#6 Purdue 85, Minnesota 57 (Postgame Notes)
- No. 6-ranked Purdue improved to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference with an 85-57 win over Minnesota on Wednesday in Mackey Arena.
- The victory improves Purdue to 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since the 2022-23 season and for just the seventh time in Matt Painter’s 21 years as Purdue’s head coach.
- Purdue has won six straight games against Minnesota by a combined 112 points (18.7 points per game). It’s the longest win streak against Minnesota since winning seven straight against the Golden Gophers from 1993 to 1996.
- After Purdue led just 35-32 at halftime, the Boilermakers opened the second half on a 21-0 run – Purdue’s third run of 20-0 or longer this season (20-0 vs. Texas Tech, 25-0 vs. Eastern Illinois, 21-0 vs. Minnesota). The run would extend to 29-2 over the first eight minutes of the half.
- In the second half, Purdue shot 63.3 percent from the field (19-of-30), averaged 1.72 points per possession and scored on 75.9 percent of its possessions.
- Since the start of the 2016-17 season (10 years), Purdue is now 128-49 (.723) in Big Ten play, the fourth-most conference wins in the country (Gonzaga, Houston, Belmont). Purdue’s 72.3 winning percentage is second behind Duke among power-five teams.
- Purdue is 115-5 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring 80 or more points.
- Purdue’s two centers, Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen, combined for 25 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and two assists while going 10-of-14 from the field.
- Purdue on the battle of the glass, 46-23. It marked the fifth time in 10 games that Purdue has outrebounded its opponent by at least 18 rebounds.
- Braden Smith scored 15 points with 12 assists, six rebounds, five steals and two blocks in a terrific all-around game. Smith becomes the first player nationally in at least 20 years to reach those marks in a single game.
- Smith moved into 32nd place on the NCAA career assists list with 849, and into 10th place on the NCAA list for most career 10-assist games (28). He recorded his 20th career double-double and 19th career double-double in points and assists – the eighth most in the NCAA in the last 20 years.
- Smith becomes the fifth player in NCAA history with 1,500 career points, 825 career assists and 550 career rebounds (now with 1,508 points, 849 assists, 574 rebounds). He also became the third player in Purdue history with 200 career steals.
- Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded his fifth double-double in eight games this season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
- Oscar Cluff recorded his third double-double of the season (26th of career) with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
- Purdue had three players record double-doubles for the second time this season (Akron). From 1978 to 2021, Purdue had zero games with three players recording double-doubles. In the last five seasons, Purdue has had four games with three players reaching double-doubles.