Great Ball Pressure Leads Boilermakers to Rout of Michigan 91 to 64

Great Ball Pressure Leads Boilermakers to Rout of Michigan 91 to 64.

by: Steven Stremming, Excel H Sports/USBWA

photos by: Greg Flint, Excel H Sports/Flint Photography

Lawrence, Massachusetts Freshman C. J. Cox and Westfield, Indiana’s Braden Smith opened the game with back-to-back steals and baskets and that led Purdue to open up a thirteen and two run that lead that put the Wolverines on their heels.

The biggest dagger in the Wolverines side was Braden Smith as he scored 24 points, ten assists and seven rebounds and four steals in leading the (Excel H Sports #10 ranked) Purdue Boilermakers.

Smith in over 37 minutes only committed one turnover and just missed out joining the triple-double club (Joe Barry Carroll).

Fletcher Loyer hit five of ten from behind the arc among his 18 points.

Trey Kaufman-Renn added 15 points on seven of twelve from the field.

Smith led Purdue with 24 points, Loyer scored 18, C. J. Cox added 11 points on three of four field goals.

All nine players gave great effort that included contributions from Raleigh Burgess, Myles Colvin, Cam Heide, Caleb Furst and Gicarri Harris.

Michigan (Excel H Sports #27 ranked) was led by Vlad Goldin’s 14, Roddy Gayle, Jr. and Tre Donaldson and Nimari Burnett with eleven points apiece.

 

Courtesy of Purdue Athletics

• No. 11-ranked Purdue moved to 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten Conference with a 91-64 win over No. 21-ranked Michigan in Mackey Arena on Friday night.
• The win gave Purdue four straight victories over Michigan for the first time since winning five straight from Jan. 31, 1990, to Jan. 15, 1992.
• Purdue was playing its sixth game in 16 days, posting a 5-1 record during that stretch with three road victories and two wins over nationally-ranked teams (Oregon and Michigan).
• Purdue is now ranked No. 2 nationally in strength of schedule behind Alabama (via KenPom).
• In the last four years, Purdue has defeated teams ranked No. 1 (Arizona), No. 2 (Alabama), No. 4 (Marquette), No. 5 (Villanova), No. 6 (Wisconsin, Tennessee, Gonzaga), No. 7 (Tennessee), No. 8 (Duke), No. 9 (Illinois), No. 12 (Illinois), No. 13 (Oregon, Illinois), No. 16 (Ohio State), No. 17 (Illinois), No. 18 (North Carolina, Gonzaga), No. 20 (Utah State), No. 21 (Michigan), No. 24 (Ohio State) and No. 25 (Texas). Only four of the 21 wins listed above have come in Mackey Arena.
• Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Purdue now has seven wins of at least 25 points against top-25 teams. The next closest team is Connecticut with four.
• Purdue owns the nation’s best record against ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season, now with a 23-9 record (.719).
• Six of Purdue’s eight wins in Big Ten play have come by at least 11 points. The others were by five (Maryland) and seven (Oregon).
• Purdue improved to 11-0 when holding foes to 69 or fewer points.
• Purdue forced 22 turnovers, equaling the most for an opponent since Grambling had 24 on Nov. 20, 2014. Purdue had three games of forcing 22 turnovers since that 2014 game vs. Grambling.
• Purdue is now 8-2 in Big Ten play for the sixth time under Matt Painter.
• The senior class consisting of Caleb Furst is now 108-24, the third-most wins for a senior class in school history (record is 110).
• Purdue is now 12-5 against KenPom top-100 teams this season.
• Purdue is now 40-10 in Big Ten play since the arrival of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer on campus.
• Braden Smith scored 24 points with 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals, while also only having one turnover. He is the first player this century (men or women) to have at least 20 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, four steals and one or fewer turnovers against a top-25 opponent.
• Smith recorded his 16^th career point-assist double-double of his career and eighth this season. The career total is the most in the Big Ten in the last 20 years. His eight (this year and last) games are the most in the Big Ten over the last 20 years in a single-season.
• Smith has 17 career double-doubles. When Smith records a double-double, Purdue is 17-0 during his career.
• Smith has four games of 20 points and 10 assists this season. Prior to this season, there were two recorded 20-point, 10-assist games in school history.
• Smith’s 187 assists this season already rank as the sixth most in school history.
• Smith has moved into second place on the Big Ten’s assists per game list for a career (6.65), trailing only Magic Johnson.
• Fletcher Loyer scored 18 points, making 5-of-10 from long distance. Loyer now has 165 career 3-pointers, moving into 16^th on the Purdue career chart.
• Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 15 points, his 21^st straight game of scoring at least 11 points.