ANOTHER SWEET 16 appearance for the Purdue men’s basketball team: not bad for a rebuilding year.
If a team is to bow gracefully out of the NCAA tournament, Purdue’s valiant efforts against Houston were about as good as it gets—for a loss, that is. This season was so successful for many reasons but mostly because of three overachievers and the high level at which they performed.
It was poetic justice Purdue dispatched its round one and two opponents. The Boilermakers were picked by prognosticators to lose both games in “upset specials” but beat those double-digit seeds with relative ease, prompting those same soothsayers to then turn and say their path was easy.
Yet for all but a few seconds, they played right with the mighty Midwest No. 1 seeded Houston, and except for a couple of questionable no-calls late in the game should have had the opportunity to win. Instead, a brilliant under-the-basket in-bounds play called by Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson sealed the Boilers’ fate. Earlier this season, I warned Purdue fans not to expect last year’s team to show up. Temper your expectations, I warned. But this team found a way to be very good and overachieved all season.
When 7-foot, 4-inch center Daniel Jacobsen was injured in the second game of the season and Purdue lost its talented freshman rim protector for the year, I thought everything changed. With this offensive option gone, more was given to and expected from Trey Kaufman-Renn, backup to Zach Edey for the last two years. But the junior from Sellersburg, Indiana, excelled beyond anyone’s expectations all season and helped lead this team to the Sweet 16.
And what can you say about Braden Smith that hasn’t already been said? Coming into this season, big things were expected from Smith, highlighted by a preseason Big Ten Player of the Year nod. This 6-foot guard out of Westfield showed the entire world he can flat-out play basketball at a very high level. I always thought he would be a great college player but because of his height would never make it in the NBA. After his stellar play, all the ensuing accolades he earned, and the fact he should do nothing but get better over the next year, he’ll find himself a first-round pick in the NBA draft despite his size disadvantage.
Fletcher Loyer, who played a solid season, was a candidate for my third overachiever pick, but he must become a more consistent scorer every game. Even though he averaged over 13 points, he disappeared in several games, which burdened the team. Still, he deserves a nod as the most acrobatic driver and creative off-balance shooter I’ve seen—he must be hard to beat in “H-O-R-S-E.”
This leaves head coach Matt Painter as the final overachiever I want to spotlight. His decisions following the blowout loss to Auburn saved the Boilers’ year, plain and simple. Inserting senior Caleb Furst into the lineup for struggling second-year players Camden Heide and Myles Colvin gave the team more height and experience on the court but also allowed the two to develop without so much pressure. The results of this move paid off with great shooting and excellent defense by the pair late in the season and the tournament.
There is great hope for next season already. Despite Colvin, Camden Heide, Brian Waddell, and Will Berg heading for the portal, Purdue will be one of the best teams in the country when the 2026 season tips off.
