Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2019-2020 season

By Austin Walther

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 30: Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after being called for a foul against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at KFC YUM! Center on March 30, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 30: Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after being called for a foul against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at KFC YUM! Center on March 30, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

8) Purdue Boilermakers

The reason for putting Purdue ahead of Indiana comes down to coaching. And track record of the last five years. I know each season is different, but Purdue has been just so consistent since 2015. Matt Painter has missed the Tournament just three times in his tenure with the Boilermakers. That would be his first and then twice before this five-year run. They’ve been all over the place in seeding and this past year was his first ever elite eight, but don’t bet against Purdue just yet.

They lost four very good starters two seasons ago. Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline went on to shoot out of their minds, put Purdue right back at a three seed and come within a couple free throws of making the final four. Both are gone now. Cline used his senior year as his best season and Edwards declared and will more than likely stay. Obviously if he doesn’t, put Purdue in the top-three easily.

But right now I’m going off the feeling he will be in the NBA next season. The third guy leaving West Lafayette is long-time role player Grady Eifert. Those were the only three guys to start in all 36 games this past season. But there’s a lot of promise among the returning players. Painter kept a consistent rotation going among the other two starters and that created tons of depth. For a team that lost four key players, the Boilermakers grew their bench over the course of the season.

Purdue still won’t have a true point guard on the team, but there are a few options. The first guess would be to let former top-100 recruit Nojel Eastern take over. He’s a six-foot-six guard/forward that can’t shoot. Eastern did average 2.5 assists last year. Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter are shooting guards by trade, but at least they’re comfortable playing in the back court.

The front court on the other hand will be loaded. Matt Haarms was in a bit of a slump this past season after having a great freshman year. He ended up finishing third on the team in scoring and came up with over 70 blocks. He split the rebounding load with Aaron Wheeler who has some range to his shot and Trevion Williams who really emerged in the middle of the season. That’s a good start to go along with three top-220 recruits.

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