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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A dejected Braden Smith walked down the sideline shaking the hands of his Purdue teammates after the final buzzer sounded.
The dream of ending a college career in a home-state Final Four in Indianapolis ended one step shy for Smith and the other two members of the Boilermakers’ four-year senior class as Purdue was overwhelmed by Arizona in a 79-64 loss on Saturday night.
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For all of the great accomplishments for Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer in four-year careers that featured 117 wins, a trip to the 2024 title game and Smith setting the NCAA career record for assists, the outcome against Arizona was filled with frustration.
But once they got back to the locker room, the thoughts were more about the highs like winning the Big Ten Tournament earlier this month and making the title game in 2024.
“There are so many moments in our four years that have been so special, and I can’t really put them all in order, but I think just for me it was to try to enjoy that with these guys one last time,” Smith said. “Obviously it’s a sad moment, and we don’t want it to end, but at the end of the day, you’re with a group of dudes who enjoyed being around each other, like always hung out off the court.”
They just won’t get a chance to play together again for Purdue.
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Smith made just one basket over the final 35 minutes as Arizona used its size to slow him down all game. Kaufman-Renn, whose last-second putback gave Purdue a win in the Sweet 16 against Texas, was in foul trouble all game and scored just 10 points in 24 minutes. Loyer was held to eight points — 3 coming in the closing seconds after the outcome had been decided — and had a 3-pointer go halfway down and out with less than four minutes to play for Purdue’s last chance to get back into the game.
The trio finished with 31 points and shot just 12 for 38 (31.8%) from the field, their worst combined shooting percentage in any game this season.
Purdue came into…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/purdues-stellar-senior-class-ends-043830093.html
Author : JOSH DUBOW
Publish date : 2026-03-29 04:38:00
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