Brandon Newman scored a season-high 19 points, Zach Edey added 17, and No. 5 Purdue held on to beat Illinois 76-71 on Sunday to become the first Big Ten team since 2014 to win the league title by three or more games.

The Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5) led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied and eventually tied the game at 67 on a free throw by Matthew Mayer with 1:17 to go. Edey’s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge with 56 seconds left, and Illinois turned over the ball with 31 seconds left.

Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer sank two free throws to push the lead to 71-67 after an immediate foul. Mayer missed a 3-point shot and Newman made two free throws to push the lead to 73-67. Luke Goode hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 74-71 with 7 seconds left, but Newman hit two free throws to seal it.

Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers. Edey, who entered the game with 23 double-doubles, finished with six rebounds and was played just 8 minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls.

The Boilermakers led 47-26 at half behind 62% shooting, but dropped to just 29% in the second half.

Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points, followed by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 13, Sencire Harris with 11 and Goode's 10 points. Underwood said the team missed freshman guard Jayden Epps, who was sidelined with a concussion.

The Illini had won three of four games coming in but struggled with turnovers and outside shooting in the first half. However, the Illini showed fight.

The Illini will be the seventh seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. They take on Penn State Thursday evening at 5:30 pm.