#18 Purdue 81, Northwestern 68 (Postgame Notes)
- 18 Purdue never trailed in topping Northwestern 81-68 in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night in Chicago.
- The win improves Purdue to 24-8 overall and into Friday’s quarterfinal round against No. 11 Nebraska.
- Purdue has now played in the quarterfinals in every Big Ten Tournament since 2015.
- Purdue is the only team to have won at least one game in the Big Ten Tournament in each of the last five seasons (since the 2022 tournament).
- Purdue’s eight wins in the Big Ten Tournament since 2021-22 are the most in the conference, posting an 8-3 record in the event. Wisconsin is next with seven victories.
- Matt Painter improved to 19-17 in the Big Ten Tournament. His 19 tournament victories are the fourth most in tournament history.
- Purdue has won four straight games played in the United Center, winning the tournament title the last time it was played here (2023).
- Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer have tied a school record for most wins in a Big Ten Tournament with six.
- Purdue improved to 12-3 in games played away from Mackey Arena, with seven of the wins coming by at least 10 points.
- Purdue recorded 25 assists on 30 made field goals against just seven turnovers in the win over Northwestern. The Boilermakers now have a 2.20 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, a current NCAA record.
- Purdue’s senior class has now won 111 games, the second most by a senior class in Purdue history.
- Purdue improved to 170-17 under Matt Painter when winning both the rebound and turnover battles in a game.
- Braden Smith tied a career high with 16 assists, the second most in a game in Purdue history. The other time he had 16 assists in a game came on Jan. 31, 2024, against Northwestern.
- The 16 assists are a Big Ten Tournament single-game record and his 66 career assists in Big Ten Tournament play are the most in league history.
- Smith moved into second place past Ed Cota and Chris Corchiani into second place on the NCAA career assists list with 1,045. He needs 32 assists to surpass Bobby Hurley for the record.
- Smith’s five games of 15 or more assists are the most in league history by three games (Jeremy Fears Jr., Isaiah Hawkins – 2).
- Smith’s 287 assists this season are now the fourth most in a season in Big Ten history. Smith owns the top (313 – 2025) and second-ranked (292 – 2024) marks.
- Oscar Cluff recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. When Cluff has a double-double, Purdue is 7-0.
- Trey Kaufman-Renn had 19 points with six rebounds and two assists. Kaufman-Renn went 8-of-9 from the field.
- In his last three games in the Big Ten Tournament, Kaufman-Renn is averaging 24.3 points per game, dating to last season.
CHICAGO (AP) — Braden Smith had 16 assists to climb into second on the NCAA career list, and No. 18 Purdue outmuscled Northwestern for an 81-68 victory on Thursday that moved the Boilermakers into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff each scored 19 points for Purdue (24-8), and Cluff also grabbed 10 rebounds. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Wildcats 35-23 and enjoyed a 38-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Smith is up to 1,045 assists in 142 career games, passing Ed Cota (1,030) and Chris Corchiani (1,038) with another smooth performance for the Boilermakers. Bobby Hurley is No. 1 with 1,076 assists in 140 games for Duke from 1989-93.
Next up for Purdue is No. 11 Nebraska on Friday. The second-seeded Cornhuskers had a bye through the first three rounds.
Nick Martinelli had 25 points for Northwestern (15-19), which advanced with wins over Penn State and Indiana on the first two days of the tournament. Jayden Reid finished with 19 points and nine assists.
Northwestern played without Arrinten Page, a 6-foot-11 forward who missed his fourth consecutive game because of an illness. And the Wildcats definitely missed the junior’s size and physicality as the Boilermakers dominated inside.
Purdue went on a 15-3 run to open a 38-15 lead with 5:47 left in the first half. Kaufman-Renn started the decisive stretch with a jumper in the paint, and Omer Mayer capped the surge with a fast-break layup off a Northwestern turnover.
Another Kaufman-Renn basket helped Purdue to a 45-21 advantage at the break. The Boilermakers outscored the Wildcats 22-6 in the paint in the first half.
It was a much better start for Purdue than the one it had in the regular-season meeting between the schools. Purdue trailed 34-25 at halftime before rallying for a 70-66 victory at Northwestern on March 4.