Purdue Guard Braden Smith Provides Update on Injured Knee After USC Win

Braden Smith felt the pain in his knee throughout Saturday night's game. Stiffening up and limiting his mobility, the senior guard still found a way to score 22 points and lead fifth-ranked Purdue to a 69-64 road win over USC at the Galen Center.

Smith suffered the knee injury just two minutes into the game, knocking knees with USC's Ryan Cornish while driving to the basket. He tried to play through it, but he had to exit the game at the 16:16 mark. The senior guard came back into the game just two minutes later, providing Purdue with an 18-point boost in the first half.

With the win in hand thanks to his 22-point effort, you might have thought Smith was able to shake off that knee injury. He was still feeling it after the game, though.

"I don't think it's good," Smith said.

When Smith left the game, the idea of not returning never crossed his mind. Instead, he just wanted a few minutes to try to shake it off.

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) dribbles the ball | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

"I went to the locker room. I knew I'd be back, I just needed a minute to try to walk it off," Smith said. "That's what went through my mind, just how I could get back out there and start moving."

Playing on one knee, essentially, Smith's 18-point half was critical to Purdue getting a road win over USC on Saturday night. With under 10 minutes to play, the Boilermakers trailed the Trojans 22-8. Then, Purdue went on a 30-10 run to close out the half and take a 38-32 advantage into the locker room.

Smith didn't have the same level of production in the second half, but he made some important plays late in the game. Most notably, the senior guard came away with a steal with 26 seconds remaining and scored on a layup, making the score 65-62.

He then stepped to the free-throw line with 13 seconds left and knocked down a pair of shots to help Purdue ice the game.

Though in pain, Smith knew his team needed him on Saturday night in Los Angeles. He delivered in a big way to keep the Boilermakers undefeated in Big Ten play.

"It's happened before, and I've played through it," Smith said. "It's just a painful thing to do. But at the end of the day, my team needs me to play whether I'm hurt or not."

Smith's leg stiffened up in the second half

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) dribbles the ball on a breakaway | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Smith played 37 minutes on Saturday night, another demonstration of his toughness. But there's no question that his production dropped off in the second half after scoring 18 points in the first 20 minutes.

Part of that was USC's defensive pressure, but the other part was the knee injury limiting Smith's mobility.

"My leg was so stiff, and it gave out on me a couple of times. Obviously, that's not an excuse; I still have to play because I'm out there," Smith said. "I still have to produce and do what I normally do. But I just really couldn't move. It was so stiff. It got stiff at halftime, and it was just hard to push off my legs on my jump shot and really move."

Smith said that this type of injury will typically bother him for about a week or two. It's not going to be fun, but he's played through it before. With a matchup against UCLA on Tuesday, he doesn't expect it to be much better when he's on the floor next.

Keeping Smith off the floor is going to be nearly impossible, though.

"He's a tough guy," coach Matt Painter said. "The fact that he played 37 minutes kind of showed that."

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Smith's leg stiffened up in the second half

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