Braden Smith stats today: How did Purdue star fare vs McNeese State

Junior guard Braden Smith did not have a great statistical game for the Purdue Boilermakers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against the McNeese State Cowboys. After a productive 20-point performance against the High Point Panthers in the first round, he seemed to struggle a little today.

Smith finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals. His shooting was somewhat decent as he made 3 of 7 field goal attempts, 2 of 6 from beyond the arc, knocking down both of his attempts from the charity stripe.

However, he played a sloppy brand of basketball as he committed eight turnovers. All of Smith's scoring came in the first half and he only attempted only one shot in the second half.

Below is the full box score from Smith's performance against the McNeese State Cowboys.

Player	MP	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3PT	FT	TO	PF
Braden Smith	40	10	4	5	2	0	3-7	2-6	2-2	8	2

With a chance to rest up ahead of his Sweet 16 contest, fans will look for Smith to be sharper when the next game rolls around.

---

Who will Braden Smith and the Purdue Boilermakers face in the Sweet 16?

The Boilermakers can celebrate their berth to the Sweet 16, but their eyes will be glued to the hardwood on Sunday night to see who they are playing in the Midwest Region. The bracket has Purdue facing the winner of the top-seeded Houston Cougars vs. the eighth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs contest.

This is the eighth time that Purdue coach Matt Painter has made the Sweet 16 in his coaching career and this game came by beating McNeese's 2-3 zone that dominated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the Clemson Tigers. Now, they will have to wait as their next opponent could be one of two completely different play styles.

The Houston Cougars are a dominating defensive program with coach Kelvin Sampson instilling that mindset throughout his tenure with the program. The Gonzaga Bulldogs have an electric offense that features five different players averaging at least 10.5 points, who have the ability to score from different areas of the court.

It will be interesting to see how the Boilermakers match up against their Sweet 16 opponents once the fixture is finalized.