Uncover the Hidden Game-Changers: Who Will Tip the Scales in the Clash Against Purdue?

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope hasn’t minced words about how he and his team are approaching Friday night’s Exhibition game against the Purdue Boilermakers, the Preseason No. 1 team in the AP Poll. If Kentucky is playing a game —even if it’s “just” an exhibition game —it matters. This is Kentucky Basketball, the gold standard of College Basketball.

“This is an incredibly important data collection moment for us, and it’s unbelievable that we get to do this against this Purdue team and Matt (Painter),” Pope said Thursday. “If he’s not the best coach in college basketball, he’s got to be right up there.”

Pope was asked whether this team would try to win this game Friday night rather than tinkering with lineups, and his answer was quick and direct.

“Yes. The answer is yes, especially with this group,” Pope said. “The group is just hard-wired that way.”

Purdue is ranked No. 1 for a reason. They brought back their top five scorers from last season, a season in which they nearly upset No. 1 seed and national runners-up Houston in the Sweet 16 —they lost on a last-second shot, 62-60. Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn form an elite scoring tandem, but don’t overlook third wheel Fletcher Loyer.

This is a Boilermakers’ team that is athletic and big. Again, this game doesn’t “count” in the standings, but it’s still a great opportunity for the Wildcats to see how their expectedly much more athletic team this season matches up with Preseason No. 1 Purdue.

“For us, you get this chance to go get this really in-depth look at who we are right now,” Pope said. “And so we’re going to take full advantage of that while doing everything we can to win, but still not leave anything on the table in terms of learning about ourselves.”

Let’s look at the Players to Watch on Purdue, Keys to the Game, and my Score Prediction for Friday night at Rupp Arena.

Purdue Players to Watch

1. No. 3: Braden Smith — 6-0, 170 lbs. Sr. Guard; Westfield, Ind. Westfield HS

2024-2025 Stats: 15.8 pts, 4.5 rebs, 313 ast.-109 TO, 78 stl, 42.5 FG%, 38.1 3-PT FG%, 83.3 FT%, 37 mpg

Last year’s Bob Cousy Award winner as the best point guard in the country, Smith had one of the top statistical seasons for a point guard in NCAA history in 2024-25, averaging 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game, while leading the team in minutes played (1,333) and 3-pointers made (83). Against Houston in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis, Smith had 15 assists to become the first player in NCAA Tournament history to have two games of at least 15 assists.

Over his first three seasons, Smith has compiled statistics that place him among Big Ten and college basketball legends. He enters his senior season needing just 125 points and 242 assists to become the first player in NCAA history with 1,500 points, 1,000 assists, and 500 rebounds for his career. He needs 318 assists to tie Bobby Hurley for the NCAA all-time assists record with 1,076. In addition, he is currently he only player in NCAA history with 1,300 points, 700 assists, and 500 rebounds in his first three seasons.

Smith holds the Big Ten record with 175 assists in conference play, set last season, surpassing the previous mark held by former Michigan State Spartan Cassius Winston.

In high school, Smith ended his career as Westfield’s all-time leader in points (1,629) and assists (453) and led Westfield to its first sectional title in 105 years. He is Westfield’s first Division I recruit in school history.

Braden’s mother, Ginny, was Arkansas’ Miss Basketball in 1997 and was Westfield’s girls’ high school coach from 2016 to 22.

Braden Smith is an elite point guard and college basketball player. Kentucky is going up against a player who will be in All-American and national player of the year conversations.

2. No. 4: Trey Kaufman-Renn — 6-9, 240 lbs. Sr. Forward; Sellersburg, Ind. Silver Creek HS

2024-2025 Stats: 20.1 pts, 6.5 rebs, 11 blk, 59.5 FG%, 3-7 3-PT FG, 64.8 FT%, 30.8 mpg

If Braden Smith is Batman, Trey Kaufman-Renn is Robin. Kaufman-Renn is a beast in the frontcourt, and he was the only player in America to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, and two assists per game, and became the third player in Big Ten history to average 20 points, six rebounds, two assists, and shoot at least 59 percent from the field (Zach Edey, Evan Eschmeyer).

