13. Purdue (7-2)
November saw the Boilermakers start to prove that this is a fantastic program, and not one that will fade away with Zach Edey gone from West Lafayette. It was a month where they won a holiday tournament and got a huge home win over Alabama, but it was just the first month of the season. We’re still in the early stages of that season and this last week helped us make a few other assumptions about this team.
Two weeks after being mashed at Marquette, the Boilermakers suffered their second loss of the season in their second road contest. They kicked off Big Ten play with a trip to Penn State and found themselves stunned, losing 81-70 to Penn State in a game they trailed significantly. Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufmann-Renn both had 15 points but it was a bad night for Braden Smith and the rest of the Boilermakers, who committed 24 turnovers in the loss.
Tough road losses will happen to every team this season, though this pair of double-digit defeats is an initial cause for concern. The Boilermakers have the pieces on offense to be a top team in the Big Ten, but they cannot play sloppy like they did against the Nittany Lions. They’ll best at home against Maryland on Sunday but have a pair of big ones the next two Saturdays, facing off against Texas A&M and Auburn before Christmas.