If there’s one thing that First-team All-Big Ten Purdue basketball guard Braden Smith does best — it’s how to ‘stick it to the man.’
That’s exactly how Smith and the Boilermakers have responded since losing their back-to-back national player of the year, Zach Edey.
The Boilermakers were expected to lose ground, go back to their old-self by being an average March Madness team at best. Since the beginning of the calendar year, they’ve done anything but that.
Since a bad loss to Auburn, perhaps the best team in the country, it became apparent that Edey’s defensive abilities and blocking were missed, and this looked like the first of many games where Purdue was starting to miss Edey. Since Big Ten play, things have been quite different.
The Boilermakers have won six in a row since that Auburn game, and now it looks like they have some teeth again in the Big Ten.
Purdue Basketball Proving They Are ‘Still There’
As college basketball broadcaster and reporter John Fanta says, Purdue is still proving they belong even without Edey.
“When we’re talking about the Big Ten, I feel like we’ve been giving Michigan a lot of credit, Illinois a lot of credit, Michigan State a lot of credit, and I think it’s important to remember, Purdue is still there.” – John Fanta
Fanta then goes into talking about how Smith is an All-American caliber player to lead them to victory. Smith has always had a chip on his shoulder, from being an undersized high school freshman to growing over 40 pounds by the time he reached his senior year in high school. Smith has shown to be the perfect leader in the post-Edey era at Purdue.
Fletcher Loyer also improved his long range shot in his sophomore campaign, and he’s looking like a guy who has transformed from a spot-up shooter to an inside two-way player.
The injury to Daniel Jacobsen was detrimental to the team’s plans, as it looked like he had some hope to help the center depth of the future squad. Fanta also brought up the leap of Trey Kaufman-Renn, who’s been an excellent addition to the squad since his freshman year, which happened to be Edey’s junior year.
In the past five seasons, Purdue has been used to Big Ten competition with each other, and with Matt Painter being the attraction he is, the Boilermakers are still one of the most experienced squads in the conference. They’re a team that’s under the radar for now, but their guide to continue success is pretty simple.
Purdue Basketball’s Guide to Success In 2025
The motto is cliche, but pretty simple if you’re the Boilermakers. Just take it one game at a time and the rest will follow.
Purdue’s schedule will start getting tougher by the end of January and into February, but in all phases of the game, they’re still very much covered. This team that’s still ‘under the radar’ might be on the actual radar if they’re able to beat Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana.
Purdue’s next tough test will be in Eugene, Oregon against the Ducks which looks to be a competitive one on Jan. 18.
