WATCH: Northwestern HC Chris Collins' ejection sets off thrilling series of events late in OT loss to No. 2 Purdue

A dramatic Big Ten overtime thriller in West Lafayette saw the No. 2 Purdue outlast Northwestern 105-96. But the fireworks were beginning for the Wildcats coach Chris Collins. As soon as the Wildcats missed in the closing seconds, Collins exploded onto the court, unleashing fury at referee Courtney Green.

His eruption earned an automatic ejection, even after the final buzzer. Like a bottle of shook-up soda, Collins had to be corralled off the floor by his player.

On his way out, the hot-blooded coach congratulated Purdue coach Matt Painter, star center Zach Edey, and other Boilermakers. Further, he gestured to the booing Purdue fans to get louder before hitting the locker room tunnel.

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Though refraining from directly criticizing the officials post-game, Collins couldn't ignore the mammoth free throw disparity. Purdue outshot Northwestern by an eye-popping 38 attempts from the charity stripe on the night.

“I'm not gonna go into officiating," Collins said after the game, via the Lafayette Journal and Courier. "We have great officiating. I just don't know if I've ever seen a box score like that ... I don't know if you've ever seen a disparity like that in a Big Ten game."

“I mean, I feel like we were aggressive, too. But Boo (Buie) doesn’t shoot a free throw in the game? It’s kind of crazy, but that’s how the game is called.”

Purdue dominated overtime, outscoring Northwestern by nine. An avalanche of whistles aided the Boilermakers' overtime surge, as they took 13 free throws to Northwestern's three in the final minutes.

This foul shot divide persisted all night. Purdue enjoyed 46 trips to the line, while Northwestern could only manage eight total free throw attempts as a squad.

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Chris Collins gives Purdue credit for their physicality

Northwestern HC Chris Collins

Though the free throw gap drew his ire, Northwestern coach Chris Collins still tipped his cap to Purdue's hard-nosed style. Despite repeatedly highlighting his team's paltry trips to the stripe, Collins conceded that the Boilermakers deserved credit.

"Obviously Purdue, give them all the credit," Collins said to reporters after the game. "Obviously for them to go to the line 50 times and their aggressiveness. Their physicality makes it really hard."

The intense physicality all night was a point of pride for Purdue star Zach Edey. In his view, teams resorting to ultra-physical defense against them is a backhanded compliment.

“You know I take it as a compliment, when teams have to guard you super physical like that. It means they can’t guard you straight up………I just kind of think it’s like a team waving the white flag a little bit," he said.

Purdue improved to a sterling 20-2 (9-2 Big Ten). The hard-luck Wildcats showed a fight but dropped to 15-6 (6-4).

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