Analyst weighs in on Purdue's natty chances with Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith returning: "Has a chance to do something special"

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith is not done yet with his college basketball career even after his stellar junior year. The 2025 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year announced on April 14, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello, that he is returning to coach Matt Painter's squad for a senior campaign in the 2025-26 season.

During a recent video on YouTube by CBS Sports College Basketball on Tuesday, May 27, college hoops analyst Jon Rothstein weighed in on the fact that Purdue's chances for a national championship next year are bolstered with the return of Smith. He first dived deep, though, on the potential Boilermakers roster next season as a whole.

"Given the fact that Purdue is going to return four starters, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, CJ Cox, Trey Kaufman-Renn, from a team that took Houston to the wire in the Sweet 16, and given the fact that Purdue added Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State and is going to get back Daniel Jacobsen at pivot, I like Purdue by a hair right at the top of my rankings over Houston," Rothstein said. (5:15)

"And, I firmly believe that two of those four returning players for Purdue, Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, will be First Team All-Americans to start next season. So, I am moving Purdue into the one hole. And, I think if you like at the storyline right now, Purdue, and I talked about this a couple of weeks ago, has a chance to do something special," he continued.

Rothstein then detailed what he thinks Purdue's chances next year are with the current collegiate basketball landscape.

"Really special, really special in a sense that Purdue lost at Lucas Oil Stadium to Houston in the Sweet 16 last March, has a chance to get back to that same venue to play in the Final Four. But, make no mistake about it, if the Cougars and if the Boilers, 1-2, in some fashion, I right now am giving Purdue the nod by a hair," Rothstein claimed. (6:05)

In this three stints with the Boilermakers thus far, Smith has become one of the premier floor generals in the game with averages of 12.5 points, 6.9 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest.

Braden Smith and the Purdue Boilermakers recently made the NCAA national title game in 2024

One advantage that Braden Smith, the Purdue Boilermakers, can bring to their national championship hopes in the 2025-26 season is the fact that they've gone all the way to the winner-take-all game back in 2024 already. Smith and Co. unfortunately ended up losing to the UConn Huskies in the 2024 NCAA national title game by 15 points, 75-60.

Smith and the rest of the Boilermakers are now seeking a return to that mountaintop, and hopefully, this time, they'd be able to take home Purdue's first-ever national championship. The 2024-25 Boilermakers finished with an overall record of 24-12, 13-7 during Big Ten conference play.