Purdue's Senior Stars Fall Short in Final Four

0:00On March 29th, Purdue's run in the Final Four came to a tough end with a 79-64 loss to Arizona on Saturday night in Indianapolis. Three key seniors, Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Rin, and Fletcher lawyer saw their boiler maker's careers wrap up one win short of the title game. Despite Purdue entering as the nation's top offense, they shot just 38% from the field in their worst big game showing. These guys built an epic four-year legacy with 117 wins and Smith shattering the NCAA assists record at 1,100. Three, they even reached last year's championship game, but Arizona's size and defense shut them down cold. The seniors combined for 31 points on 12 of 38 shooting, their roughest night all season. Smith looked ejected, shaking hands with teammates after the buzzer, later sharing how special those years were, hanging with the crew on and off the court. Kaufman-Rin battled fouls and scored 10 points while Lawyer added eight late.

1:01Frustration hit hard as Purdue's lead slipped away in the second half. Arizona, the number three defense nationally, dominated rebounds and turned stops into easy buckets. Purdue started hot, up 38 to 31 and half time, thanks to Smith's threes and assists, but cooled off shooting 32% after. The break. Smith's ankle tweak and early fouls hurt their flow. Purdue's seniors lead with heads high on a mountain of memories while Arizona rolls into the semis for the first time in 25 years, keeping the bracket buzzing. I'm Corey with the story and you've been listening to Global News today, AI-powered Global Coverage.