Big Ten road openers have been a particular bugaboo for Purdue in recent years, with the Boilermakers dropping six of seven such games from 2018 to 2024.

This year, the Boilermakers solved that problem. Emphatically.

No. 1 Purdue went to Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Tuesday to play Rutgers and left with a zero-drama 81-65 victory that saw Braden Smith score 16 points and dish eight assists and Trey Kaufman-Renn add 19 points and 13 rebounds.

"Winning in the Big Ten on the road is very difficult," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "It's just trying to get your team ready to play and play for keeps. ... Just trying to find that consistency."

Fox Sports analyst Bill Raftery marveled at Purdue's teamwork and unselfishness throughout the game.

"That's what our expectatio

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