The legend of Braden Smith continues to grow in West Lafayette. Following Friday night’s 81-76 win over Indiana, the junior guard for Purdue closed out the month of January with an historic college basketball stat line.
After the win over Indiana, Smith finished the month with 158 points, 82 assists and 28 steals. He is the only college basketball player — men’s or women’s — to finish a calendar month with those numbers this century, according to OptaSTATS.
Smith was impressive in Friday’s victory, scoring 24 points, dishing out seven assists and recording six steals.
Braden Smith of @BoilerBall has recorded 150+ points, 80+ assists & 25+ steals in January 2025.
No other DI player (men’s or women’s) this century has reached those marks in a single calendar month. pic.twitter.com/J3IybPGEzw
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) February 1, 2025
Smith’s success on the court has been a huge reason for Purdue’s big month. The Boilers ended January with an 8-1 record, with the lone loss coming to Ohio State. The junior guard ended the month averaging 17.6 points, 9.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game. He’s also averaged 4.5 rebounds per game for the month.
Before the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Smith was selected as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. He’s been playing at an incredibly high level and has a legitimate chance to bring the conference’s Player of the Year crown back to West Lafayette for a third consecutive year.
Zach Edey was the Big Ten Player of the Year the previous two seasons.
For the year, Smith is averaging 15.8 points, 8.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. He’s also shooting 44% from the floor and 38.2% from 3-point range.
Purdue is currently 17-5 on the year and 9-2 in league play. The Boilermakers are just a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten standings, behind only Michigan State (9-1 Big Ten).
PURDUE CLOSING IN ON MICHIGAN STATE: Purdue is now just a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten after a win over Indiana on Friday and Michigan State’s loss to USC. CLICK HERE
PAINTER EXPLAINS BURGESS TECHNICAL: Purdue coach Matt Painter was asked about the technical foul assessed to freshman Raleigh Burgess. He says he’s still not sure what actually happened between Burgess and Indiana’s Anthony Leal. CLICK HERE
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Purdue escaped Friday night with an 81-76 win over rival Indiana. Here’s everything Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said after the win over the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
PURDUE PASSES IU ON WINS LIST: Not only did Purdue pick up a rivalry win over Indiana on Friday, the Boilermakers surpassed the Hoosiers on college basketball’s all-time wins leaderboard. CLICK HERE
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