WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. _ Purdue made it look as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Wednesday night against Northwestern.
The Boilermakers made good on 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions during a 12-0 run in the first half and made another for good measure for their next three points during an 80-59 Big Ten victory at Mackey Arena.
Dakota Mathias' sandwiched a pair around a pair from Vincent Edwards (17 points) during the detrimental stretch, most of which Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh (team-high 22 points) spent on the bench taking a breather.
The No. 23 Boilermakers (18-5, 7-3 Big Ten) weren't done bringing doom to the No. 25 Wildcats (18-5, 7-3) from behind the line. Edwards made two more on back-to-back possessions to cap an 8-0 run and essentially ensure the Wildcats crashed into a wall while chasing history.
The Wildcats had won six straight Big Ten games, their most since 1932-33, and were one short of tying the school record.
Instead, Purdue made 9 of 14 3-pointers in the first half and 12-for-23.
Northwestern was playing short-handed as its leading scorer, Scottie Lindsey, was ill at home in Evanston and senior forward Nathan Taphorn was out with an ankle injury he suffered during Sunday's victory against Indiana.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, managed to miss their first 10 3-point attempts.
Northwestern joined the ranks of the ranked this week, earning the 25th and final spot in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll. But their first visit there since 2009-10 likely will be short-lived after the team's first blowout defeat.
The Wildcats were aware of the number as they try to earn the first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history.
Northwestern's promising 15-4 start last season led not to March Madness. Instead, five straight losses followed, quickly dashing the team's dreams. The Wildcats, forward Vic Law said, want to avoid that nightmare this year.
"Just a number right now," Law warned Tuesday. "We lose and we're right back out of it. ... Last year we were in the same position. Some guys got drunk off success. They were thinking everything was going to come easy. We lost (five) in a row. That just killed our season."
This season a few more victories will keep the hopes of dancing in March alive.
About the only thing the Wildcats won Wednesday was the opening tip, which went from Dererk Pardon to McIntosh, who then returned the favor to Pardon for a 2-0 lead. That grew to 4-0 on Pardon's layup, and then 6-2 on McIntosh's bucket.
But the Wildcats couldn't follow the game plan without Lindsey. And they couldn't contain Caleb Swanigan, who had 24 points and 16 rebounds.
"We're going to have to really be sharp offensively," Law said. "We just have to let everything take care of itself."
Instead, the Boilermakers took care of the Wildcats, who for the last two games, against Indiana and Nebraska, had been the beneficiary of injuries to key opponents.
