WEST LAFAYETTE (AP) – Purdue point guard Braden Smith took a loss on Tuesday night personally.
So Friday night, he took charge – right from the start.
He turned an opening possession steal into a breakaway layup, and finished with 24 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes as the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers ran away from No 21 Michigan 91-64.
“When Ohio State happened, I was really upset about it,” Smith said referring to the loss that ended the Boilermakers’ 26-home game winning streak. “I felt like I let the team down. I felt like it was my fault and I know they’re going to say it’s not or whatever. But to me, as a competitor and as a person, that’s who I am.”
Smith has been a star almost from the moment he stepped on campus three years ago. He and shooting guard Fletcher Loyer both earned starting jobs in their first seasons, and Smith earned all-Big Ten honours each of the last two seasons.
But he was largely overshadowed by 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, the two-time national player of the year.
This season, though, Smith has been the steadying force for Purdue (16-5, 8-2 Big Ten). And though he didn’t produce season highs in any big categories, he set the tone early and throughout the game. And nobody was better than Smith, from start to finish on Friday.
He was 10 of 17 from the field, committed only one turnover and energized a defense that forced a season-high 22 turnovers and had a 29-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
How good was he? Smith fell just short, again, of joining Joe Barry Carroll as the only players in school history to post a triple double. It’s been nearly a half-century since Carroll had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocks against Arizona.
Smith flirted with that feat a couple of times year.
He looked more like that player on Friday than guy than the player first-year Michigan coach Dusty May watched on television on Tuesday when Smith went three of 14 from the field, and he was clearly the difference in the game.
“Braden is going to get 10 assists every night and when you have a point guard that’s making the right plays, that’s keeping everyone involved, it’s tough,” May said. “I watched him a couple of possessions and his focus and simply just play the game, helped him make plays on both sides of the ball.”
May expected nothing less after seeing the Buckeyes rally storm back from a 16-point first-half deficit to pull off a 73-70 upset.
But Smith was better than advertised. His steal and layup on the opening possession of the game led to another turnover on Michigan’s second possession and three more turnovers in the first three-and-a-half minutes as the Boilermakers jumped to a 13-2 lead.
Smith was only getting started and this time, he wasn’t going to allow a repeat of what happened against Ohio State.
“I thought he was active defensively, he got some steals, got into passing lanes, was just really active on both ends,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
“I thought his reads tonight were, he just kept things simple. He kept looking forward, that’s what we need from him.”
