Talking Purdue Fan Day Scrimmage, Exhibition vs. Kentucky on Boiler Banter Podcast
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The start of the Purdue basketball season is just around the corner. What better way to prepare for the upcoming exhibition game than taking a look back at Saturday's Fan Day, which included three 12-minute scrimmages, providing fans with their first glimpse of the 2025-26 Boilermakers.
On this edition of the Boiler Banter Podcast, host Dustin Schutte of Purdue Boilermakers on SI brings in Kraig Bowers of Boilers in the Stands to discuss Saturday's Fan Day scrimmages. Bowers highlights some of his key takeaways. as well as what players stood out from the afternoon at Mackey Arena.
Bowers is high on the energy and rebounding ability that transfer center Oscar Cluff brings to the team:
Cluff transferred to Purdue after spending last season at South Dakota State, where he averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was a primary target in the transfer portal for coach Matt Painter and the Boilermakers shortly after the 2024-25 campaign ended.
Bowers and Schutte also discuss the improvements made by sophomore guards CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris, as well as the play of freshmen guards Omer Mayer and Antione West Jr. The full podcast episode is below:
Purdue's upcoming exhibition vs. Kentucky
Also discussed in the podcast is the upcoming exhibition game between top-ranked Purdue and No. 9 Kentucky, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET and the game will air on SEC Network.
Schutte and Bowers discuss the possibility of Painter tinkering with lineup options, as the Boilermakers have a variety of rotations available at their disposal.
Plus, with this being an exhibition game featuring a pair of top-10 teams, is this one of the most hype preseason matchups we've ever seen in college basketball? It has to be near the top.
Shoutout to Purdue volleyball
After putting the finishing touches on the basketball conversation, Schutte and Bowers close out this episode of the Boiler Banter Podcast by shouting out the Purdue volleyball program.
Despite losing All-Big Ten players in Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine, Dave Shondell has assembled a roster that has competed at an extremely high level. After Sunday's win over Rutgers, Purdue improved to 15-3 on the season and Shondell won his 500th career match.
The Boilermakers have been one of the most surprising teams in college volleyball this season, and there's still plenty of matches left to turn heads across the country.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
PURDUE SCRIMMAGE STATS: Purdue held Fan Day on Saturday, which included three 12-minute intrasquad scrimmages. Here are the final numbers from the afternoon at Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
PAINTER NOT BUDGING ON RECRUITING PHILOSOPHY: Purdue's recent success opens the program up to landing better recruits. But Matt Painter says he doesn't want "better players," he wants the "same people." CLICK HERE
BRADEN SMITH'S RIDICULOUS PASS: Braden Smith dished out a ridiculous behind-the-back pass for an easy Oscar Cluff dunk at Purdue's Fan Day on Saturday. Fans went wild over the insane play. 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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