MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Brayden Smith becomes the Big Ten’s career assists leader, Fletcher Loyer scored 20 points, No. 5 Purdue defeated Wisconsin 89-73 on Saturday night.
Smith dished out 12 assists, bringing his career assist total to 893, breaking the record held by Cassius Winston, who had 890 assists at Michigan State from 2017-20.
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Smith was averaging 9.6 assists per game, leading all Division I players heading into Saturday’s game. A large crowd of Purdue fans at the Kohl Center chanted “Braden Smith!” and gave him a standing ovation after he broke Winston’s record.
The 6-foot senior also scored 14 points as Purdue (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) continued its hot streak.
since Lost 81-58 The Boilermakers lost to No. 3 Iowa State on Dec. 8, a loss that knocked Purdue out of the No. 1 ranking. The Boilermakers have won each of their last five games by an average of 26.6 points.
Purdue’s C.J. Cox scored 14 points, Oscar Clough scored 12 points and Trey Kaufman-Lane scored 11 points. Clough also had 11 rebounds.
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Nick Boyd scored 24 points for Wisconsin (9-5, 1-2), while Nolan Winter added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Purdue led by 25 points with 8 1/2 minutes left in the game. Wisconsin fought back to cut Purdue’s lead to 84-73 with 3:22 left, but Loyer responded with a three-pointer to thwart any hope of a comeback.
Wisconsin lost at home for the first time this season.
The Badgers made nine consecutive drives on their first 12 shots to take the lead, but Purdue took the lead briefly on Omer Mayer’s 3-pointer with 7:25 left in the first half.
Next
Purdue: Host Washington on Wednesday.
Wisconsin: Hosts UCLA on Tuesday.
