Braden Smith's Halftime Message Provided Spark in No. 7 Purdue's Win at Iowa

With just under six seconds remaining in the first half, Braden Smith dribbled the ball up the court, stopped outside the 3-point line and buried a shot as time expired. With that bucket, No. 7 Purdue and Iowa were tied at 36-36 heading into halftime.

The Boilermakers walked into the locker room knowing they lacked energy — an unacceptable trait for a team hoping to win its third straight Big Ten title. So, Smith provided his teammates with a not-so-subtle reminder of what they were chasing.

"Our energy was just off. I thought we were there just to be there. Once we realized what our goals were and that we want to win this Big Ten championship — and we have to win these games. These are tough games, every game in the Big Ten is tough.

"I kind of said that at halftime with these guys, we have to pick it up. Then shots fall, it helps pick up the energy, gets the bench going and everything falls from there."

That was all that needed to be said.

Purdue came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored four points, Smith and Fletcher Loyer knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and CJ Cox buried a triple of his own. When the whistle blew signaling the first media timeout of the second half, the Boilers owned a 58-46 lead on the Hawkeyes.

"Once a couple of shots fell, confidence and energy picked up and we were able to keep it going," Smith said. "I think we did a better job of responding on the defensive end, getting stops and pushing into transition and getting buckets that way."

Iowa never really went away, despite trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half. Thanks to the play of Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort — combining for 50 points — the Hawkeyes were able to hang around for most of the game.

With 2:42 to play, Dix made a pair of free throws to make the score 80-77. Iowa had crawled back into the game with a chance to tie on its following possession.

But Kaufman-Renn scored five straight points, pushing the lead back out to eight points with 1:14 to play, ending Iowa's chances of an upset.

Smith finished the night with 31 points, making 11-of-15 shots from the floor. Kaufman-Renn scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Caleb Furst nearly had a double-double, finishing the contest with 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Without question, Smith provided a major spark offensively for the Boilermakers, especially in the second half. But even coach Matt Painter acknowledged that the guard's 3-pointer at the end of the first half was a major moment in the game.

"It just helps you because we didn't play great. I think they had a lot to do with that, but we didn't play that great," Painter said. "But, hey, we haven't played a great half here but it's still tied. We got it in a good position. I think it really helps. We obviously had a nice run to start the second half."

That second half run against Iowa helped Purdue continue its Big Ten run into February. The Boilermakers are now 9-1 in conference play since the calendar turned to January, putting them right in the thick of the conference race in the final stretch of the season.

With Tuesday's win over Iowa, Purdue took another step towards a "three-peat." The Boilers just needed to be reminded of that at halftime inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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