Central Plains FFA Chapter

12/02 21:33 CST Kaufman-Renn has 19 points and 13 rebounds as No. 1 Purdue beats Rutgers 81-65 Kaufman-Renn has 19 points and 13 rebounds as No. 1 Purdue beats Rutgers 81-65 By EVERETT MERRILL Associated Press PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) --- Trey Kaufman-Renn had 19 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season to lead top-ranked Purdue over Rutgers 81-65 in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams Tuesday night. Braden Smith added 16 points and eight assists for the Boilermakers (8-0). Fletcher Loyer had 12 points and Gicarri Harris scored 11 off the bench. Purdue has reached 80 points in every game this season and is beating opponents by an average of 20. Dylan Grant and Harun Zrno each scored 13 points for Rutgers (5-4). The Scarlet Knights used 13 players and led for just 2:53 early in the first half. The Boilermakers have won six games in a row over Rutgers by a combined 104 points. Rutgers had won four straight in the series from January 2020 to December 2021, but Purdue has won seven of eight meetings since. The Boilermakers opened the second half with a 13-2 run to grab a 54-29 lead. Smith and Loyer had five points apiece in the burst. Purdue scored 30 points in the paint as Kaufman-Renn and center Oscar Cluff dominated inside. The Boilermakers added 18 assists and scored 14 fast-break points. Rutgers trailed by double digits for the entire second half. The Boilermakers lead the country in assist-to-turnover ratio and rank fourth in assists per game. They committed just nine turnovers against Rutgers.

Up next Purdue hosts No. 10 Iowa State on Saturday. Rutgers plays at No. 3 Michigan on Saturday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball