Matt Painter Among Elite Big Ten Company After Reaching Latest Milestone
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Matt Painter reached another major milestone in his coaching career on Saturday night, one that only four other Big Ten coaches have achieved.
With Purdue's 78-57 road win over Iowa, Painter has now won 250 career Big Ten games. The only other three coaches to accomplish that feat in the conference are Michigan State's Tom Izzo (370 and counting), Indiana's Bob Knight (353) and Purdue's Gene Keady (265).
It's the second major milestone Painter has achieved this year. In Purdue's 97-79 victory over Akron in November, the longtime leader of the Boilermakers won his 500th career game as a college coach.
Painter is the second-longest tenured coach currently in the Big Ten, behind only Izzo. He took over at Purdue for the 2005-06 season following Keady's retirement after 25 seasons (1980-2005).
During his time in West Lafayette, Painter has led Purdue to five Big Ten regular season championships and two Big Ten Tournament titles. The Boilermakers have reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times, which includes eight Sweet 16 trips and one Final Four appearance.
With Purdue's win over Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night, the Boilermakers improved to 11-3 in Big Ten play. They have a difficult three-game homestand on the horizon, hosting No. 2 Michigan, Indiana, and No. 10 Michigan State.
Painter not concerned with individual accolades
Nobody asked Painter about his feelings on reaching 250 career Big Ten wins following Saturday night's game against Iowa. It's probably safe to assume that he'd have a similar response to when he hit 500 victories earlier this season, though.
Painter isn't focused on his individual achievements, at least at this point in his career.
"Right now, we have a really good team, and I'm trying to take in this win, not really the number of the win, but just take in the win. Painter said after Purdue's win over Akron. "I would think it's a big deal if it wasn't me, but it is me, so I don't think it's a big deal. I'm yet to see a really good coach with bad players. It's a player's game."
Painter's next major accomplishment will be hitting 500 career wins at Purdue. His 500 total victories also includes his lone season at Southern Illinois, where he went 25-5 during the 2003-04 season.
The Purdue coach has 492 wins with the Boilermakers. His 500th win will have to come at some point in the postseason.
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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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