Braden Smith stars vs Penn State as Purdue basketball win streak reaches 7

WEST LAFAYETTE — No. 5 Purdue men’s basketball followed another superb Braden Smith performance to a 93-85 victory over Penn State on Saturday at Mackey Arena.

The Boilermakers (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten) won their seventh straight as Smith, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, led with 26 points and 14 assists.

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Here’s what I liked and disliked, and what the Boilers’ win means.

What I liked in Purdue basketball’s win vs Penn State

Smith admitted at Wisconsin it had been hard to completely put all thoughts of assists records out of his head. Maybe passing that Big Ten record freed him up a bit to go back on the hunt for buckets. He came out scorching from mid-range and distance while scoring 17 in the first half.

It remains true that when Smith is locked in as a scorer it only enhances his talents as a facilitator. He assisted on three baskets during a 15-5 run to open the second half, giving him 10 for the game, and finished with 14.

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∙ C.J. Cox can really whip up a crowd. He finished a couple of fast-break chances around the five-minute mark to give Boilers some breathing room. For a while it appeared Purdue would need every one of his 16 points – and the 17 Fletcher Loyer added one one of his better shooting nights in a couple of weeks.

∙ Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn drew fouls on back-to-back offensive rebound tries in the second half. The cumulative impact of the Boiler bigs cannot be understated. Of course they impact in more tangible ways, too, such as Cluff’s 19 points and seven rebounds and Kaufman-Renn’s four assists down low.

∙ I don’t know how many charges Jack Benter has taken this season but it seems like at least a half dozen already. He took an important one in the middle of a 9-0 first-half run – one of three consecutive turnovers by PSU. Alas, his streak of 10 consecutive 3s – longest in team history and tied for longest in the nation this season – ended with a first-half try rimmed out.

What I disliked in Purdue…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/braden-smith-stars-vs-penn-210225632.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-10 21:02:00

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