#6 Purdue 79, Marquette 59 (Postgame Notes)
- Purdue improved to 10-1 overall with a 79-59 win over Marquette on a snowy afternoon in West Lafayette on Satruday.
- Purdue is now 12-2 all-time against Marquette.
- Purdue is now 10-1 or better for the fourth time in the last five seasons (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2025-26), and for the seventh time under Matt Painter.
- Purdue held Marquette to 32.8 percent shooting and 59 points. It marks the fewest points that Marquette has scored in a non-conference game since a 58-55 loss to Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2022.
- After allowing Iowa State to score 81 points, Purdue has held consecutive foes to 59 or fewer points for the first time since last January vs. Washington and Oregon. Over the last two games, opponents are 40-of-117 (.342) from the field, averaging 58.0 points per game.
- Purdue entered the day 26th nationally in defensive efficiency, but at the completion of the contest had risen to 18th.
- Purdue went just 7-of-23 (.304) from 3-point range and in the last three games, is now just 19-of-60 (.317) from deep.
- Purdue did shoot 23-of-33 (.697) from inside the 3-point line and in the last two games, is 45-of-72 (.625) from inside the arc.
- Purdue held a 36-22 advantage in the paint, and over the last six games, is outscoring foes 232-154 (13.0 PPG) in the paint.
- Oscar Cluff scored 22 points with 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist for his fourth double-double of the season and 27th of his career. It marked his 14th 20-10 game of his career.
- Cluff went 9-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line for 100 percent efficiency shooting. He tied a school record (Caleb Swanigan vs. NJIT; Nov. 26, 2016) for most points scored on 100 percent efficiency.
- Fletcher Loyer scored 15 points, making 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Purdue is 18-0 during his career when he makes four or more 3-pointers.
- Braden Smith tallied seven points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals in the win over Marquette. It marked his 29th career 10-assist game and he became the second player in NCAA history with at least 1,500 points, 850 assists and 550 rebounds (Ohio’s D.J. Cooper; 2010-13).
- Smith now has 859 career assists, needing 32 assists to set the Big Ten record for most career assists. He moved into 28th place on the NCAA career assists list (859).
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Oscar Cluff made all nine of his shots and finished with a season-high 22 points, and Braden Smith reached another milestone with 10 more assists Saturday to lead No. 6 Purdue past Marquette 79-59.
It took Smith only 12 seconds to find Fletcher Loyer for a 3-pointer to become the second Division I men’s basketball player to join the 1,500-point, 850-assist, 550-rebound club. D.J. Cooper was the first to do it during his career at Ohio from 2009-13.
Smith had seven points and five rebounds to increase his career numbers to 1,515 points, 859 assists and 759 rebounds. Cluff had 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Loyer scored 15 points.
The Boilermakers (10-1, 2-0 Big Ten) have won two straight since a 23-point home loss to then-No. 10 Iowa State last weekend.
Royce Parham had 19 points to lead Marquette (5-6), which lost for the second straight Saturday by 20 points. Chase Ross added 10 points for the Golden Eagles, who shot only 8% from the field and were a dismal 8 of 31 from 3-point range.
The Boilermakers took control with a 12-0 run that gave them a 21-8 lead midway through the first half and then pulled away late in the half by scoring nine straight points to open up a 37-19 lead.
Cluff helped put it away when he scored 13 consecutive points for Purdue early in the second half, a stretch then ended with the Boilermakers leading 53-29.