Braden Smith Shouts Out Purdue Fans, The Paint Crew After Beating Indiana
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It's no secret that Mackey Arena is one of college basketball's best environments. On Friday night, the atmosphere was on another level when No. 10 Purdue hosted Indiana. And in one of the biggest games of the year, guard Braden Smith says Boilermaker fans helped will the team to a win over the Hoosiers.
Smith had a huge game on Friday, finishing the night with 24 points, seven assists and six steals. The Boilers defeated the Hoosiers 81-76, thanks to a late jump hook from Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn.
After the game, Smith was asked about the elite environment created by Purdue fans and The Paint Crew.
"Yeah, that's what they do, that's why we come to play here," Smith said after the win. "Every single night they come out and support us, whether we're playing well, not playing well, they give us that extra spark. Times like this, we need it. When shots aren't falling and we're not playing our best, just having that crowd there that's always cheering for you, pumping you up, definitely helps us out."
Purdue struggled to shoot from behind the 3-point line, making just two-of-13 from long range. The Boilers were also having trouble on the glass, as Indiana won the rebounding battle 32-26.
But Purdue's defense proved to be the difference, forcing Indiana into 20 turnovers and outscoring the Hoosiers 26-15 in the points off turnovers category.
With the victory, the Boilermakers have now won three straight games over their in-state rivals and are 9-2 in the Big Ten. Purdue is second in the conference standings, behind only Michigan State (9-1 Big Ten).
Playing games inside Mackey Arena has been a significant advantage, especially in a rivalry game. The Boilers still have four home games remaining on the schedule, and they'll want great environments the rest of the way to potentially help the team win a third straight Big Ten title.
So far this season, Purdue is 11-1 in home games, with the lone loss coming to Ohio State in January.
Purdue has remaining home games against USC (Feb. 7), No. 17 Wisconsin (Feb. 15), UCLA (Feb. 28) and Rutgers (March 4).
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