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 visit 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.

Kaufman-Renn had his fourth double-double in six games since returning to the lineup following an early-season hip injury.

The Boilers moved to 8-0 for the seventh time since 1939 and took an early step toward what they hope will be a record 27th Big Ten regular-season title.

Purdue led 20-9 in the early going, but Rutgers hi

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