Arizona nearly completely shut down Purdue point guard Braden Smith in the second half, a major reason for a 79-64 win that earned its first Final Four berth since 2001. Smith finished with 13 points on four out of 15 from the field, three of eight on three-point attempts, with seven assists.
Smith missed all four of his shots from the field and both of his three-point attempts with two points, two fouls, two turnovers and four assists in the second half. Arizona outscored Purdue 48-26 in the second half after trailing 38-31 at halftime.
Smith had to earn his 11 points in the first half by making four out of his 11 field goal attempts, but made three out of his six three-point attempts with four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one turnover. The Arizona backcourt was exceptional defensively in the second half without committing any turnovers.
Smith finished his four-game NCAA Tournament run averaging 16.8 points per game on 39.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from the field, 3.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists. As expected, those numbers were down from 14.3 PPG on 44.6 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from the field, 3.5 RPG, 8.9 APG and 1.2 SPG.
Chants of, "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy..." from the Wildcat community as Tommy Lloyd cuts down a Regional net for the first time as a Head Coach. pic.twitter.com/8KFspmaHid
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) March 29, 2026
"Braden's so good, and we knew he was going to have the ball a lot in his hands. And, you know, we tried to figure out...a couple different plans if Braden scored 25...maybe it wasn't going to be our day. "Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd
Arizona's backcourt outperformed Purdue
Bradley made four of his nine shots from the field, all six of his free throws, with six assists and one turnover. Burries made four of his nine shots from the field, four of seven three-point attempts, both free throw attempts, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and two turnovers.
Shooting guard Fletcher Loyer and Smith have set the culture for Purdue over three years, including a National Runner-up finish in 2024 and a Regional Semifinal loss to 2025 National Runner-up Houston. Loyer finished with eight points on three out of nine from the field and two out of six on three-point attempts.
Smith made three out of his eight three-point attempts, but most of his success against Arizona happened in the first half. Arizona nearly completely shutting down Smith in the second half was one of the biggest differences in the Wildcats' comeback and to reach the Final Four.