NBA Draft: Purdue vs. Iowa Will Feature Cerebral Guard Battle

The 2026 NBA Draft class is shaping up to be one of the best in years, with a tremendous top group of prospects, and positional depth.

The guard-play has especially been good, with numerous true freshman such as Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown Jr. and more hitting the ground running.

While the newbies have rightfully been the talk of the town, the upperclassmen have been equally special. And tonight’s Big Ten bout between No. 5 Purdue and Iowa will feature two of the better and more cerebral guards in the entire nation.

Braden Smith has been a known factor for years, recently becoming the Big Ten’s all-time leading passer. He’s undersized at 6-foot, but that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the top play-makers in the country, blossoming his stats to 14.1 points and a blistering 9.8 assists per game this year.

Purdue has been a force under Smith’s direction, with him leading the vast majority of the offense for years now. He’s a highly-capable pick-and-roll operator, and doesn’t let the ball stick often by moving and flying around.

On the other side will be Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, who has seen a rapid rise through college basketball in recent seasons. He played two seasons of non-major basketball, before a breakout season at Drake where he averaged 19.2 points. He then transferred to Iowa alongside head coach Ben McCollum, and has seen similar production in the same style.

So far, Stirtz is leading the team with 17.6 points per game on 48% shooting, using his slow-paced style as a handler to drive, shoot and play-make. He’s hitting just under 40% of his threes, and is averaging 5.1 assists per game.

The NBA is always searching for guards with high IQ and cerebral feel for the game, which both Smith and Stirtz offer.

Smith's trending toward being a second-round pick at the 2026 draft, likely only as high as the end of the first round. His height and athleticism is a ceiling limiter in terms of rim-finishing and especially defense, though his play-making and shooting could certainly aid pick-and-roll-heavy systems.

Stirtz, at 6-foot-4, has a clearer-cut vision as an NBA handler. Though scouts and decision-makers are keyed in on just how he fares at the Big Ten level. So far, Stirtz hasn't passed with flying colors, shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three combined against Minnesota and Illinois.

Those looking for talented handlers will certainly be honed in on tonight's matchup at 5:30 p.m. CT.