6. Purdue (8-1)
When their lineup has been at full strength this season, Purdue has looked impressive and even unbeatable at times. The Boilermakers got an enormous road win at Alabama in the earlier weeks of the season and blew out a talented Texas Tech squad before the holiday. They passed those two tests with flying colors and proved they belong at the top of the rankings, but things have a way of changing in this sport.
That wasn’t yet the case on Tuesday, as the Boilermakers kick started Big Ten play with a solid 81-65 road win at Rutgers. They avoided another upset from those Scarlet Knights, getting 19 points and 13 rebounds from Trey Kaufman-Renn in the process. What transpired on Saturday made Purdue look very mortal, as they were upended 81-58 at home by Iowa State in something of a shocker. Braden Smith had 11 points and 8 assists but the Cyclones defense contained both Kaufman-Renn and the outside shooting in Purdue’s first loss.
Some people were certainly scratching their head seeing that result, but Matt Painter and company can only shake it off and focus on what’s ahead of them. The defense just hasn’t been getting the job done recently and that’s going to need to change if this team has serious national title aspirations. In the long run, this effort against the Cyclones could become what this team needed most. The attention now turns to a pair of home games against Minnesota and Marquette, giving two bounce back opportunities.