Smith almost went scoreless and had five turnovers against NC State. That Purdue won 63-50 anyway says a lot about these Boilermakers.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — went from sarcastically slow-clapping himself on the floor to muttering in an arena tunnel to sitting in a folding chair and explaining why he’d been very bad in a Final Four game. “Terrible,” actually, was the specific phrasing from ’s sophomore point guard. This self-immolation went on for a while. Eventually, the locker room emptied, and Smith was alone at his stall when his head coach passed by. Advertisement Matt Painter slapped him on the back, hard, three times.
We’re up six and you’re playing the worst game of your life. This was the triage for a player who might be harder on himself than anyone else in the room, who committed uncharacteristically inane mistakes like two over-and-back violations in the first half. No tactical adjustments. No Xs-and-Os overhaul. It was all jitters or anxiety, in Painter’s estimation. So Purdue needed to get Braden Smith’s brain to stop hitting itself.
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