Purdue basketball vs. Northwestern player ratings: Braden Smith unstoppable in blowout

Posted by Admin January 5, 2025 Basketball

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WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue basketball quickly ensured Northwestern would not bring its recent upset magic to Mackey Arena on Sunday.

The Boilermakers dominated the first half en route to a 79-61 victory at Mackey Arena. Northwestern has beat the Purdue each of the past two seasons in Evanston when the Boilers were ranked No. 1.

Rating individual performances from a Big Ten blowout:

(*denotes Man of the Match)

STARTERS

∎ Braden Smith: 8/10*

Immediately attacked the middle off the dribble and set a tone sometimes lacking in tougher defensive matchups. When he’s both creating his own shots and draining 3s when the offense works inside-out, opponents have little recourse. Collected 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists against five turnovers.

∎ C.J. Cox: 8/10

Opened the scoring with a 3 from the elbow when Trey Kaufman-Renn reacted to Northwestern clamping down. Added another for the highlight reel in the second half, beating the shot clock while falling out of bounds. Another solid start with eight points, five rebounds and only one turnover.

∎ Fletcher Loyer: 7/10

Prominent in a first-half defensive shutdown of Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli. Moderate foul issues limited him to a quieter — yet still efficient — scoring day. Still diving for loose balls up 26 in the middle of the second half.

∎ Caleb Furst: 7/10

Truly seems to have found his groove. Finishing moves at the basket could still be cleaner, but he’s a better asset in all facets than he was to start the season. His current performance is giving Matt Painter more matchup options as well.

∎ Trey Kaufman-Renn: 7/10

Finished with 12 points, but equally big were the post touches he turned into points for teammates via four assists. Three straight games now with six or fewer rebounds, which could be a small sample-size fluke, rather than a trend.

RESERVES

∎ Myles Colvin: 7/10

Had to be a relief to see that 3-pointer fall in to break a 1-for-17 skid. His length also became a factor in the matchups on Barnhizer, either when he brought the ball up or when switching in the halfcourt.

∎ Camden Heide: 6/10

Defensive versatility shows up in these matchups against teams with multiple key contributors with those conventional wing bodies. Helped on Barnhizer and Martinelli throughout.

∎ Raleigh Burgess: 6/10

Played only three minutes during the span in which the game was even remotely in doubt. Second-half stint included some of his best ball of the season, including finishing a lob dunk off Smith’s assist. Came back from getting smacked in the face to hit a 3, and putting that on film can help this whole offense down the line.

∎ Gicarri Harris: 7/10

Rose to his opportunities on offense a couple of times during that blowout first half. Also contributed important minutes to the overall defensive frustration of what had been a steady, mistake-averse Wildcats offense.