Matt Painter is Closing in on 500 Career Wins — How Soon Could He Reach It?

One of the best coaches in college basketball is knocking on the door of a major career milestone. Purdue's Matt Painter is closing in on his 500th career victory, a total he will undoubtedly reach during the 2025-26 season.

Entering his 22nd season as a head coach, Painter has 496 wins, needing just four victories to hit the 500-win benchmark. 471 of those victories have come as the head coach at Purdue.

Painter was also the head coach at Southern Illinois for the 2003-04 season, posting a 25-5 record.

Obviously, Painter could hit the 500-win mark if Purdue wins its first four games. The Boilermakers will open the year with games against Evansville (Nov. 4), Oakland (Nov. 7), Alabama (Nov. 13), and Akron (Nov. 16).

The most likely game Purdue would drop in that window is the Nov. 13 trip to Tuscaloosa. If the Boilermakers lost that game, Painter's next chance to hit 500 career wins would come against Memphis in the Baha Mar Championship.

If the Boilers lost to Alabama and went 0-2 in the Bahamas, Painter would then have an opportunity to reach 500 wins in a home game against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 28. However, that feels like the absolute worst-case scenario.

Painter will undoubtedly hit 500 career wins this season, and everyone in West Lafayette is hoping to celebrate that accomplishment as soon as possible.

Painter could hit 500 Purdue wins, too

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter leads a team huddle | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There's also a chance Painter could hit 500 wins at Purdue this season, though it would take some time to hit that milestone. In 20 seasons, he has compiled a 471-215 record in West Lafayette. He needs 29 wins to reach 500 wins while at the helm of the Boilermakers.

The earliest Painter could hit that mark is a game against Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday, March 1. Purdue would have to enter that game with a perfect 28-0.

After that game, Purdue travels to Northwestern (March 4) and hosts Wisconsin (March 7) to close out the season. The Boilermakers would then play in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

For those curious about the possibility of Purdue hitting 29 wins during the 2025-26 season, the Boilers have won at least 29 games three times in the last four seasons. They reached that mark every year from the 2021-22 season through the 2023-24 campaign.

Last year, Purdue was 24-12 and reached the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

There's a very good chance we see Painter hit both 500 wins for his career and at Purdue in the same season.

Painter could hit 500 Purdue wins, too

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