Braden Smith leads No. 5 Purdue over Washington

Field Level Media|published: Wed 7th January, 23:12 2026

Jan 7, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Washington Huskies guard Desmond Claude (1) and Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) watch a ball go out of bounds during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Braden Smith scored a game-high 23 points and Trey Kaufman-Renn registered a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds to lift No. 5 Purdue to an 81-73 victory against visiting Washington on Wednesday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten), which never trailed, won its sixth straight game while sending Washington (9-6, 1-3) to its second loss in a row.

Purdue led by as much as 23 twice, the latest being 53-30 on an Oscar Cluff second-chance layup with 16:47 to play. The Huskies stayed even with the Boilermakers for the next few minutes before a quick 8-0 run trimmed the deficit to 14 with 8:21 to play.

Quimari Peterson drilled one of his five treys to pull the Huskies within nine with 3:10 remaining before C.J. Cox responded with a jumper on the next possession.

Hannes Steinbach scored 14 of his 17 points after halftime to pace Washington. Peterson followed with 15 points, Zoom Diallo had 14 points and eight assists, and Franck Kepnang posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Boilermakers limited Steinbach to 1 of 4 first-half shooting before he regrouped down the stretch. Steinbach, who entered the game averaging 18.3 points and 11.8 rebounds, struggled to assert himself on the glass, however, finishing with just four boards.

Purdue outrebounded Washington 37-25.

Cox (11 points) and Daniel Jacobsen (10) also scored in double figures for the Boilermakers.

Purdue held Washington to 44.4% shooting, including 33.3% in the first half. The Boilermakers countered by shooting 56.7% overall and 67.9% in the first 20 minutes.

Sparked by early success from the transition game, the Boilermakers opened on a 9-0 run that featured a pair of fast-break layups from Smith, who shot 10-for-15 to go with seven assists.

Desmond Claude and Peterson answered with treys to pull the Huskies within three points, but they couldn't sustain momentum and faced a double-digit deficit just 7:16 into the game.

Cox and Diallo each contributed a game-high nine points in the first half as the Boilermakers took a 45-28 lead into the break.

Huskies starter Wesley Yates III missed his fourth straight game with a hand injury.

Purdue extended its winning streak against Washington to four games. Wednesday marked the second time the schools met in Big Ten play.

--Field Level Media

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