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Once
again, congratulations to Braden Smith. With 12 assists tonighy officially he now stands at 893 for his career. That broke the previous Big Ten record of 890 held by Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and he is now tied for 17th on the all-time Division I list with former Arkansas State guard Chico Fletcher.
Of course, Purdue was more than Braden Smith tonight, so some thoughts before getting to the postgame video:
- Fletcher Loyer set the tone early when Purdue was struggling slightly, then he hit the clinching three as Wisconsin used one last push to cut the lead to 11. He led Purdue with 20.
- All five starters scored in double figures. CJ Cox and Smith each had 14, Oscar Cluff had 12, and Trey Kaufman-Renn had 11.
- Kind of a quiet night from TKR with just five rebounds, but it was Cluff’s turn for the points-rebounds double-double.
- I thought Daniel Jacobsen had some very nice minutes off the bench. If he and Cluff continue to compliment each other, Purdue basically has Zach Edey back when you combine their numbers.
- Purdue’s defense was a little dicey at first and the Badgers were getting to the rim with impunity, but the Boilers slammed the door shut in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
- Good to see Omer Mayer hit a clutch three as the shot clock expired.
- You’re not allowed to complain about a 16 point win in the Kohl Center, which is normally one of the toughest places to play in the league. Purdue is now 8-14 there all-time and has won three straight.
- This was nice revenge after Wisconsin came to West Lafayette and won by 10 last year during the four-game losing streak that cost the Boilermakers a third straight B1G title.
- This is Purdue’s fourth tier 1 NET win of the year, joining at Alabama, Auburn, and Iowa State in that category.
- Gicarri Harris continues to look really good off the bench, and both he and Cox playing together next year is an exciting thought.
- I would love to be CJ Cox. He gets to stand in the corner and shoot wide open threes most games.
- This was one of Braden’s finer games because Purdue’s offense was so versatile. Cluff-TKR-and Jacobsen were in full control in the paint and Loyer-Cox-Harris added nine threes. How do you defend that?
- I maintain that Purdue is so good the only way it can really lose is by beating itself. It beat itself against Iowa State.
Matt Painter
Fletcher Loyer
Oscar Cluff
Braden Smith
