Oscar Cluff (45) of Purdue and Avantae Parker of Queens University battle for the ball during the first half of the teams’ first-round NCAA Men’s Tournament game at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.
Jamie Squire
Getty Images
ST. LOUIS
Purdue surely needed no reminders about the danger of lovable underdogs the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament after getting bounced by No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023, and 15th-seeded St. Peter’s in 2022.
But just in case there was any chance the second-seeded, heavily favored Boilermakers figured they would coast against No. 15 seed Queens University in their opener Friday night at the Enterprise Center, Duke’s near-loss to Siena and Wisconsin’s loss to High Point the day before provided wake-up calls.
Queens stayed within striking distance for most of the first half, but Purdue began to pull away by halftime, dominated the second half and crushed the Royals’ upset dreams, 104-71, to advance to the second round.
Purdue went on a 17-2 run early in the second half to stretch its lead to 27 points and Queens could not match the Boilermakers’ sharpshooting, physicality and rebounding.
Avantae Parker (6) of Queens University drives to the basket against Oscar Cluff of Purdue during the teams’ NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first-round game at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. Jamie Squire Getty Images
“Congratulations to Queens for a fabulous season,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “I don’t think people realize the transition you have to make going from Division II to Division I, being able to get in the tournament as quick as they have. It really speaks to their staff, their players. It’s really hard to do. Give them credit.”
Obviously today was our day and we shot the ball really well and our guys were very efficient. I thought we did a good job of rebounding, outside of getting a little sloppy there at the end.”
Queens coach Grant Leonard, known for his holiday sweaters, wore a green one decorated with the American flag and shamrocks, but the Royals’ luck ran out.
“There was a reason why they’re preseason number one,” Leonard said of the Boilermakers. “They’re pretty dang good. They played fantastic. Thought the offensive rebounding really broke us in the second half, broke the game open for them and then the second-chance threes kind of put it over the top.
“Really proud of our team, our school, our community and all that we accomplished this year and how we represented the entire institution, the Atlantic Sun and everything that we did. It was an unbelievable season. Usually only one team ends happy, but our guys can hang their head high.”
Queens University Head Coach Grant Leonard claps for his team during a NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first-round game against Purdue at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. Jamie Squire Getty Images
The Boilermakers shot 63 percent from the floor and 58 percent from distance (14-of-24). They outrebounded the Royals 41-19 and outscored Queens 20-11 on second-chance points.
The Royals came out with great energy and trailed by just five with three minutes left in the half before Purdue created separation with a 10-0 run to take a 15-point lead. Queens guard Chris Ashby, a grad student from Houston, sank a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to close the gap to 45-33.
The Royals never got any closer.
The loudest moment of the night came at the 12-minute mark when Purdue’s bench and its huge contingent of yellow and black clad fans erupted as senior point guard Braden Smith made history with his 1,077th career assist, breaking the 33-year-old NCAA record set in 1993 by Duke’s Bobby Hurley. Smith got the record on a dish to Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Before the game, Queens coach Grant Leonard said of Smith: “He is inspiring; he is the smartest player in the country basketball IQ-wise. He’s one of the five toughest players in America. That doesn’t include the skill, the passing, how he makes his teammates better. He is a special young man, and the respect I have for him is infinite.”
Braden Smith (3) of Purdue works toward the basket against Avantae Parker of Queens University during the first half of the teams’ first-round NCAA Men’s Tournament game at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. Jamie Squire Getty Images
Smith had 15 points and five assists by halftime and finished the night with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting and a game-high eight assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn put up 25 for Purdue and Oscar Cluff had nine points, five assists and four blocks.
Nasir Mann and Jordan Watford led Queens with 10 points apiece. Watford had six assists and Mann had five.
Despite being eliminated from the tournament, Leonard and his players reflected on the Royals’ special season.
“More than just the tournament and the winning, they were amazing to be around because of the leadership,” he said of his players. “Starts with Nas as our vocal leader. Chris Ashby as our lead by example guy. Gus Larson is our lead-from-behind and pick-guys-up as they’re struggling. Jordan is an unbelievable developing leader.
“But this group was so fun. The unique personalities, the quirkiness, all the things, it was just an amazing group to coach and proud that I could be a part of it.”
Maban Jabriel of Queens University dunks the ball during the second half against Purdue during the teams’ NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first-round game at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. Jamie Squire Getty Images
Watford added: “Obviously we’re blessed to be here. Anybody would love here to get to March Madness. Some people play college ball and never touch March Madness. Just obviously being the smallest school in the tournament, even being in Charlotte, North Carolina I feel like we showed, no matter the size of the school or nothing, like there’s hoopers everywhere and I feel like we really showed that from all the way through the ASUN Conference all the way to here.
“Even though we lost, like G said in the locker room we fought hard to the end. And I feel like you can’t ask for more than that for a small school. Just show fight and that’s what we did.”
Purdue was a top two seed for the third time in four years and aiming for its second Final Four in three seasons, while Queens, the small, private school from Charlotte, was making its March Madness debut.
Queens became a media darling and fan favorite after Selection Sunday as Leonard let the nation in on his colorful holiday sweater collection and the team’s unofficial mascot, “Buddy,” the two-foot ceramic German Shepherd who embodies the Royals’ street dog mentality.
But Purdue entered the game as a 25.5-point favorite and highly motivated to reach the Final Four in Indianapolis, an hour and a half drive from campus.
Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) of Purdue attempts a layup against Carson Schwieger of Queens University during the first half of the teams’ first-round NCAA Men’s Tournament game at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. Jamie Squire Getty Images
The Boilermakers had the nation’s second-ranked offense, per KenPom, and ranked No. 38 on defense and No. 8 overall. Queens ranked 182 overall, 78th on offense and 319th on defense, which is lowest in the tournament field.
Nevertheless, Painter said in his pre-game interview he was not taking anything for granted.
“Got a lot of respect for the low to mid-major teams out there that have to win three or four games in a row to get here,” he said. “That’s got to be a tough world. I have been in that world. Got a lot of respect for Queens and what they have been able to do. They can really, really score. They are well coached and it’s going to be a tough game for us.”
Leonard was equally effusive about Painter.
“Coach Painter is a model of what coaching should be, how he directs that program, how he leads, how he develops players,” Leonard said. “He is special. This is one of the top five programs in the last decade, and it is a huge challenge for our program.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 10:08 PM.
Miami Herald
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.