1. Purdue (2-0)
Several reasons exist as to why Purdue is considered one of the national favorites this season, and a few of them are those returning stars in the lineup. Matt Painter has built something very special here and his trio of fourth-year seniors is a big reason for these high expectations. We’ll see the Boilermakers tested plenty of times in the Big Ten, but they got an unexpected challenge in the opening week of the season.
That challenge didn’t come on opening night, as Purdue did exactly what was needed in an 82-51 win over Evansville. Fletcher Loyer, one of those senior stars, had an explosive start to his season with a 30-point performance. Things were a bit choppy on Friday, as the Boilermakers held on for an 87-77 victory against Oakland, a game that was tied at the half and close until the end. Six Purdue players scored in double figures, including a 20-point, 7-rebound, 9-assist performance from star point guard Braden Smith.
It feels wrong to punish the Boilermakers for that performance against the Golden Grizzlies, a mid-major team that really pushed them for much of that game. The expectation is that this Purdue squad is veteran laden and has great chemistry, but the defense was lacking in that showdown. This team will need to seriously step up next week with a tough game at Alabama coming on Thursday night, but also a chance to prove that this really is the best team in the nation.
There hasn’t yet been much to see in this young college basketball season, but we’ve done our best to update these rankings based on how these top teams fared early. Do you agree with the rankings and who we’ve included or was someone else more worthy of inclusion?