NCAA Basketball: Tennessee, Baylor, Illinois rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
2. Purdue (23-2)
The Boilermakers have spent this season leaving little doubt that they are one of the best programs in the nation. Purdue is far from just the Zach Edey show, as they’re getting immense contributions from multiple parts of this lineup and continue to stand out in the Big Ten. It hasn’t always been easy, but the Boilermakers just keep winning games, with those only two losses coming in harsh road environments.
They were far from harsh this past week, hosting Minnesota on Thursday night, though the game didn’t exactly transpire as expected. The Boilermakers trailed at the half but used a strong second half to pull out an 84-76 win over the Golden Gophers. Edey was brilliant as usual with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Braden Smith had 16 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds in a near-triple-double effort.
Yes, the Boilermakers have had a few slip-ups and didn’t play their best game on Thursday. There have been games where they’ve simply been outshot or outworked, but there’s also little doubt that this team is among the best of the best in this sport. There’s no question that Purdue is the Big Ten’s elite unit, and they’ll look to keep proving that in the weeks ahead. The immediate attention turns toward a road trip to Ohio State, a team that just fired their head coach this week.