Purdue's Thunder Rumbles as the Boilermakers Dominate Bruins in Exciting Showdown!
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 14: Oscar Cluff #45 of the Purdue Boilermakers controls the ball against Skyy Clark #55 of the UCLA Bruins in the second half during the semifinals of the 2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 14, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images Purdue had to grind out a victory against an undermanned UCLA Bruins squad that was without Tyler Bilodeau and lost Donovan Dent early in the first half. It was a game that Purdue pushed their lead into double digits on multiple occasions but could never find the offensive flow to extend the game to a point that it was never in doubt.
That’s similar to what Purdue was during the season rather than the one that needed to find the ability to continue kicking an opponent when they are down. In any matter, a win in March is always a good win and Purdue will battle the Michigan Wolverines for a chance at their third B1G Tournament Title. Let’s get into the numbers!
6 Purdue jumped out to a 15-2 lead and eventually worked their way into double-digit leads on 6 different occasions. None of those would really stick as UCLA would consistently battle back each and every time as Purdue’s offense seemed to continually get stuck just as they were about to stretch that double-digit lead to a point of no return but could never quite get it done. Most notably were the leads they held in the second half that the Bruins were able to get back into single digits, none more worrying than when Gicarri Harris hit a three to push the lead to 58-48 with 8:35 left but then surrendered a 9-0 run.
That would inevitably lead to a tie ball game with 4:33 left. Just frustrating basketball when getting a big lead would have allowed for rest from the key players. 9 Smith looked like he was on his way to another performance where he was going to get 12 or more assists.
He started the game with three quick ones and Purdue had a 15-0 run but he struggled from the floor shooting and turning the ball over all game. The senior point guard would score just 5 points on 1-7 shooting with 5 turnovers but would notch 9 assists overall. The Boilers need him to find his jumper and combine the assists with scoring to make a deep run.
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