Braden Smith goes off for 31 points, lifts No. 7 Purdue over Iowa

Field Level Media|published: Tue 4th February, 21:27 2025

Feb 4, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Payton Sandfort (20) reacts with forward Riley Mulvey (44) against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Braden Smith scored 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting and No. 7 Purdue held on for a 90-81 win over Iowa in a Big Ten Conference battle on Tuesday night in Iowa City, Iowa.

Trey Kaufman-Renn added 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting for Purdue (18-5, 10-2 Big Ten), which won for the 10th time in its past 11 games. Caleb Furst finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, and C.J. Cox and Fletcher Loyer scored nine points apiece.

Josh Dix scored 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead Iowa (13-9, 4-7). Payton Sandfort scored 23 points, and Brock Harding chipped in 11 off the bench.

The Hawkeyes finished with a 22-6 advantage in bench points.

Purdue pulled ahead with an 11-2 run early in the second half. The score was tied at 41 when Smith and Loyer made back-to-back 3-pointers, and Smith finished the run with another 3-pointer to make it 52-43 in favor of the Boilermakers with 16:21 to go.

Furst made a jump shot to give Purdue an 80-69 lead with 5:06 remaining.

Iowa responded with an 8-0 run to cut its deficit to 80-77 with 2:42 left. Dix scored all eight points during the surge thanks to two jumpers and four free throws.

The roller-coaster trend continued, as Purdue answered with a 7-0 run to increase its lead to 87-77 with 57 seconds to play. Kaufman-Renn scored five of the Boilermakers' seven points during the decisive run.

The score was even at 36-all at the half.

Iowa jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Sandfort finished the early rally with a 3-pointer and a layup on back-to-back possessions.

Purdue relied on a 10-0 run to seize a 21-15 advantage with 10:33 to go in the first half. Gicarri Harris and Camden Heide each made a 3-pointer during the surge.

Iowa grabbed a 36-31 lead on a 3-pointer by Drew Thelwell with 1:14 left before the break.

The Boilermakers scored five straight points in the final 36 seconds of the period to pull even. Furst made a pair of free throws, and Smith added a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

--Field Level Media

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