A First-Team All-Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-American, Kaufman-Renn led the Big Ten with 19 20-point games and finished second in the Big Ten in scoring (league games only) by just four points behind Nebraska’s Brice Williams. In addition, his 292 field goals ranked first in the country. It’s the second straight season a Boilermaker has led the country in made field goals.

At Silver Creek High School, Kaufman-Renn set the school record with 1,832 points and was the Indiana Gatorade Player of the year as a Junior.

3. No. 2: Fletcher Loyer — 6-5, 180 lbs. Sr. Guard; Fort Wayne, Ind. Homestead HS

2024-2025 Stats: 13.8 pts, 2.1 rebs, 46.5 FG%, 44.4 3-PT FG%, 84.8 FT%, 31 mpg

Every dynamic duo needs a third wheel. That’s who Fletcher Loyer is, literally. Loyer led the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage at 44.4%.

Loyer has been an elite three-point shooter since high school, having won the national High School 3-point Championship in New Orleans following his senior year. In his senior year, when he won Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Loyer set the school’s single-season scoring record (726) while making 73 3-pointers and a school-record 179 free throws. He averaged 26.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, leading Homestead to the regional semifinal. He is the only player in Homestead history to have two seasons of 600 or more points.

Fletcher comes from a basketball family. His father, John, is a scout for the Los Angeles Clippers and also served as the Detroit Pistons’ interim coach in 2014. In addition, Loyer’s grandfather, Al McFarland, played for the Boilermakers in 1964, and his mother, Kate, was a standout athlete at McCutcheon and later served as an assistant coach with the Purdue volleyball program.

4. No. 0: C.J. Cox — 6-3, 195 lbs. So., Guard; Lexington, Mass.

2024-2025 Stats: 6 pts/gm., 2.8 rebs, 46.1 FG%, 39.8 3-PT FG%, 78.2 FT%, 18.6 mpg

Cox is quickly becoming a valuable player in the Boilermakers’ program. He started the last 23 games of his Freshman season, where he saw his averages increase to 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game in 21.5 minutes per game during Big Ten play. In addition, he was one of just three freshmen nationally to have at least 23 points, four rebounds, four steals, and five made 3-pointers in a game this season. He is the only Big Ten freshman to reach those marks in a single game in the last 20 years.

This is a player who is not afraid to take over a game. In just his fourth career game last season, with Purdue trailing No. 2-ranked Alabama by two points midway through the second half, he connected on three straight 3-pointers for a personal 9-0 run in just 52 seconds to propel Purdue to the victory.

5. No. 24: Gicarri Harris — 6-3, 210 lbs. So., Guard; Atlanta

2024-2025 Stats: 3.8 pts, 1.9 rebs, 39.1 FG%, 31% 3-PT FG, 92.6 FT%, 15 mpg

The son of 1994 National Player of the Year Glenn Robinson, who won it playing for Purdue, and a high school teammate of Dominique Wilkins’s son, Jacob, Gicarri Harris came to Purdue after becoming Grayson High School’s all-time leading scorer.

Harris had a career-high eight rebounds against High Point in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, and he had 11 points against Michigan in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

6. No. 34: Raleigh Burgess — 6-11, 245 lbs. So., Forward; Cincinnati Sycamore HS

2024-2025 Stats: 1.9 pts, 1.3 rebs, 53.5 FG%, 6-15 3-PT FG, 7-17 FT, 6.4 mpg

Burgess was the No. 4 player in Ohio according to 247Sports, averaging 15.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, and 1.5 assists for Sycamore as a senior. He has battled injuries throughout his high school and college career, but he brings versatility for a big man when healthy.

A top-75 national prospect by Rivals.com who received 19 offers, Burgess also graduated high school with a 4.20 GPA.

