The Purdue Boilermakers are seeking their 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Painter’s Steady Hand Keeps Purdue Among the Elite
The last time they did not play in the big dance, other than the COVID-19 season of 2019-20, was in 2013-14 when Matt Painter and his Boilermakers finished 15-17. That was the second straight season Purdue missed out.
Painter has missed the tournament just three times since he took over as the head man in West Lafayette during the 2005-06 season. The recent run by the Boilermakers has been as impressive as any under his leadership.
Purdue has gone to the Sweet 16 in three out of the last four tournaments. In 2021-22, the Boilermakers took down Yale and Texas in Milwaukee before being upset by 15-seed Saint Peter’s in the Sweet 16.
The following year, Fairleigh Dickinson stunned Purdue, becoming the first No. 16 seed out of the First Four to take down a No. 1 seed in the big dance. It was a low point for the program, but it set the stage for a strong rebound.
From Heartbreak to Hope: The Boilermakers’ Return to Form
In 2023-24, Painter and the Boilermakers made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament title game but fell short to the UConn Huskies. Purdue was in its third Final Four and second national title game. Zach Edey led all scorers in the tournament with 177 points.
Purdue had tournament wins over Grambling State, Utah State, Gonzaga, and Tennessee to reach the Final Four. Three of those four victories came by double digits. In the NCAA semifinal, Purdue defeated Cinderella story North Carolina State 63-50 before falling to Dan Hurley’s Huskies in the title game, 75-60.
Last season, Purdue finished 24-11 and 13-7 in Big Ten play, earning a four seed in the Midwest Region. After wins over High Point and McNeese in Providence, the Boilermakers had home-court advantage in Indianapolis but saw their run end in a narrow 62-60 loss to Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars.
Despite the heartbreak, Purdue’s consistency remains undeniable. The program has won 116 games over the last four seasons, reaching 20 or more wins in nine of the past eleven years.
The Boilermakers finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten, snapping their streak of consecutive titles, but since 2016-17 they have claimed the Big Ten regular season crown four times. With key players returning and talented newcomers entering the mix, Painter’s squad is once again among the favorites to cut down the nets in April.
If they stay healthy and maintain their trademark discipline, Purdue’s streak of NCAA Tournament appearances should reach 11, and perhaps end with the championship they’ve long been chasing.