Caleb Furst Makes Program History With Purdue's Win Over USC
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Caleb Furst has cemented his spot in the Purdue record books ... at least for now. On Friday night, the senior forward became the winningest player in program history after the seventh-ranked Boilermakers defeated USC 90-72 at Mackey Arena.
That victory marked the 111th victory for Purdue's senior class (Class of 2025), the most of any class in the history of the program. Furst is the only active senior on the roster for the Boilermakers this season.
Appropriately, Furst played a big part in Purdue's win Friday night. The senior ended the evening with nine points and 10 rebounds, coming up just one point shy of a double-double.
1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 8, 2025
A new standard for a senior class. pic.twitter.com/CGy55GLJu5
Although he didn't begin the year as a starter, Furst earned that role at the start of January. The Boilermakers are 10-1 since he entered the starting rotation, and he averaged 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game prior to Friday's matchup against USC.
"It's just an unbelievable accomplishment, we've got seven games remaining and he becomes the all-time winningest player in school history," coach Matt Painter said after the game. "It's one hell of an accomplishment."
With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament still ahead, Furst will likely only add to his career win total at Purdue.
Furst has been part of a lot of successful teams since his arrival in West Lafayette. Here's a breakdown of each team's season by year:
- 2021-22 (freshman): 29-8 — reached Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
- 2022-23 (sophomore): 29-6 — won Big Ten regular season title & Big Ten Tournament
- 2023-24 (junior): 34-5 — won Big Ten regular season & reached National Championship Game
- 2024-25 (senior): 19-5 — seven regular season games remaining
That's an awful lot of winning. It's an .822 winning percentage, to be exact.
Furst's record is unbelievably impressive. There's a good chance that his career total gets topped next season, especially if Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn all return. But, for now, Furst is the program's all-time wins leader.
It's a pretty cool feat.
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LOYER PRAISES FURST'S TOUGHNESS: Fletcher Loyer gave a lot of credit to Caleb Furst for his success in his senior season, saying he's been a huge reason why Purdue is a "great team" right now. CLICK HERE
KAUFMAN-RENN HAS BIG NIGHT VS USC: Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Purdue's 90-72 win over USC on Friday night, showing why he's one of the country's top big men. CLICK HERE
SMITH HITS THE EUROSTEP: Purdue guard Braden Smith put an impressive move on USC's Wesley Yates, finished off by a Eurostep, for an easy bucket in Friday night's game at Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
SMITH DEFENDS KAUFMAN-RENN: Purdue guard Braden Smith was quick to defend teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn after he was omitted from the list of 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Award. CLICK HERE
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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