Braden Smith leads No. 11 Purdue to a 91-64 rout of No. 21 Michigan

By Canadian Press on January 24, 2025.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith had 24 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals to help No. 11 Purdue rout No. 21 Michigan 91-64 on Friday night.

Smith was 10 of 17 from the field and had only one turnover in 37 minutes to nearly join Joe Barry Carroll as the only Purdue players with a triple-double. Carroll had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocks against Arizona in December 1977.

Fletcher Loyer added 18 points and Trey Kaufman-Renn had 15 as the Boilermakers (16-5, 8-2 Big Ten) rebounded from their first home loss of the season Tuesday night against Ohio State with a resounding celebration in the 500th Big Ten game at Mackey Arena.

Vladislav Goldin scored 14 points for Michigan (14-5, 6-2) in its second straight loss. Tre Donaldson, Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. each had 11 points.

But a motivated Smith made sure this game was never close.

Purdue opened with a 13-2 run and led 36-13 midway through the first half. The Boilermakers led by 29 before settling for their largest halftime lead this season at 51-26.

NO. 10 MARQUETTE 87, ST. JOHN’S 74

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Stevie Mitchell matched a career high with 21 points and No. 10 Marquette continued its recent domination of Villanova by beating the Wildcats.

Chase Ross added 18 points and Kam Jones had 16 to help Marquette (17-3, 8-1 Big East) beat Villanova for an eighth consecutive time and tie No. 20 St. John’s (17-3, 8-1) for first place in the Big East.

The Golden Eagles haven’t lost to Villanova since Shaka Smart took over as Marquette’s coach in 2021.

Jordan Longino had a career-high 27 points to go along with seven assists for Villanova (12-9, 5-5). Eric Dixon, who entered the night with a Division I-leading 24.9 points per game, scored 15 of his 18 points after halftime.

The Associated Press