19. Purdue (10-4)
Nobody seriously expected Purdue to fade into irrelevancy when Zach Edey left town and the remaining talent have ensured that the Boilermakers will have a say in the Big Ten race. A nonconference roller coaster included nice wins over Alabama and Ole Miss thought some tough losses to other SEC teams in recent weeks. With the focus now squarely on the Big Ten, perhaps we’ll see the best ball from these Boilermakers.
Actually, Purdue had one last nonconference game this past Sunday, finagling an 83-64 victory over Toledo. Braden Smith was outstanding with 34 points and 12 rebounds while Trey Kaufman-Renn added 23 points in a game those two truly dominated. Conference play began in earnest a few days later, and Purdue struck gold on the road, beating Minnesota 81-61. Fletcher Loyer played great with 24 points while Smith had another double-double with 20 points and 10 assists.
After advancing to last year’s national championship game, the realistic ceiling is a little lower for this Purdue squad, but there’s every reason to think this team can hang with anyone in this conference. They have an opportunistic offense led by one of the nation’s savviest point guards and enough talent and strength to compete in this league. Next week sees tests against hungry Northwestern and Rutgers squads.