Even in Victory, Matt Painter Lauds Michigan For Impressive Season

The Purdue Boilermakers upset the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament final on Sunday, with Matt Painter's team coming out on top by a score of 80-72.

Painter is known for going into great depth in his postgame press conferences in victory or defeat, and that was no different after Sunday's game in Chicago.

When a reporter made a comment in his question to the Purdue head coach about the Boilermakers being Big Ten champions, Painter reminded everyone that the Wolverines won the regular season Big Ten crown and were the best team in the conference over a course of 20 games.

Feb 20, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter reacts to a call during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The longtime Boilermaker head coach further went on to commend Dusty May's team for the season they had overall heading into the NCAA Tournament this weekend.

Painter on Michigan's season

Painter, of course commented on how happy he was for his team in the improvements they have made as of late after going through a bit of a rough stretch during the Big Ten regular season, which led to the team earning just the No. 7 seed in the tournament over the weekend.

In the same token, Painter praised Michigan for the accomplishments the Wolverines have attained to this point.

"More than anything, we didn't have the regular season, Big Ten regular season that we wanted," said Painter. "Michigan is the Big Ten champs, by the way. We're the tournament champs, right? What you do in 20 games and go 19-1 and go 10-0 on the road, you've got to give respect.
That's big time. That rarely is going to happen.

"So being able to win four games doesn't mirror winning 19 games out of 20, even though it's impressive. Our guys are doing great. We're playing well at the right time. It helped us get a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, there's a lot of great things. But you can't take that away. One of the hardest things to do is to win the regular season. We've had the number one attendance in the country as a conference since 1976. It speaks volumes. We go into real venues and packed houses, and it's difficult. Give Michigan their just due with that."

Roddy Gayle Jr. dribbles — Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) dribbles against Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton (2) during the first half of Big Ten tournament quarterfinal at United Center in Chicago on Friday, March 13, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Painter, who has been the head coach at Purdue since the 2005-06 season, is one of the most respected coaches in the sport amongst his peers and has won nearly 70% of his games.

For a coach of his stature to stand at the podium after a win and give kudos to what the Wolverines have done so far this season speaks volumes to how impressive they have been overall.