Minnesota Gophers center Treyton Thompson scored on a layup as he was defended by Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) and guard Sasha Stefanovic (55). (Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Gophers coach Ben Johnson came with a different game plan Wednesday night bringing his top big man Eric Curry off the bench against Purdue.

The idea was for Curry to avoid as much as possible defending 7-4, 295-pound Zach Edey all night, but even with help the U's frontcourt struggled with foul trouble in an 88-73 loss.

"They do an unbelievable job creating fouls, so that was kind of the thought with Eric," Johnson said. "That and I know his ankle still isn't at 100 percent and Edey is so big. I worried about the leverage with him early."

Edey finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but he was limited to two points in the second half. The attention he attracted most of the night helped to get teammates open shots.

The Boilermakers were 12-for-24 from three-point range and had 23 assists on 35 field goals.

"We're going to try to establish our size," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "That's our main thing, then trying to get [Jaden Ivey] in transition driving the basketball and opening up things for other people."

Charlie Daniels, who started at center when Curry was out with an ankle injury for three games last month, got another start Wednesday. Curry returned from injury to play 34 minutes in Sunday's 66-60 loss at Wisconsin, but the Gophers weren't sure he could handle that load again.

Curry matched up most of the first half with 6-10 senior Trevion Williams, who wasn't much of a factor with just five points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.

Heavily undersized against Edey at 6-9, Daniels went to the bench with three fouls in less than five minutes. Curry and Daniels, who combined for five points and three rebounds, both were called for their fourth fouls early in the second half.

That forced Johnson to bring in his tallest player, 7-foot freshman Treyton Thompson, who struggled with Purdue's physicality to commit four fouls, but he still contributed five points in 12 minutes.

Scouts eyeing Ivey

A few NBA scouts were on hand Wednesday to see one of the most talented teams in the country in Purdue, most notably sophomore guard Jaden Ivey.

The Timberwolves have been among the teams following Ivey during several games this season.

Ivey, who is projected as high as a top-five pick in the 2022 NBA draft, joined Edey on the late-season watch list this week for the Wooden Award, given to the nation's top player.

On Wednesday, the 6-4 sophomore returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for two games to nurse a hip injury. Ivey led the Boilermakers with 21 points and also had 10 rebounds and four assists against the Gophers.