Purdue 81-68 Northwestern (Mar 12, 2026) Game Recap

CHICAGO — — Braden Smith had 16 assists to climb into second on the NCAA profession checklist, and No. 18 Purdue outmuscled Northwestern for an 81-68 victory on Thursday that moved the Boilermakers into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff every scored 19 factors for Purdue (24-8), and Cluff additionally grabbed 10 rebounds. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Wildcats 35-23 and loved a 38-18 benefit in factors within the paint.

Smith is as much as 1,045 assists in 142 profession video games, passing Ed Cota (1,030) and Chris Corchiani (1,038) with one other easy efficiency for the Boilermakers. Bobby Hurley is No. 1 with 1,076 assists in 140 video games for Duke from 1989-93.

Next up for Purdue is No. 11 Nebraska on Friday. The second-seeded Cornhuskers had a bye by means of the primary three rounds.

Nick Martinelli had 25 factors for Northwestern (15-19), which superior with wins over Penn State and Indiana on the first two days of the event. Jayden Reid completed with 19 factors and 9 assists.

Northwestern performed with out Arrinten Pagea 6-foot-11 ahead who missed his fourth consecutive sport due to an sickness. And the Wildcats undoubtedly missed the junior’s measurement and physicality because the Boilermakers dominated inside.

Purdue went on a 15-3 run to open a 38-15 lead with 5:47 left within the first half. Kaufman-Renn began the decisive stretch with a jumper within the paint, and Omer Mayer capped the surge with a fast-break layup off a Northwestern turnover.

Another Kaufman-Renn basket helped Purdue to a 45-21 benefit on the break. The Boilermakers outscored the Wildcats 22-6 within the paint within the first half.

It was a a lot better begin for Purdue than the one it had within the regular-season assembly between the colleges. Purdue trailed 34-25 at halftime earlier than rallying for a 70-66 victory at Northwestern on March 4.

Up subsequent

Purdue defeated Nebraska 80-77 in time beyond regulation of their solely assembly of the season on Feb. 10. Kaufman-Renn grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds within the victory, serving to the Boilermakers to a 54-37 benefit on the glass.

——

Get ballot alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all through the season. Sign up here and here (AP cell app). AP faculty basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball