Anonymous Big Ten Coaches Explain Why Purdue is a Legitimate Title Contender
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Purdue may have endured a bumpy road at the end of the regular season, but a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament has people believing in the Boilers again. Are they legitimate contenders for the national championship, like so many people predicted in the preseason?
ESPN's Jeff Borzello asked a few Big Ten coaches for their insight on Purdue and whether or not this team is capable of making a championship run in the NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers had lost four of their last six games in the regular season and posted a 6-7 record in their final 13 contests. But winning the Big Ten Tournament last week proved that Purdue still has the talent to make a strong push in March.
"Fletcher [Loyer], Braden [Smith] and [Trey] Kaufman-Renn are playing like it's March," one Big Ten coach told ESPN. "They're seniors, they're playing with a different sense of urgency. They knew they weren't playing well."
Perhaps the biggest hero of the Big Ten Tournament was Oscar Cluff, Purdue's transfer center, who had struggled with consistency in the latter portion of the schedule. He was dominant in Chicago, averaging 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Another anonymous Big Ten coach said that Cluff's improved play in the post, along with Purdue's plethora of three-point shooters, makes the Boilermakers a difficult team to beat in the tournament.
"Oscar Cluff has stepped up big time," an assistant coach told ESPN. "[C.J.] Cox has stepped up late in his sophomore year, gives them another perimeter shooter next to Loyer. He can help space the floor. The blueprint on Braden Smith is to send two at him, try to get the ball out of his hands, or try to make him a scorer. But if Loyer is banging shots, you've got Cluff and Kaufman-Renn around the rim, Cox can bang shots.
"All of a sudden, if you want to put two on Smith, you've got shotmakers and they're playing four on three, and when they're making shots, they're really hard to guard."
Clark Kellogg picked Purdue to win it all
Purdue showed a lot of fight and vigor during its four-day run to a Big Ten Tournament title at the United Center last week. As a result, college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg picked the Boilermakers to win the national championship in Sunday's Selection Show on CBS.
"[Purdue is] finding its rhythm and mojo. They look like a team that could very well have a storybook ending by getting to Indianapolis," Kellogg said. "It's just about 60 miles from campus in Indianapolis; they get it done."
The Boilermakers last had a shot at a national title in 2024, reaching the National Championship Game for the first time since 1969. They fell short, though, losing to UConn 75-60.
Could this be the year the Boilers break through and bring a title to West Lafayette?
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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