SAN JOSE, Calif. — For 39 minutes and 49 seconds, No. 2 seed Purdue and No. 11 Texas battled and bruised and fought through (quite literally) broken bones to put on a sizzling Sweet 16 battle. When the time came for a decider, college basketball’s most prolific assister in history wanted the winner for himself.
But Braden Smith didn’t quite have it.
Purdue ran an action that gave Smith the space he wanted to drive down the right side of the lane. He tried to touch the ball off the backboard, but he shot it just a touch awry. Fortunately, he let go with 3 seconds on the clock, leaving just enough time for his fellow fourth-year Boilermaker, Trey Kaufman-Renn, to muscle in over Texas’ Dailyn Swain and gently tip the ball back through the hoop with 0.7 seconds remaining.
Purdue pulled through, 79-77, as the man nicknamed TKR delivered a TKO with Texas going down for the count in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
It was the closest to a buzzer-beater Purdue has achieved in March Madness play and the first game-winner of Kaufman-Renn’s college career.
Conspicuously, Texas’ best big man, Matas Vokietaitis, was not on the floor for the final defensive possession.
Did coach Sean Miller make a mistake?
Anything but, the Longhorns coach told CBS Sports. For all of Vokietaitis’ size and game-disrupting ability, he managed just two rebounds against Purdue, one on each end. Given Smith’s maestro-like ability to work the high screen-and-roll with as much command as anyone in the college game, Miller wasn’t willing to chance getting his big on an island against one of the most seasoned and savvy players in the sport.
Inside Purdue’s put-back: Coaches detail decisions on thrilling play that rocked Texas
