After Falling Short of Regular Season Goals, Purdue Focused on Making Runs in March

Purdue's season didn't go according to plan. Entering the 2024-25 campaign, the Boilermakers had goals of winning a third straight Big Ten championship and proving they were still the team to beat in the conference. It didn't end that way.

With an 88-80 loss to Illinois on Friday, Purdue closed out the regular season with a 21-10 record and a 13-7 mark in Big Ten play. The Boilers finished tied for fourth in the league standings (Wisconsin, UCLA) but will have the No. 6 seed when the Big Ten Tournament starts on Wednesday.

For Purdue's veteran-most players — Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn — it's been a disappointing year.

"We try to sleep, but you can't, and then you go back and do the same work you've been doing," Loyer said. "You just look in the mirror and say, 'What can I be doing better for this team? How can I help this team make a run in March?'"

The regular season is now in the rearview mirror. There's nothing Purdue can do about winning a Big Ten championship. But the slate is wiped clean, and the Boilermakers now have opportunities to win a conference tournament championship and make a deep run in March.

That gives the Boilers a little added motivation this season.

"Winning the Big Ten was our goal for this regular season. It's always our goal," Kaufman-Renn said. "The fact that we didn't accomplish that, it gives us that much more motivation for March."

At one point in the season, Purdue appeared to be on a path to win its third straight regular season crown. From Jan. 2 through Feb. 7, the Boilermakers had won 10-of-11 conference games and owned an 11-2 league record. They sat atop the league standings.

Then, the Boilers played their toughest stretch of opponents in February and March. Purdue lost consecutive games to Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Indiana, dropping out of the conference race.

Wins over UCLA and Rutgers got Purdue back on the right track, but it closed out the regular season with an 88-80 loss to Illinois. The Boilermakers ended the year losing five of their last seven games.

So, yeah, there's a chip on their shoulders entering the Big Ten Tournament.

"You go into every game with a thought to win. Obviously, last year was a little bit different because we knew we were one of the top-two teams in the country. We were just so looking forward to the NCAA Tournament," Loyer said.

"This year, we're not as good as we were last year. So, we've got to go out with a chip on our shoulder and prove to ourselves that we're better than all these teams."

The greatest beauty of college basketball in March is also what causes the most pain. From this point forward, it's a one-game season for everyone. First, it comes in the Big Ten Tournament. Then, it's the NCAA Tournament.

While you might think Purdue is a little rattled by how the season ended, it's actually embracing the circumstances ahead over the next two weeks. It gives the Boilers a chance to still accomplish some of the goals it set out to achieve before the season started.

"I enjoy that. I enjoy the extra pressure, extra motivation. I enjoy all of those things," Kaufman-Renn said. "Hopefully, it's a confidence boost for all the guys."

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