In the first half, defense was optional. In the second, it was just optional for Rutgers.

No. 18 Purdue (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten) buried Rutgers 100-71 (14-16, 7-12) under a barrage of 3s well before the final whistle was blown. In fact, the shooting reached historic levels for two of the Boilermakers' most accurate launchers. The performance added up to a festive senior night, which forward Caleb Furst had all to himself.

Player stats below, with ratings to follow:

Something got into Smith tonight. Really, something's been up the last two games.

Smith's last two outings, against UCLA and Rutgers, have included two of the guard's top three games all season in made 3s. He knocked in seven Tuesday night, starting with a flurry in the mid-first half.

In that stretch he pulled up three times in quick succession, looking more confident with each make. His third gave Purdue a lead it wouldn't relinquish, in part because of Smith's four more, of course.

Those pesky three turnovers are the only smudge.

Loyer was hot before he exited briefly in the first half with an ankle injury, but returned shortly after with few signs of wear. He was among the most festive at Purdue's 3-point party, combining with Smith to become the only duo in Purdue history to make at least seven 3s in a game.

Rutgers had no one who could influence Kaufman-Renn's shot, as the junior took his pick of left-handed hook shots or right-handed kisses off the glass with a spin.

His playing time was light as Purdue's need for him waned, but he stepped up in his 26 minutes for laughably efficient scoring but also something potentially more important: eight rebounds. That total on the glass was his second-highest in Big Ten-play.

Had the unenviable task of chasing top-five NBA Draft pick Dylan Harper around, but did his job to hold the star under his 19-point average.

Furst's senior night couldn't have gone much better, both for the team but also for Furst himself.

The senior's role, which has come to include precious little scoring output, must include high rebounding output, consistent defense and an eye for the open man. Check, check and check Tuesday night: he contributed nine rebounds, two assists and held his own down low.

He even collaborated with Smith for one of the fan favorite moments of the night, when the point guard tossed Furst an alley-oop in transition.

Drained his first two 3s, had no luck afterward from deep. But the sophomore drove some and used his hops to secure a couple difficult rebounds.

Matt Painter said Monday that Colvin's played himself into the sixth man role alongside Camden Heide; he did nothing to hurt his cause Tuesday.

Matt Painter's preferred option against Rutgers star Ace Bailey, what he lacks in size compared to Furst (three inches) he makes up for in vertical leap.

Harris' contributions to Purdue's decibel meter were out of the ordinary Tuesday night: He drilled an and-one 3 from the elbow in the mid-first half and threw down in transition in the late-second half. It added up to 11 points.

Scored a putback in the mid-second half to go along with a rare steal in the first half. He's still too great a risk to foul to do much down low or set screens like Kaufman-Renn, but his seven minutes in the blowout finally let him play long enough to work up a sweat in conference play.

Berg, Purdue's per-minute darling since the Zach Edey days, scored 4 in five minutes in mop-up duty.

The exercise here aims to answer a question that goes something like, "How well did a player take advantage of the opportunities they were given?"

During the game, I focus most of my attention on watching defensive reps, box-outs, offensive movement/involvement, and non-assist passing. I'll add all the off-ball value to these grades that my eyes can catch.

Late game heroics earn bonus points, and the opposite is true for important errors. Oh, and this isn't a science. Have some fun telling me how wrong I am once in a while.

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