GAMEDAY INFORMATION
[18] Purdue (25-8) vs. UCLA (23-10)
Saturday, March 14, 2026 | 3:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. CT
Chicago, Illinois | United Center (20,917)
TELEVISION: CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
PURDUE'S NUMBERS
• Overall: 25-8 | Big Ten: 13-7
• Home: 12-5 | Away: 8-3 | Neutral: 5-0
• Q1: 9-8 | Q2: 6-0 | Q3: 7-0 | Q4: 3-0
• NCAA NET: 10th | KenPom: 8th
• NCAA SOS: 8th | KenPom SOS: 9th
THE NEWS AND NOTES
• No. 18-ranked Purdue advanced to its 11th Big Ten semifinals with a dominating 74-58 win over No. 11-ranked Nebraska in the quarterfinals. Purdue has reached the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons (2022 - Finals; 2023 - Champs; 2024 - Semifinals).
• Purdue has yet to trail in this week's Big Ten Tournament and its 16-point win was its largest in the Big Ten Tournament since an 76-59 win over Michigan in the 2016 semifinals.
• Purdue has won five straight games in the United Center, winning the tournament title in 2023 in the building and the first two games in this year's tournament. Purdue won multiple games in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2023.
• The Boilermakers moved to 25-8 with the victory over Nebraska. Matt Painter now has 12, 25-win seasons at Purdue, the second most in Big Ten history behind Tom Izzo’s 16.
• Purdue improved to 5-4 this season against ranked teams, but is 5-0 away from Mackey Arena against ranked teams. Purdue is 13-3 on the season away from Mackey Arena, winning eight of the games by at least 10 points.
• Purdue's four wins over top-15 teams away from Mackey Arena are tied for the second most in the country (Arizona - 7; Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin - 4). Purdue's three wins by 15 or more points over ranked teams are third most in the country (Arizona, Florida - 4).
• The win over No. 11-ranked Nebraska was Purdue's first over a ranked team in Big Ten Tournament history (now 1-9).
• Purdue is now 9-3 in the Big Ten Tournament since the 2022 event, the most wins in the tournament among all Big Ten teams (Wisconsin – 8).
The Boilermakers will be making their 11th semifinals appearance.
• 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).
• In the win over Nebraska, Purdue had 20 assists on 26 made field goals, and in two Big Ten Tournament games, Purdue has 45 assists on 56 made field goals. The Boilermakers now have a 2.19 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, a current NCAA record.
• Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer have set a school record for most wins in a Big Ten Tournament with seven.
• Purdue is 20-1 this season when holding foes under 48.0 percent shooting from the field. When opponents shoot over 48.0 percent, Purdue is 5-7.
• Purdue is 16-1 this season when holding foes to 69 or fewer points. The lone loss came to UCLA (69-67) on Jan. 20, in Pauley Pavilion.
• Braden Smith has moved into second place on the NCAA career assists list with 1,055, needing 22 assists to pass Bobby Hurley (1,076) for the top spot. Smith needs three assists to become the second player in NCAA history (Avery Johnson) to have two seasons of 300 assists.
• Braden Smith is averaging 13.0 assists per game during the Big Ten Tournament, but is just 3-of-16 shooting from the field (5.0 PPG).
• Braden Smith is the only player in NCAA history to have three seasons of at least 450 points, 250 assists and 100 rebounds.
• Braden Smith needs four points, three assists and five rebounds for 475 points, 300 assists and 125 rebounds for the second time in his career. Just three other players (Oakland's Kay Felter, Murray State's Ja Morant, ETSU's Keith Jennings) have reached those marks.
• The Boilermakers are 24-2 in his career when Fletcher Loyer makes four or more 3-pointers in a game. Loyer is averaging 14.2 points per game, shooting 19-of-40 (.475) from deep in the last five games. Loyer has made at least two 3-pointers in 13 straight games.
• C.J. Cox has just nine turnovers in 799 minutes this season. Over the last 26 games (628 minutes), he has four turnovers.
• C.J. Cox is averaging 12.4 points per game over the last five games, shooting 13-of-31 (.419) from 3-point range.
• Trey Kaufman-Renn has scored in double-figures in nine straight games, averaging 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
• Omer Mayer has 24 points (8.0 PPG) in 43 minutes over the last three games, shooting 10-of-21 from the field and 4-of-12 from deep.
• Gicarri Harris is shooting 22-of-45 (.489) from long distance away from Mackey Arena. In home games, he was 7-of-36 (.194).
• In games that Oscar Cluff plays at least 30 minutes, Purdue is 6-0. In those games, he is averaging 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists, while shooting 35-of-46 (.761) from the field.