It was another dominant performance as the Purdue Boilermakers, currently ranked fifth, defeated the Auburn Tigers 88-60 inside Gainbridge Arena in the Indy Classic. Five players scored in double figures, Brayden Smith dished out 14 assists, and the Tigers’ defense looked disorganized throughout the night as the Boilers scored 1.704 points per possession in the first half and shot 12/26 (46.2%) from beyond the arc, which was 12/19 (63.2%) considering Loyer’s 0/7 shooting.
The Boilers now enter an extended break with their next game on Monday, December 29th against a strong MAC team in Kent State, which sits at 10-2. With Christmas just around the corner, let’s take a look back at Purdue’s win over Auburn.
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Chapter 873
Braden Smith ranks 26th with 14 assists. Chapter 873 Career assists. He’s now well on his way to tying Cassius Winston’s B1G records (890 points and 203 points) and falling well short of Bobby Hurley’s NCAA record of 1,076. Could we see Smith’s Purdue single-game record tied or even broken by the B1G record against Kent State? This is certainly a great way to end 2025.
0
Fletcher Loyer is and has been one of the best shooters in the country. Having said that, he went through one of the toughest stretches of his career over the past five games, which ultimately ended in his defeat. 0/7 night against Auburn. During that span, Loyer shot 8/30 and 4/22 from the field, compared to 4/8 against Marquette. Shooting rate was just 26.7% in all five games and 18.2% without Marquette, his worst five-game stretch since the end of his sophomore season, when he shot 2/12 (16.7%).
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8
With their win over Auburn, Purdue now wins 8 They have defeated SEC teams in their past 10 games, including wins over Auburn, Mississippi State and three wins over Tennessee and Alabama.
7
Including a 28-point victory over Auburn, Purdue now has 7 Lead the ranked team by 25 points or more since the 2019-2020 season. No other team in the country has more than four players.
17.9
A lot of attention has been focused on Brayden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and TKR for obvious reasons, while the addition of Oscar Clough may have attracted the rest. That may have led many outside of West Lafayette to overlook the impact Daniel Jacobson could have on this team. Through his first 12 games, Jacobson leads the nation in blocked shots 17.9% According to Kenpom, he is drawing comparisons to Matt Haarms (2018) and Walker Kessler (2022). DJ continues to improve on both sides of the ball, but his biggest impact is on the defensive end.
16.5
It’s no secret that Auburn is led by two dynamic backs in Tahad Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall, and Purdue’s defense primarily targets those two players. The two averaged 35.5 points per game, and the Boilers were held to just 19 points per game. 16.5 below that average. Braden Smith continued to show his ability to trick opposing players into making poor decisions with 3 steals, while Fletcher Loyer showed incredible improvement on the defensive end to match his outstanding scoring ability.
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What pushed Purdue to another level this season was the absolute pain the Boilers put out with C.J. Cox, Gicarri Harris and Omar Mayer. Purdue is no longer at a defensive disadvantage on the outside with these three paired with senior leadership on the perimeter.
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The Boilers had a clear inside advantage in this game with the trio of TKR, Clough, and Jacobson, and with the shooting patterns of their outside players, they cleared the inside for more one-on-one matchups. This will obviously benefit Purdue every game this season. Boilers dominate indoor games 40 Come 20, but it’s not just about those big men against Auburn. Purdue’s outside shooting and their ability to play within two feet wreaked havoc on Auburn’s defense.
10
With their 36-25 rebounding night +10 With the advantage, Purdue outrebounded its opponents by double digits for the seventh time this season. This brings their season advantage to 480-343 and their per-game advantage to 11.4, ranking ninth nationally. Rebounding advantage is one of the biggest factors in Purdue’s ability to stay ahead in every game, with TKR averaging 10 points per game and Clough not far behind with 9.1 points.
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By the way, Purdue almost had three different players averaging a double-double: TKR, Clough and Smith.
31
Purdue scored from every angle and player against Auburn, and the bench was as impressive as it has been all season. along with 31 The Boilers tied their second-best mark so far this season in points off the bench (Akron). Only in the Eastern Illinois game did the bench score more, scoring 57 points, led by Daniel Jacobsen’s 24 points.
Bent scored 11 points on the bench, Harris scored 12 points, and his 7-9 shooting from beyond the three-point line was absolutely scorching. When the Boilers get this kind of production and shooting off the bench, there aren’t many teams in the country that can keep up with them offensively.
