdue blown out by second-ranked Auburn in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM — For years now, Purdue has been bullying people, to the tune of extraordinary highs and win after win in the highest level of non-conference play.

But turnabout is fair play, and the level of opponent the Boilermakers have thrived against in years part is turning the tables.

Saturday in Birmingham, second-ranked and absolutely elite Auburn dominated No. 16 Purdue at the Battle in Birmingham 87-69 — the front end of a neutral-site series between the two programs.

Johni Broome, the player-of-the-year front-runner who just hurt his shoulder, finished with 23 point and 11 rebounds.

Purdue shot only 37 percent, those numbers probably improved by garbage time.

Auburn scored 23 points off turnovers and 30 second-chance points.

Auburn led by as many as 18 in the final minute of the first half, but CJ Cox’s last-second three sent the Boilermakers to the locker room down 41-26 to end a first half in which it shot only 33 percent, missed all but one of its firs 10 threes and went 4-of-11 at the foul line, 1-of-7 from Trey Kaufman-Renn.

Kaufman-Renn led Purdue with 15 points, but left a lot of points at the foul line.

This was Purdue’s fifth non-conference game vs. a top-25 team. The Boilermakers went 2-3 in those games.

More to come …

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