SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A dejected Braden Smith walked down the sideline shaking the hands of his Purdue teammates after the final buzzer sounded.
The dream of ending a college career in a home-state Final Four in Indianapolis ended one step shy for Smith and the other two members of the Boilermakers’ four-year senior class as Purdue was overwhelmed by Arizona in a 79-64 loss on Saturday night.
For all of the great accomplishments for Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer in four-year careers that featured 117 wins, a trip to the 2024 title game and Smith setting the NCAA career record for assists, the outcome against Arizona was filled with frustration.
But once they got back to the locker room, the thoughts were more about the highs like winning the Big Ten Tournament earlier this month and making the title game in 2024.
“There are so many moments in our four years that have been so special, and I can’t really put them all in order, but I think just for me it was to try to enjoy that with these guys one last time,” Smith said. “Obviously it’s a sad moment, and we don’t want it to end, but at the end of the day, you’re with a group of dudes who enjoyed being around each other, like always hung out off the court.”
They just won’t get a chance to play together again for Purdue.
Smith made just one basket over the final 35 minutes as Arizona used its size to slow him down all game. Kaufman-Renn, whose last-second putback gave Purdue a win in the Sweet 16 against Texas, was in foul trouble all game and scored just 10 points in 24 minutes. Loyer was held to eight points — 3 coming in the closing seconds after the outcome had been decided — and had a 3-pointer go halfway down and out with less than four minutes to play for Purdue’s last chance to get back into the game.
The trio finished with 31 points and shot just 12 for 38 (31.8%) from the field, their worst combined shooting percentage in any game this season.
Purdue came into the game ranked as the most efficient offense in the country by KenPom but delivered one of its worst offensive performances at the biggest moment. The Boilermakers had their second-fewest points and second-worst shooting performance (38.1%) of the season.
“They’re obviously very talented,” Smith said. “They’re the No. 3 defensive team in the country. They rebound at a high, high level. I think that’s kind of where they got us. We would make a couple of plays, get a couple of blocks and then got it right back and were able to score. Obviously we didn’t make as much shots as we did in the first half in the second half. Then obviously those add up.”
Smith helped Purdue get off to a strong start in the first half, making three of his first four shots, including two from long range. He then fueled an 8-0 run late in the half with a 3 and an assist to C.J. Cox for another 3 as the Boilermakers took a 38-31 halftime lead.
But Purdue shot just 32.1% in the second half with Smith hurting his ankle on an awkward step, Kaufman-Renn committing his third foul just 39 seconds into the half and Loyer not making a shot from long range until his 3 with 8 seconds left on the record 1,103rd and final assist of Smith’s career.
“Really proud of these three guys sitting right here and everything they’ve done for our program,” coach Matt Painter said. “Really set a standard of how to go about their business. It’s going to be hard to emulate that. In today’s game, having three guys come and stick it out and fight through adversity and keep making our program better. They got the most wins in school history. They got the most tournament wins in school history. They got two Big Ten championships. They got two Big Ten Tournament titles. You know, they showed up every day and worked. That’s what you want.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
