Purdue Freshman Braden Smith Delivers Rebound Performance Against Ohio State: 'That's Just Who He Is'
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Following Purdue's first loss of the season to Rutgers, head coach Matt Painter gave his assessment of Braden Smith's performance quite bluntly.
He felt as though it was the freshman guard's worst game of the season, and he would need to rebound when the team tipped off against Ohio State on the road Thursday night.
Smith responded in dominant fashion for the No. 1-ranked Boilermakers, playing a season-high 38 minutes while leading the team in scoring during a 71-69 victory over the No. 24 Buckeyes.
"I think the coaches just having that confidence in me, and then the players just telling me to go play my game and everything will fall into place," Smith said. "So just kind of listening to them and hearing what they have to say was huge for me, and it just kind of gave me a confidence boost."
After a slow start at Value City Arena, Smith took over the offense for Purdue. He went 5-of-7 from the field in the first half, including 2-of-3 from the 3-point line, while adding two assists and one rebound without turning the ball over.
Smith's lone assist in the opening period came during a 9-0 run that made it a 33-33 game with 1:22 left to play before halftime. He capped the team's three consecutive 3-pointers on a fastbreak that forced the Buckeyes to call a timeout.
Purdue, after trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, went into the break behind by just three points. Smith was the catalyst for erasing the deficit, scoring a team-high 12 points before the second half.
"If you were watching them and didn't know anything about them, you'd never think they were freshmen," Purdue senior guard David Jenkins Jr. said of Smith and fellow first-year guard Fletcher Loyer. "You would never think that. Their poise, they look like vets out there."
Scoring slowed for Smith in the second half, who connected on only one of his three shot attempts. However, the rising star notched another four assists and came down with three rebounds without ever coming off the floor.
Smith drilled his third and final 3-pointer of the game to spark a 10-0 Purdue run, which resulted in a 52-46 advantage with 13:10 left in the second half. It was the team's largest lead in the contest.
Of Smith's four assists in the final period, three resulted in 3-pointers. The Boilermakers finished the game shooting 13-of-31 from deep, a season-high.
After struggling in a matchup with the Scarlet Knights on Monday, Smith shook off the poor performance and tied junior center Zach Edey with a team-high 16 points against the Buckeyes. He finished with six assists and four rebounds.
"Well that's who he is, he's competitive," Painter said. "He's like Fletch. Those guys are very intelligent about the game for true freshmen and they believe in themselves. Sometimes when you struggle, you need that.
"Everyone is going to struggle at some point whether that's their shooting or their play or whatever. You just want to see people respond and get back out there and compete."
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- David Jenkins Jr. Finding Comfortability in Role at Purdue: Purdue guard David Jenkins logged nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, including 3-of-3 from the 3-point line to help the team in a 71-69 victory over Ohio State on the road. He earned the chance to start in the second half and played a total of 19 minutes. CLICK HERE
- Kevin Durant Reacts to Purdue's Win Over Ohio State: Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant reacted to Purdue basketball's 71-69 win over Ohio State on Twitter. The Boilermakers defeated the Buckeyes on the road on a 3-pointer in the final minute of play. CLICK HERE
- Purdue Edges Ohio State on Late 3-Pointer: Purdue freshman guard Fletcher Loyer scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including the game-winning 3-pointer to take down Ohio State on the road. The Boilermakers finished the game with a season-high 13 made shots from deep. CLICK HERE
- Purdue, Ohio State Photo Gallery: Following a loss, No. 1 Purdue basketball rebounded with a 71-69 road victory over No. 24 Ohio State. Here's our photo gallery from the game in Value City Arena. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.