Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith Both Make Big Splash in Purdue's Season-Opening Win

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue senior guards Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith wasted no time making a splash to start the 2025-26 season. Both accomplished significant individual feats while leading the Boilermakers to an 82-51 victory over Evansville on Tuesady night at Mackey Arena.

Loyer had a big night in Tuesday's opener, scoring a career-best 30 points and needing just 11 shots to reach that total. He finished the game 8-of-11 from the floor and made 7-of-10 attempts from three-point range, which matched a career-high from distance.

The senior guard hit several shots from NBA range, making it impossible for Evansville to defend. It was one of the most efficient games Loyer has played in his career with the Boilermakers.

Career night for Fletcher Loyer 🙌

🚂 30 PTS (career high)
🚂 8–11 FG
🚂 7–10 3FG

The first @BoilerBall player to drop 30 points in a season opener since Carsen Edwards (11/6/18 vs. Fairfield). pic.twitter.com/EbYeXcS9zZ
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 5, 2025

You know who else benefited from many of Loyer's shots Tuesday night? Smith, who finished the game with 11 assists in the victory. That pushed his career total to 769 assists, which now ranks third in Big Ten history.

Smith is chasing the NCAA's all-time assist record, which is still owned by Duke's Bobby Hurley. The former Blue Devil dished out 1,076 career assists during his time at Duke.

First, though, Smith must surpass the Big Ten total. That mark is set by former Michigan State guard Cassius Winston, who totaled 890 assists. Another former Spartan, Mateen Cleaves, ranks second with 816 career assists.

7️⃣6️⃣6️⃣

He just keeps moving up.

Now 3rd on the @B1GMBBall career assists chart. pic.twitter.com/U4q9EXofM6
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) November 5, 2025

Both Loyer and Smith have a primary goal of leading Purdue to a national championship at the end of the season. They both got off to tremendous starts to begin their senior campaigns in West Lafayette.

What Smith, Loyer said after the game

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) dribbles the ball | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

From early in Tuesday's game against Evansville, Loyer felt confident in his game. He was pulling up from long range and knocking down shots consistently all night.

Loyer has talked about being more aggressive this season with his shot, and that was on full display in the season opener.

"I think it's taking what's given to you. Obviously, you don't want to shoot tough ones, but when you get rolling, you might take a couple," Loyer said. "It's stuff I work on every single day. Being confident in myself, whether I'm 3-for-15 at Kentucky or 8-for-11 with 30 points. It doesn't really matter."

When Loyer is knocking down those shots with such consistency, you might think Smith seeks him out more. That's not necessarily the case, though. The star point guard said he's always trying to find his teammate in open spots, regardless of his shooting percentage for the day.

"I don't think it's a specific game just because he's hitting shots, I always try to do that," Smith said. "Beacuse, as a smart basketball player, you find your best shooters.

"When you have the best shooter in the country on your team, it's pretty self-explanatory to go find him wherever he is, whether he's hitting shots or not. That's my job."

What Smith, Loyer said after the game

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