Purdue Basketball: JaJuan Johnson Leads Boilermakers Past Mbakwe and Minnesota

The Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 73-61 on Saturday afternoon in West Lafayette, Indiana.  

The Boilermakers were led by senior center JaJuan Johnson in what has become an average game for the 6'10" Johnson.

Johnson played all 40 minutes and went 8-for-13 from the field, scoring 24 points with seven rebounds and a blocked shot.  Johnson was in charge of patrolling the post most of the game and outplayed the other big post player in the game, Trevor Mbakwe.

Mbakwe had 17 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a block.  Although Mbakwe had a decent game, it was marred by some poor decisions, including a few missed showboat dunks.

The Boilermakers had a great performance all around, minus the disappointing game by E'Twaun Moore, who just cannot seem to break out of his shooting slump as of late.  Moore, who averages 18 points per game, went 3-for-13 from the field and only had nine! points.  Luckily for the Boilers everyone else stepped up.

Lewis Jackson scored 13 points and had five assists and five rebounds in what was a great game for Lew Jack.  He was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, which is astronomical compared to his career average of 27 percent.

Ryne Smith came off the bench in this game and contributed 15 points, and at one point in the second half, just seemed like he could not miss.

All of these guys were major factors in the Boilermaker victory, but there was a big surprise performer in this game.

Patrick Bade, well, at least a guy with his jersey on, played a great game.  Coming off the bench early in the game for the first time since the beginning of the season, Bade had a great defensive game and has showed immense improvement.

Whatever Bade ate for breakfast, he should continue with that routine, because he played like a crazed animal, which ignited the crowd. He had two points, an assist and five rebounds.

The Boilermakers came out with an attitude that everyone in Mackey Arena knew would not favor the Gophers.  Although Minnesota kept it close, the Boilermakers closed the gap in the second half.

It seems as though Purdue is back on track after the disappointing loss against Ohio State, and need to be, as they travel to the Khol Center to take on the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers in a place that Bo Ryan has only lost 11 times.

James Evens is a Purdue student and Basketball/Football Featured Columnist for the Boilermakers, along with being a Writing Intern at Bleacher Report.    Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.