Braden Smith, almost triple-double, not enough when Purdue basketball falls to Illinois

Champaign, Illinois. – A two-digit lead in the second half has moved away again.

It turned out to be expensive in n ° 18 Purdue BasketballLoss 88-80 In Illinois At the State Farm Center.

The boilermakers almost obtained a triple-double from the junior game game Braden Smith, which raised 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, but Purdue was cold in the section just when the illini warmed up.

The Illinois closed the match on a 16-3 race, helped by a few late free throws to end the mini sequence of two purdue games.

More: Boilersxtra: The regular basketball season ends, football spring training starts

Purchain swing point

Back-to-back 3S from Tomislav Ivisic and Will Riley crowned an 8-0 race at the start of 8-0. Purdue’s response? A race of 19-4 which was launched by the guardian of the first year reserve Gicarri Harris, whose Roll 3 Friendly gave Purdue an advance of 18-17, followed by the flight of Harris and the rapid break.

Riley’s stepback 3 to beat the buzzer in the first half shot on the Illinois in the 42-40, but the drivers were able to push their two-digit lead with 11 minutes to do.

A recurring theme during the sequence of four defeats of Purdue in February was the inability to keep the two -digit tracks. The Illinois used a 17-3 race to increase 70-66.

From there, the two teams exchanged blows until Kasparas Jakucionis entered a 3 with 40 seconds to play. Smith 3’s response was extinguished and the Illinois sealed the match with two Francs de Riley throws.

The last triple-double of Purdue

Carroll’s triple-double-double came to Arizona, where the Wildcats experienced a sequence of 38 consecutive victories at the McKale Center.

Then Carroll collected 16 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocks in a victory of 80-78 Boilermaker.

4 stars

Braden Smith, Purdue: He almost had a triple-double, perhaps solidifying himself as a player of the year Big Ten.

TREY KAUFMAN-RENN, PURDUE: The Junior Center Redshirt ends the regular season with consecutive 29 -point matches. He also had eight rebounds against the best Big Ten team on the boards.

Will Riley, Illinois: Riley made the six attempts to throw frank on his way to a 22 -point night. He was a large shots manufacturer when Illini needed it.

Be White, Illinois: White finished 7 out of 9 on the field, marking 20 points to go with nine rebounds.

Sam King covers sports for the newspaper & Courier. Send him an email at soking@jconline.com and follow it on X and Instagram @Samueltking.

This article originally appeared in Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue basketball loses the regular season final in Illinois