4. Purdue (11-1)
When the Boilermakers are on their game, it’s usually a long day for opposing teams and that includes some pretty strong opposition. After all, Purdue won at Alabama, beat Texas Tech by 30 and have looked the part of one of the top national contenders again this season. You can point at the loss to Iowa State as a crack starting to form, but these Boilermakers have more than made up for that effort.
Another one of those incredible performances happened this very weekend, as Purdue took on Auburn in Indianapolis and pulled away for an 88-60 victory over the Tigers. Avenging a loss from last season, the Boilermakers played fantastic team basketball, shooting 56% from the field and perfect from the charity stripe. Trey Kaufman-Renn was a catalyst as usual with 18 points though Braden Smith proved he’s a future All-American again with 11 points and 14 assists.
Dive into the schedule and the early accomplishments and you see some impressive wins and phenomenal metrics. With Kaufman-Renn and the rest of this lineup at full health, there might not be a better starting five in the country, and another huge win over a ranked team sure displayed that. Like many other ranked teams, we won’t see Purdue on the court again for over a week, but they’ll be back for their final nonconference appointment against Kent State.