A dominating victory over Nebraska sent the Boilers to the semi-finals of the B1G Tourney as they beat the Cornhuskers 74-58. A quick turnaround means a shortened intro here. Let’s get into the numbers!
1,055
Braden Smith is now fully within reach of the all time NCAA record. The senior point guard has the chance to cement himself as one of the very best of all time as he is just 21 assists away from Bobby Hurley’s record of 1,076 with 1,055 of his own. He has been incredible in the first two games as he has 26 assists but the scoring hasn’t quite been there. He is due for a big scoring game and when that happens, it’ll likely mean a huge double-double in a big game for the Boilers.
17
Purdue took advantage on a lot of the mistakes that Nebraska made but none more than their 17 points off turnovers. They didn’t get any in the second half but their ability to turn 7 first half turnovers into 17 points while not allowing any points for Nebraska in the same regard was the driving factor in their 13 points first half lead. Overall, the Boilers ended up +12 leading 17-5 in points off turnovers.
Advertisement
9
Purdue now holds 9 Quad-1 wins in 17 total opportunities. That’s good for the 5th most in the country behind Duke (15), Arizona (14), Michigan (13), and Florida (11), as of games entering 3/13/26. Purdue’s resume stacks up with anyone outside of that top 4 who clearly have separated themselves as the 1 seeds but Purdue likely solidified themselves as a three seed and could very well play themselves onto the 2 line if they win the B1G Tourney.
5
With their victory over Nebraska, Purdue has now won 5 straight B1G Tournament gams inside the United Center in Chicago. Purdue has played well there and won by an average of 10 points per game in those victories that have come against four teams that were top 40 Kenpom teams. The second city has been kind to the Boilers but will it continue against a very hot UCLA team that has Donovan Dent?
Advertisement
8-1
CJ Cox has become a sort of catalyst for the Purdue offense as the sophomore guard is shooting 37.2% on the season from behind the arc. It seems though that when CJ is hitting those threes at a rate of at least 3 per game, Purdue is 8-1 on the season. That includes wins over Memphis, Auburn, Wisconsin, Penn State, Nebraska (x2), Iowa, and Northwestern.
The lone loss? The loss at Ohio State.
25 & 12
Purdue, even with the excellence of Braden Smith and the smooth shooting of Fletcher Loyer, is still heavily reliant on their big men inside. The combination of Oscar Cluff and TKR is as physically imposing of a pair as you’ll see in college basketball this season. The Boilers benefit from that when the two of them are playing at their best.
When the big men from Purdue combine for 25 points and 12 rebounds, Purdue is 12-1 with the only loss coming to Michigan. Some of those are Purdue’s best victories of the season like at Alabama, Auburn, Texas Tech, and at Nebraska.
When that gets bumped to 30 and 20, Purdue is an unbeaten 6-0 and dominant in doing so with victories like the 28 points victory over Minnesota and 20 point victory over Marquette. When those two struggle and don’t get to 25 or more points combined, Purdue is 13-7 overall.
