Purdue's Braden Smith on Final Shot vs. Michigan: 'I Thought It Was In'

Braden Smith had a chance to win the game for Purdue on Tuesday night against Michigan. The junior guard had all the faith that his final shot was going in.

Purdue guard Braden Smith (3) shoots a three point basket against Michigan guard Rubin Jones (15) | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There were a lot of worried faces inside the Crisler Center on Tuesday night when Braden Smith threw up the final shot of the game. With No. 20 Michigan leading No. 7 Purdue 75-73 in the waning seconds, the junior guard tossed up a potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

Although he had made the previous two buckets, Smith's final attempt was off the mark and Michigan defeated Purdue by two points, taking over the top spot in the Big Ten standings.

Smith made two huge 3-pointers earlier in that final stretch. First, he cut a 73-67 Michigan lead in half with 21 seconds left to play. A pair of Danny Wolf free throws bumped the Wolverines' lead back up to 75-70, but Smith buried another triple with eight seconds on the clock.

Purdue sent Wolf to the free throw line again, but this time the 7-footer missed both, leaving the door cracked open for the Boilers to steal one in Ann Arbor. And on that final shot, Smith thought he had won the game.

MICHIGAN TAKES DOWN THE BOILERMAKERS AT HOME! pic.twitter.com/GOUljzMzcH

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"I thought that was in. I shot that all day in shootaround," Smith said. "The last three, I just kind of shot it. The two I made before I didn't even see anything ... I just threw it up there and it felt good."

Smith's previous two 3-pointers kept Purdue alive in a tight spot. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst had both fouled out, leaving the Boilermakers with just two scoring options on the floor: Smith and Fletcher Loyer.

Considering he had made his previous two shots from long range — both with an impressive degree of difficulty — Smith knew that when Wolf missed his free throw shots he was going to take the final shot for Purdue.

"I told Wolf, 'Give us one, just one.' He did," Smith said. "And he gives us another one, I said, 'I'm going to go down and make it.' I missed it."

Smith ended the game with 24 points, six rebounds and five rebounds. He made 10-of-21 shots from the floor and knocked down four shots from 3-point land.

But Purdue needed a fifth one to go down to escape Ann Arbor with a win.

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WHAT PAINTER SAID: No. 7 Purdue dropped a heartbreaker on the road to No. 20 Michigan on Tuesday. Here's everything coach Matt Painter said after the game. CLICK HERE

FOUL TROUBLE COSTLY FOR PURDUE: Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn both fouled out and Purdue's bench didn't score a single point, which proved costly in a 75-73 loss to Michigan. CLICK HERE