Head Coach: Matt Painter (21st Season, 471-215; 22nd Season Overall, 496-220) — 55 years old

Mark Pope had some high praise for Matt Painter at his Thursday press conference, and rightfully so.

“If he’s not the best coach in college basketball, he’s got to be right up there,” Pope said.

Leading the Boilermakers to the 2024 NCAA Tournament National Championship Game, Painter has also led the Boilermakers to a top-four seed in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments— the only school in the country with that streak. In that span, the Boilermakers have played in six Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights.

Painter is a five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, tied for second in Big Ten history with Bob Knight. He is also fourth in Big Ten history with 471 wins and 239 Big Ten wins.

Like Pope played for his alma mater at Kentucky, Painter played for his alma mater, Purdue, under Gene Keady. He is still No. 20 in assists at Purdue, and Painter played on three Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament teams.

As a head coach, Painter has two Big Ten Tournament Championships, two Elite Eights, eight Sweet 16s, 16 NCAA Tournaments, and he is the recipient of the 2019 NABC Coach of the Year.

Prior to Purdue, Painter was the head coach at Southern Illinois in the 2003-2004 season. The Salukis went to the NCAA Tournament in a season where they reached No. 15 in the AP Poll. He was an assistant at Eastern Illinois for five seasons, helping Bruce Weber’s team to the Sweet 16 in 2002 and another NCAA Tournament berth in 2003. Painter was also an assistant at Eastern Illinois from 1995 to 1998.

Keys to the Game

1. On-ball defense

Braden Smith’s 313 assists last season were just over half of Purdue’s 574 in 36 games. The Boilermakers’ 15.9 assists per game ranked 41st in the country.

It’s clear this Boilermakers’ team is one of the best ball-distributing teams in the country.

Kentucky, on the other hand, ranked outside the top 150 in the country in steals per game at just 6.9. With a more athletic team, that number beckons to increase this season.

Friday night will be a good test for this Wildcats team to see how well they can pressure the ball against arguably the best point guard in the country, Braden Smith.

2. Taking care of the ball

This is a key for every game. The Wildcats averaged 10.9 turnovers per game last season, while Purdue’s opponents averaged 11.6 turnovers per game. Playing without Jaland Lowe, taking care of the ball will be paramount for this entire Wildcats team, especially their young backcourt and backup point guards.

3. Rebounding

Kentucky was a terrific rebounding team in 2024-2025, averaging 38 per game. The problem was that the Wildcats also allowed 35.3 rebounds per game.

Purdue wasn’t a great rebounding team, but Kentucky can’t give Purdue extra possessions with an offense that can move the ball around and one that has three really good scorers on the floor for most of the game.

The Wildcats will need to impose their will on the glass to win this game.

4. Offensive Efficiency

Like rebounding, offensive efficiency was a strength of Kentucky’s in Mark Pope’s first season as the Wildcats’ head coach. Kentucky was No. 7 in the country with 84.4 points per game.

Purdue was No. 85 in the country at 77.3 points per game.

However, the Boilermakers’ defense allowed 70.4 points per game compared to Kentucky’s 77.2. That’s why offensive efficiency is so paramount on Friday night for the Wildcats. The Wildcats will not only need to keep up with Purdue’s offense, but they will also need to score efficiently against a good Purdue defense.

Score Prediction: Boilermakers 83 – Wildcats 76

I’m expecting this game to be really close, and it could be a fun, back-and-forth, competitive matchup between two teams that very well could meet again in the last weekend of March and the first weekend of April.

Playing without Jaland Lowe, though, could be problematic for the Wildcats going up against Braden Smith and an elite, experienced Purdue backcourt. Kentucky’s roster looks more athletic on paper, and Friday night will be the first on-court look against another opponent to see how much more athletic it really is.

I’m predicting Purdue to seal the game in the final few minutes with clutch shooting, but I’m also expecting the Wildcats to play a competitive, athletic game that will show that they are to be taken as serious Final Four and National Championship contenders. Again, it may be “just” an Exhibition game. But to Mark Pope and the Wildcats, this game does count.