[1] Purdue 87, Iowa 73 (Postgame Notes)
- Purdue improved to 23-2 overall and 12-2 in the Big Ten with an 87-73 win over Iowa in front of 14,876 fans at Mackey Arena – the 54th consecutive sellout at Mackey Arena.
- Purdue is 23-2 for the third time in school history (2017-18, 1987-88). The Boilermakers are 23-2 overall for the second time in six seasons.
- The win was the 250th at Mackey Arena for head coach Matt Painter, now owning a 250-43 (.853) record in Mackey Arena.
- Purdue is 20-10 under Matt Painter against Iowa and has won five straight games in Mackey Arena against Iowa by a total of 95 points.
- Purdue has now won at least 12 Big Ten games for the eighth time in the last nine years. Wisconsin (6 years) and Maryland and Michigan State (5 years) are next.
- Purdue's eight fouls were the fourth fewest in a game in school history and tied for the fewest in a Big Ten game.
- Purdue's 87 points were its most since scoring 89 against Minnesota on Dec. 4, 2021. Purdue has won 47 straight games when scoring 80 or more points. Purdue is 69-2 when scoring 80 or more points since the 2017-18 season.
- Purdue went 10-of-27 from 3-point range, and has now won 28 straight games when making 10 or more triples.
- Purdue shot 55.0 percent from the field, the fifth straight game that Purdue has shot 50.0 percent or better from the field. It marks the first time since Jan. 6 to Jan. 31, 1990 (7 games), that Purdue has shot at least 50.0 percent from the field in five straight Big Ten games.
- Purdue had five players in double-figures for the first time since Dec. 7, 2022, vs. Hofstra.
- Purdue won the battle of the boards by a 43-23 advantage. Over the last three games, Purdue has outrebounded its opponents by 55 rebounds (119-64).
- Purdue freshmen scored 43 points with 11 assists and six rebounds.
- Braden Smith scored a career-high 24 points with 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal. He went 8-of-10 from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
- Smith's 110 assists this year are the fifth most for a freshman in school history. He is one of just two freshmen in school history with 240 points, 110 rebounds and 110 assists (Ronnie Johnson – 2013).
- Zach Edey recorded his 20th double-double of the season with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists. He was just 4-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. It marked just the 10th time in 24 games he has been held under 20 points.
- Caleb Furst recorded his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He went 5-of-5 from the field.
- Fletcher Loyer tallied 17 points with 4 assists and 2 rebounds. He moved into 12th on the Purdue freshman scoring list and his 50 3-pointers are fourth on the freshman list.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. --Braden Smithscored a career-high 24 points to lead No. 1 Purdue to an 87-73 victory over Iowa on Thursday night.
Smith, a freshman guard, shot 8 of 10 — including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
"I wish he would shoot more, from Day One I told him that," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "He's a 40 to 45% 3-point shooter and it didn't make sense. Any time you have to ability to play through ball screens, get to the rim and shoot or take the pull-ups and open shots, too.
"He likes to get everyone involved. He has really good instincts, but at times he doesn't play off his instincts."
But Smith did exactly that against Iowa.
"I attack the game the same way," Smith said. "When the shots fall, the confidence goes up a little bit. It just felt good to make a couple of shots."
Zach Edeyscored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Edey, who was averaging 22.4 points entering the game, had just four points until the final 8 1/2 minutes. He grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, andCaleb Furstadded 10 as Purdue held a 43-23 edge.
"They doubled Zach every time he touched the ball and we still scored 87 points," Painter said.
Fletcher Loyerscored 17 points, Furst 11 andMason Gillis10 for the Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten).
"It's cool to see, but when teams want to play like that we have a bunch of guys that can step up," Edey said. "We have a really deep team and we've got a lot of guys that can hurt you and that was showing today."
Kris Murrayled Iowa with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, andFilip Rebracahad 17 for the Hawkeyes (15-9, 7-6).
"He's (Smith) terrific, but everybody on the team is really good, that's why they are ranked No. 1," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "Our anticipation rotations were not good enough. It's hard because their team is very unselfish, they share the ball. That gives you a lot of ground to cover.
The Boilermakers led by as many as 21 points early in the second half. Purdue was ahead 68-51 when the Hawkeyes went on a 13-2 spurt to close the deficit to 70-64 with 5:39 remaining.
Edey, who had been quiet most of the game, sank a hook shot and made a dunk to give Purdue a 74-64 edge.
"We're not shocked by it," Smith said. "We knew they were able to come back and hit those shots. We handled it well and got some shots to fall."
Purdue took a 38-21 lead at halftime on Smith's jumper with 3 seconds left. Smith led Purdue with 10 points in the first half. The Boilermakers took the lead at 4-2 on a basket by Loyer and led the rest of the game.
Purdue shot 44% in the first half while holding Iowa to 29%. The Hawkeyes shot 60% in the second half.
"I didn't think we moved well enough in our motion game," McCaffery said of the first half "They're a good defensive team. It's a hard team to drive on. It doesn't help we were 1 of 10 on 3s in the first half."
For the game, Purdue shot 55%, while Iowa shot 45%.
The onenegative for Purdue is it 17 turnovers, nine more than Iowa.
Painter won his 250th game at Mackey Arena, improving his home record to 250-43.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa: After being dominated for the first 30 minutes, the Hawkeyes woke up offensively and got as close as six points. Iowa is seeking to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid with a strong finish in the final six Big Ten regular-season games.
Purdue: The Boilermakers rebounded from its loss at Indiana with a dominating performance for most of the game, holding Iowa to a mere 21 points in the first half. The Hawkeyes were averaging 81.5 points per game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Boilermakers stayed on course to remain No. 1 with an easy home victory with a game Sunday at Northwestern.
UP NEXT
Iowa: At Minnesota on Sunday.
Purdue: At Northwestern on Sunday.
