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Live Game Thread & Updates for No. 6 Purdue vs. Minnesota

No. 6 Purdue hosts Minnesota in a return to Big Ten play on Wednesday night. Follow along throughout the night for live updates during the game.
Dustin Schutte|
Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) watches his shot
Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) watches his shot | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

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Purdue Boilermakers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For the first time in the 2025-26 season, a Big Ten game will be played at Mackey Arena. No. 6 Purdue hosts Minnesota, which will be the second conference contest for each team. Both are 1-0 in league play entering Wednesday's game.

Follow along throughout the night for game updates, news and analysis as the Boilermakers host the Golden Gophers. You can refresh this page frequently throughout the night.

#6 Purdue vs. Minnesota live game blog

Highlights

Stats

Purdue — Braden Smith led the way with 15 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff both had double-doubles. Kaufman-Renn had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Cluff had 14 points and 11 boards. Fletcher Loyer scored 10 and Daniel Jacobsen had 11.

Minnesota — The Gophers were led by Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who had 17 points. Cade Tyson scored 15 and had 4 assists, and Langston Reynolds had 11 points and 4 rebounds.

2nd half

FINAL — Purdue 85, Minnesota 57. The Boilermakers' blitz to start the second half was too much fior the Golden Gophers to overcome. Purdue is now 2-0 in Big Ten play. Minnesota falls to 1-1.

2:04 — Final media timoet of the game and Purdue leads 83-51. This has been an outstanding second half from the Boilermakers. Not much else to say.

5:52 — Now Isaac Asuma fouls out for the Gophers. He finishes the game with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Not great for a team with such limited depth.

6:10 — Minnesota's Grayson Grove fouls out of the ball game. His day ends with 2 points and a rebound. Purdue leads 75-44.

7:51 — Third media timeout and Purdue is on cruise control. The Boilermakers lead 69-38. The Golden Gophers have scored just 6 points in the second half. Trey Kaufman-Renn now has a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Purdue is also outrebounding Minnesota 35-18.

11:01 — We've reached the second media timeout of the second half. Braden Smith's stat line is ridiculous. He has 13 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks for the Boilermakers. That's a National Player of the Year stat line.

13:42 — A bucket by Cade Tyson ends Minnesota's scoring drought. Purdue had a 21-0 run out of halftime to take a 56-32 lead and really put the clamps down on the Golden Gophers. Outstanding effort from the Boilers on both ends.

15:42 — This has been an impressive start to the half. Purdue leads 52-32 at the first media timeout. Braden Smith has 13 points, Oscar Cluff has 12, and Fletcher Loyer is up to 10. The Boilers are on a 17-0 run out of the half.

17:01 — Immediately out of the timeout Braden Smith gets his fifth steal of the game, Fletcher Loyer gets an easy layup and is fouled. He missed the foul shot but Purdue gets the offensive board and Loyer knocks down a triple. It's quickly 50-32.

17:21 — I'm not sure what Matt Painter said at halftime, but Purdue has come out with its hair on fire this second half. The Boilermakers attacked in the paint the first two possessions with Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff, then Braden Smith and CJ Cox knocked down a pair of threes. Purdue leads 45-32 and Minnesota takes a timeout.

Highlights

1st half

HALF: Purdue 35, Minnesota 32. Purdue attempted just 6 three points and made only 2 in that half. Minnesota was only 4-of-15 from distance, but connecting on 3 of their last 5. Braden Smith ended the half with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Oscar Cluff scored 8 points and Trey Kaufman-Renn had 6 points and 5 rebounds.

Minnesota was led by Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who scored 11 points. Langston Reynolds ended the half with 6 points.

1:13 — Minnesota has made 6 of its last 7 field goal attempts to cut into Purdue's lead even more. It's 33-30.

2:03 — Purdue looks really disconnected right now. Braden Smith was frustrated with Daniel Jacobsen after a failed lob attempt and then a wide-open triple. The Gophers have really sliced into this lead. It's 33-28 Purdue.

6:04 — Braden Smith has been all over the floor for the Boilermakers. He has 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Minnesota takes a timeout trailing 25-15. Smith will step to the line for a pair of free throws.

