Purdue needed a win in the worst way. Entering Sunday's game against Maryland, the 12th-ranked Boilermakers had suffered three straight losses, putting them two games back in the race for a Big Ten title.
Purdue has had just one McDonald's All-American player commit to the program under coach Matt Painter. That could change this year, though, as all four members of the Boilermakers' 2026 recruiting class have been listed as nominees this year.
Purdue snapped out of its funk in a big way in College Park on Sunday. The 12th-ranked Boilermakers walked into the Xfinity Center and took care of Maryland without much issue, defeating the Terrapins 93-63.
Before the 2025-26 season tipped off, Purdue was penciled in as a strong candidate to have the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. Now, as February approaches, the Boilermakers are 17-4 on the season and are trying to keep themselves in position to earn a top-four seed for March Madness.
For the fourth time in its last five games, Purdue is back on the road. The Boilermakers travel to College Park this weekend for a matchup against Maryland.
The chatter about Purdue's recent slide has gotten louder, but Braden Smith says it's Purdue's job to block out the noise. After suffering a third straight loss on Tuesday night, he knows the Boilermakers have critics, but said the outside noise doesn't have an impact on the locker room.
Things have really slipped away from Purdue over the last two weeks. The Boilermakers have dropped three straight games, which include a road loss to Indiana in Assembly Hall on Tuesday.
Jaxson Davis, the top prospect out of Illinois in the 2027 class and the state's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2025, has scheduled an unofficial visit to Purdue.
Purdue still has to go through spring practices, summer workout and fall camp before kicking off the 2026 season. In other words, the official start of Barry Odom's second season is still several months away.
Tuesday night was another disappointing one for Purdue. The 12th-ranked Boilermakers dropped their third straight game, falling 72-67 to arch-rival Indiana.
Katie Gearlds hit a career milestone on Sunday after leading Purdue to an 80-69 victory over Indiana at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers leader secured her 300th career victory as a head coach, though it was not something she paid attention to before or after the game.
College basketball's best rivalry adds a new chapter on Tuesday night, as No. 12 Purdue heads to Bloomington to take on Indiana. The Boilermakers are hoping to snap a two-game losing skid, while the Hoosiers are looking for their first marquee win of the season.
Reese Alston, one of the top prospects in the 2027 recruiting class, took an official visit to Purdue over the weekend. The 6-foot-2 guard was on campus on Saturday, Jan.
Purdue dropped another heartbreaker on Saturday. Just a few days after losing a 69-67 game to UCLA, the Boilermakers fell to Illinois 88-82 inside Mackey Arena, falling to 7-2 in the Big Ten standings.
Future Purdue guard Luke Ertel continues to turn heads at the high school level. This week, the 2026 Boilermaker signee was named to the Naismith Trophy Boys High School Player of the Year Midseason Team, along with 24 other players across the country.
Matt Painter likes to tell his players, "We can't rebound your turnover," putting a heavy emphasis on taking care of the basketball. It's a message that sophomore guard C.J.
Death, taxes, and Trey Kaufman-Renn. According to Purdue basketball fans, those are the three undeniables for life in and around the West Lafayette campus.
If two schools were ever considered the most intertwined in college basketball lore, Purdue and UCLA would have a strong case. The most decorated head coach in NCAA history, John Wooden, had deep-seated ties to both schools.