Game Wrap: Purdue 101 Kent St. 60

The Purdue Boilers closed their non-conference slate with a dominating 101-60 win against Kent State. Kent State struggled in the clear step up in competition from their previous schedule as the Boilers were able to control all aspects of the game. Notably, Kent State entered the game averaging 94.3 points per game which placed them 8th in the NCAA entering the game. Instead, the Boilers took control early on and forced turnovers that never allowed Kent St. the opportunity to breath.

Early on it looked like the B1G career assist record might fall as Braden Smith had a trip of early offensive trips end in assists. He would end the first half with just 5 after teammates just couldn’t quite finish the scoring opportunities he set up. Smith looked more aggressive in his own shot selection at times which is a welcome sight as Purdue moves into B1G play. He would finish the game early in the second half with Purdue easily leading with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals in 27 minutes (just 9 in the second half).

Purdue controlled a high tempo Kent State team with their defense that continues to show incredible improvements over a year ago. Against the Flashes, Purdue rarely had any defensive breakdowns. When they did occur, Purdue quickly made the adjustments necessary to fix the problems. On the night, Purdue forced 15 turnovers and turned those into 25 points while only giving up the ball 8 times themselves.

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Purdue’s offensive efficiency continued to frustrate their opponent as the Boilers seemed to be able to run set after set that didn’t allow Kent St to get into any flow defensively. With 2:30 left in the first half and Purdue already leading 45-23, TKR got the ball in the high post and quickly dumped it down to DJ for an alley-oop and-one bucket. That pushed Purdue’s lead to 24 points, the same margin they would take into the second half being up 51-27.

The conversation on the night, however, quickly shifted away from Braden Smith’s chase for…

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Publish date : 2025-12-30 02:42:00

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