Matt Painter Among Most Successful College Basketball in Last Decade
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Start talking about the best college basketball coaches still on the sideline and Matt Painter's name will undoubtedly pop up. The 20-year veteran has enjoyed tremendous success at Purdue, especially over the last decades.
If Purdue's recent play on the court hasn't been enough of an indicator for you, perhaps some of the latest stats from the men's basketball program will give you a different perspective.
Painter is one of just five coaches in college basketball who is averaging 25 wins per season over the last 10 years. He's in pretty good company, joining Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Bill Self (Kansas) and Tony Bennett (Virginia).
Bennett is the only one on that list no longer coaching, opting to retire prior to the start of the 2024-25 season.
Just 1-of-5 coaches nationally to average at least 25 wins over the last 10 seasons.
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) April 21, 2025
Few, Sampson, Self, Painter, Bennett.
That's the list. pic.twitter.com/Q97Y0S9Jxh
The last 10 seasons dates back to the 2015-16 college basketball season. In that span, Purdue has won four Big Ten regular season championships (2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024), a Big Ten Tournament title (2023) and has played in the NCAA Tournament every season (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Purdue has also reached the Sweet 16 six times, the Elite Eight twice and played in the National Championship Game in 2024.
Six different Boilermakers have also been selected in the NBA Draft dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season, as well. That list includes AJ Hammons (Dallas Mavericks, 2016), Caleb Swanigan (Portland Trail Blazers, 2017), Vince Edwards (Houston Rockets, 2018), Carsen Edwards (Philadelphia 76ers, 2019), Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons, 2022) and Zach Edey (Memphis Grizzlies, 2024).
Here's how Painter stacks up against the other four college basketball coaches mentioned:
- Few: 304-49 (.861) — 30.4 wins per season
- Sampson: 286-65 (.815) — 28.6 wins per season
- Self: 276-78 (.780) — 27.6 wins per season
- Painter: 259-90 (.742) — 25.9 wins per season
- Bennett: 228-72 (.760) — 25.3 wins per season
Painter and the Boilers are hoping to add to that success in the 2025-26 season. With Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer all returning and landing commitments from Omer Mayer (2025 recruit), Oscar Cluff (transfer) and Liam Murphy (transfer), Purdue has become the betting favorite to win the national championship in 2026.
Needless to say, expectations are sky high in West Lafayette entering the 2025-26 season. Purdue will have one of the top rosters in college basketball and they'll be coached by one of the best in the sport, as well.
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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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