Loyer and Smith lead No. 18 Purdue to 100-71 victory over Rutgers

Updated Mar. 4, 2025 9:36 p.m. ET

Associated Press

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith scored 23 points apiece to lead No. 18 Purdue past Rutgers 100-71 on Tuesday night.

Loyer and Smith each made seven 3-pointers as the Boilermakers went 18 of 36 from beyond the arc. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 16 points for Purdue (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), which has won two in a row following a four-game skid.

Dylan Harper scored 13 points and Ace Bailey had 12 for the Scarlet Knights (14-16, 7-12).

Ten players scored for the Boilermakers.

Purdue shot 56% percent from the field while holding Rutgers to 44%. The Boilermakers also held a 40-26 rebounding edge. Caleb Furst, the lone Purdue senior, led the way with nine rebounds in his final home game and Kaufman-Renn had eight.

The Boilermakers shot 69% in the first half to take a 50-41 lead at halftime. Rutgers shot 47% in the opening period.

Takeaways

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights led 27-19 midway through the first half but were unable to slow down Purdue’s 3-point barrage. Purdue also held a 36-24 edge in points in the paint.

Purdue: The Boilermakers got some key contributions from their bench with 11 points from Gicarri Harris and nine from Myles Colvin. Smith picked up his fourth foul with 8:20 left but was able to sit the rest of the way thanks to Purdue’s large lead. He finished with nine assists.

Key moment

After grabbing a rebound, Smith passed to Furst for an alley-oop dunk off a fast break to make it 42-37 with 3:36 left in the first half. That started a 7-0 run, which included a 3-pointer by Smith and a second-chance driving layup by C.J. Cox.

Key stat

Purdue shot 11 of 17 on 3s in the first half to erase an early deficit and grab control.

Up next

Rutgers hosts Minnesota on Sunday. Purdue closes the regular season at Illinois on Friday night.

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