7:57 — We're at the third media timeout and Purdue leads 23-13. A big series for the Boilermakers just before the break, as Trey Kaufman-Renn finds Oscar Cluff for an easy bucket. Then, Braden Smith steals the inbounds pass and draws a foul. Purdue is 2-of-5 from three, but Minnesota is just 1-of-10.

8:38 — Purdue's defense is giving Minnesota some trouble. The Boilermakers have held the Gophers scoreless for more than three minutes. On the other end, Fletcher Loyer draws contact on a three-point attempt. He knocks down all three and pushes the Boilermaker lead to 21-11.

10:32 — Minnesota hasn't shot the ball well, but the Gophers have been able to get into the painted area and draw contact. The Gophers have already drawn three and-ones, which is exactly how they want to play.

11:56 — Purdue owns a 14-9 advantage at the second media timeout. Braden Smith is 3-of-5 from the floor and the rest of the team is just 2-of-7. It's another chilly shooting night for the Boilermakers, at least through the first eight minutes. Minnesota is settling for way too many threes and are 1-of-8 from deep.

15:58 — First media timeout and Purdue owns a 9-5 advantage. The Gophers are just 2-of-7 to start. Purdue's defense is playing well, but it's also living with open threes for Minnesota, a smart decision as this team shoots below 32% for the year from deep. before the media break, Cade Tyson knocked down a shot and was fouled by CJ Cox. He'll have a free throw out of the timeout.

17:00 — Purdue has come out aggressive and has an early 7-3 advantage on Minnesota. CJ Cox got the first basket of the night, but Braden Smith has five early points, knocking down a three-pointer then getting a steal and an easy layup in transition. A good start for the Boilers.

Pregame

Purdue's starters — #0 CJ Cox (G), #2 Fletcher Loyer (G), #3 Braden Smith (G), #4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (F), #45 Oscar Cluff (C).

Minnesota's starters — #1 Isaac Asuma (G), #6 Langston Reynolds (G), #3 Bobby Durkin (F), #5 Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (F), #10 Cade Tyson (F).

How to watch

  • What: Big Ten Conference game
  • Date: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025
  • Tipoff time: 7 p.m. ET
  • Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. (14,876 capacity)
  • TV: Big Ten Network
  • App: FOX Sports
  • TV announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst), Andy Katz (reporter)
  • Radio: Purdue Global Radio Network — WAZY 96.5 FM (Lafayette); WKJG 100.9 FM (Fort Wayne); WNDE 1260 AM (Indianapolis); WGBF 1280 (Evansville); Sirius XM 84; View all listings: CLICK HERE
  • Radio announcers: Rob Blackman (play-by-play), Bobby Riddell (analyst), Wes Scott (producer).
  • Live stats: Purdue.StatBroadcast.com
  • All-time series: Purdue leads the all-time series vs. Minnesota 111-84
  • Most recent: Purdue defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis 81-61 on Jan. 2, 2025
  • ESPN Matchup Predictor: Purdue has a 92.8% chance to defeat Minnesota

Preview

Purdue and Minnesota enter Wednesday night's game after experiencing different results in their previous game. The Boilermakers suffered a 23-point loss on their home court to Iowa State. Meanwhile, the Gophers upset No. 22 Indiana in Minneapolis last week.

It's safe to assume Purdue will enter this Big Ten contest wanting to prove a point. Minnesota is probably as confident as it has been all season, which isn't a bad thing when you're entering one of the most intimidating environments in college basketball.

The Boilermakers shot poorly against Iowa State on Saturday, but don't expect that to continue. After combining for just nine points, expect Kaufman-Renn and Loyer to get rolling early at Mackey Arena, especially considering Minnesota's defensive issues. The Gophers rank 333rd nationally in three-point defense, a weakness Purdue can exploit.

If Loyer, Smith, CJ Cox and others can knock down some triples early, it will open up Kaufman-Renn and Cluff in the post. If not, life might be a little more difficult, but Purdue's frontcourt has the ability to bully Minnesota in the paint.

Minnesota has some versatile players in Tyson, Crocker-Johnson, and Reynolds, but this is a team that shoots just 31.7% from the three-point line and struggles to score at times. The positive for the Gophers is that they're holding opponents to just 67.9 points per game this season.

Ultimately, though, Purdue has more depth, experience and a better collection of shooters than Minnesota.

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Dustin Schutte
DUSTIN SCHUTTE

Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.

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