Preview: Purdue's Season Opener vs. Evansville

• What: Non-conference game/Regular season opener
• Date: Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025
• Tipoff time: 6:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. (14,876 capacity)
• TV: Big Ten Network
• App: FOX Sports
• TV announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst)
• Radio: Purdue Global Radio Network — WAZY 96.5 FM (Lafayette); WKJG 100.9 FM (Fort Wayne); WNDE 1260 AM (Indianapolis); WGBF 1280 (Evansville); View all listings: CLICK HERE
• Radio announcers: Rob Blackman (play-by-play), Bobby Riddell (analyst), Wes Scott (producer).
• Series history: Purdue leads the all-time series vs. Evansville 9-5.
• Last meeting: Evansville defeated Purdue 75-69 on Dec. 3, 2005.

Rankings

Purdue Boilermakers

• Associated Press — Purdue is ranked No. 1
• Coaches — Purdue is ranked No. 1
• KenPom — Purdue is ranked No. 3
• NET — Not available

Evansville Purple Aces

• Associated Press — Evansville is not ranked
• Coaches — Evansville is not ranked
• KenPom — Evansville is ranked No. 248
• NET — Not available

Key Players

Evansville Purple Aces

• Connor Turnbull, F — Turnbull is the top returning player on Evansville's roster. He's known for his work on the defensive end, averaging 1.9 blocks per game last season and earning the Missouri Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Year award at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. The 6-foot-10 forward also averaged 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last year for the Purple Aces. Turnbull can cause problems on the interior on both ends of the court.

• Keishon Porter, G — At 6-foot-5, Porter is a bigger guard with great athleticism and a player who can use his explosiveness to his advantage. He transferred into Evansville after spending the past two seasons at North Carolina Center, where he averaged 10.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest. He has high-flying ability and can push the ball in transition, where he can really utilize his athleticism.

• Alex Hemenway, G — Hemenway is another transfer portal addition to Evansville's roster, one that brings elite three-point shooting ability to the team. The 6-foot-4 guard played at both Clemson and Vanderbilt before transferring to Evansville in the offseason. In his career, he's shooting 42.9% from long range with 124 makes to his name.

• Joshua Hughes, F — Last season, Hughes' production improved on both ends of the floor. Averaging nearly 30 minutes per game, he averaged 7.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game. He used his 6-foot-10 frame to his advantage on the defensive end, really attacking the glass and contesting shots at the rim.

Purdue Boilermakers

• Braden Smith, G — Smith is considered the top point guard in college basketball, coming off a year in which he averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He was last year's Big Ten Player of the Year and the winner of the Bob Cousy Award. Smith is one of the best playmakers in the sport, getting his teammates the ball in opportunistic scoring spots, and he can also take over a game with his shot. Smith is also one of the top defenders in college basketball, creating turnovers with pressure and jumping into passing lanes to get Purdue into transition.

• Trey Kaufman-Renn, F — The senior forward might have been the most improved player in the country last year, averaging 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting at a 59.5% clip. Kaufman-Renn is one of the most physical players in the country and has a variety of post moves that are impossible to defend. He's also perfected his floater, one of the tougher shots to make consistently.

• Fletcher Loyer, G — Loyer is a sharp-shooter who has been lethal from three-point range throughout his career in West Lafayette. Over the past two seasons, he's knocked down the long ball at a 44.4% clip, one of the top percentages in the country. Loyer has also gotten more aggressive with the ball in his hands, taking it to the basket and either finishing plays or drawing contact.

• Daniel Jacobsen, C — Jacobsen played in just two games for Purdue last season, but has returned to full strength and looks like a player who has already made a sophomore leap in two exhibition games. His 7-foot-4 frame provides Purdue with rim protection on the defensive end, and he's a major lob threat offensively. He wasn't the starting center for the Boilermakers in those exhibition contests, but he logged plenty of minutes off the bench.

The Coaches

David Ragland, Evansville

Ragland enters his fourth season at the helm of Evansville, taking over the program ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. Although the Aces have not posted a winning record in that span, they have improved their standing in the Missouri Valley Conference each season, finishing 12th in 2023, 10th in 2024, and eighth last year.

Before being named the head coach at Evansville, Ragland spent two seasons coaching at Vincennes University, which plays at the NJCAA level. In those two years, the Blazers posted a 44-19 record. After two seasons, he then took an assistant coaching job at Indiana State, where he stayed from 2010-14.

Ragland then had stops at Bowling Green (2014-15), Northern Kentucky (2015-16), Valparaiso (2016-18), Utah State (2018-21), and Butler (2021-22). He's had several coaching stops, spending plenty of time within Indiana's state borders.

As a player, Ragland spent his first two collegiate seasons at Missouri Southern (1999-2001) and transferred to Southern Indiana (2001-03). He immediately jumped into coaching after his career concluded at USI.

• Overall record: 33-66
• Record at Evansville: 33-66

Matt Painter, Purdue

Painter is in his 21st season at Purdue and his 22nd year overall with the Boilermakers. In that time, he's led the program to five Big Ten regular season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, and a trip to the National Championship Game in 2024.

A lot of Purdue's success has come in the last decade, with the Boilers adding four Big Ten championships to their collection since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Painter has had four different players win the Big Ten Player of the Year Award five times: JaJuan Johnson (2010), Caleb Swanigan (2017), Zach Edey (2023, 2024), and Braden Smith (2025).

Painter is a Purdue alum, playing under legendary coach Gene Keady from 1989-93. After his playing career ended, he jumped right into coaching, working as an assistant at Washington & Jefferson (Division III) and Barton (Division II) before getting a job at Eastern Illinois (1995 to 1998). Painter then joined former Purdue assistant coach Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois as an assistant from 1998 through 2003. Painter then became head coach of the Salukis for the 2003-04 season.

In 2004, Painter returned to Purdue as the associate head coach alongside Keady before taking over the program for the 2005-06 season.

• Overall record: 496-220
• Record at Purdue: 471-215

Preview

Let's get the obvious out of the way — Purdue enters Tuesday's game with the superior talent and a roster built to win a Big Ten championship and make a Final Four run. Sometimes, these matchups can be tough to "preview," especially with a team like Evansville, which welcomes nine new players into its program.

What will be worth watching is the play of Purdue's big men, particularly Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn. During the two exhibition games, Cluff struggled to find a rhythm, and Kaufman-Renn missed several floaters that he normally makes. Was that simply a product of a lack of time on the court together? Was Cluff thinking too much, still trying to figure out Purdue's system?

Evansville's interior won't make life easy for Purdue's bigs on Tuesday. Connor Turnbull is a 6-foot-10 forward who was the Missouri Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Year last season. Joshua Hughes is another 6-foot-10 forward who contests shots on the interior. Combined, the two averaged 3.0 blocks per game for the Purple Aces. It's a good challenge for Cluff, Kaufman-Renn, and 7-foot-4 sophomore Daniel Jacobsen, especially in a season opener.

Not only does Purdue have a size and talent advantage, but it also has tremendous perimeter shooters. Fletcher Loyer and Gicarri Harris were both outstanding from behind the three-point line during exhibition play, and Braden Smith and CJ Cox are capable of knocking down shots from distance, too.

The only other question the Boilermakers face on Tuesday night is how well they defend Evansville's Keishon Porter, an explosive 6-foot-5 guard who transferred from North Carolina Central. He's an athletic player who can get to the rim and throw it down. Purdue struggled with athleticism against Kentucky, though the Purple Aces don't have that same level of athleticism across the roster like the Wildcats.

Tuesday's game may not be the most attractive matchup on paper, but there are a few things to keep an eye on throughout the evening.