Braden Smith was one rebounds short of becoming the second Boilermaker to record a triple-double. The only one came in 1977.

After the regular season concluded for Purdue on Friday night, coach Matt Painter made his argument for Braden Smith as Big Ten Player of the Year.

The Purdue Boilermakers closed out the 2024-25 regular season on the road at Illinois, dropping a back-and-forth game to the Fighting Illini by the final score of 88-80. Purdue’s pair of All-Big Ten performers — point guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn — delivered in a big way,