Gophers seek first win at Mackey Arena in nearly a decade

Can Minnesota make it two ranked wins in a row on Wednesday night against Purdue?

Dec 6, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) dribbles the ball during the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Minnesota will get its first chance at an encore performance after last week's upset win over No. 22 Indiana, when it travels to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face No. 6 Purdue on Wednesday night. Can the Gophers pick up their first win at Mackey Arena since Jan. 1, 2016?

How to watch/listen:

• Date/time: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 6:00 p.m. CT
• TV: Big Ten Network (BTN)
• Radio: KFAN FM 100.3

What you need to know about Purdue

The Boilermakers entered the season with insanely high expectations. They were the overwhelming preseason favorites to win the Big Ten, led by National Player of the Year favorite Braden Smith, and they had all of the traits of a serious national title contender as the preseason No. 1 team in the country.

Dec 6, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter looks at the court during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

All of those goals and aspirations remain, but they're coming off a shocking 81-58 loss at home against No. 10 Iowa State last Saturday, which was their first of the season. The Cyclones are a Final Four contender themselves, so the loss is not what's shocking; it's the 23-point blowout loss at one of the toughest places to play in the country that raises serious alarms for the entire college basketball world.

Subscribe: Sign up to receive the free Gophers On SI newsletter

Keys to the game

Barring an injury, Smith is nearly a lock to be an All-American selection at the end of the year, as one of the best point guards in the sport, but Purdue is much more than just him. There are very few teams in the country that can match up with their front-line of Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-foot-9), Oscar Cluff (6-foot-11) and Daniel Jacobson (7-foot-4). Purdue has been known for its size under Matt Painter, and this year's team is no different.

Prediction

I lean far more towards the way of thinking that the Boilermakers' blowout loss against Iowa State was an anomaly and that Minnesota should expect the best version of Purdue on Wednesday night. Don't let that game fool you, they still have a seven-point road win at Alabama, and a 30-point neutral site win over Texas Tech on their resume.

Nov 28, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) celebrates a basket during a timeout during the second half against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Purdue might be the worst matchup for Minnesota in the entire country, especially if Robert Vaihola is still out. The Gophers are already a smaller team with Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (6-foot-8) and Grayson Grove (6-foot-9) as their top frontcourt players last week against Indiana. The Boilermakers' frontline is a different animal. If Langston Reynolds has a great defensive effort against Smith, there's still leading scorer Fletcher Loyer to deal with.

Niko Medved proved nearly everyone wrong, myself included, against the Hoosiers. But I think Purdue is just too big, too skilled and too deep to lose two in a row at home.

Score: Purdue 84, Minnesota 65