Purdue Basketball: The Train That Keeps On Rolling
By ZACH VOGT
ISL Writer
There are three things that remain certain in life:
Death, taxes, and Purdue getting off to a scorching hot start on the court.
With Purdue’s win in Tuscaloosa over No. 8 Alabama, they have officially won 31 of their last 32 games in the month of November. Dating back to 2021, the Boilers have notched November wins over a long list of elite teams:
#18 North Carolina (2021)
#5 Villanova (2021)
#6 Gonzaga (2022)
#8 Duke (2022)
#11 Gonzaga (2023)
#7 Tennessee (2023)
#4 Marquette (2023)
#2 Alabama (2024)
#23 Ole Miss (2024)
#8 Alabama (2025)
Purdue went into Alabama last night and knocked off the No. 8-ranked Tide for a résumé-stamping win early in the season. Few teams will be able to add a top-ten road win to their résumé this season – and the Boilers did it in November. Braden Smith led the way with a National Player of the Year-esque performance, tallying 29 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. It was an early-season reminder as to why he was the odds-on favorite to win the National Player of the Year award before the season started. Smith is coming off a Junior season in which he became the Big Ten Player of the Year, a Bob Cousy Award winner, and earned consensus first-team All-American honors. His win marked the third straight Big Ten Player of the Year award for Purdue, following back-to-back seasons from Zach Edey.
Trey Kaufman-Renn missed the first two games of the season, but returned last night with a monstrous 19 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists. His presence was felt by everybody in the arena as soon as the game started as he poured in 17 of his 19 points in the first half. Kaufman-Renn himself is also coming off a First-team All-Big Ten season with expectations of being an All-American this season. His return also reunites the best duo in college basketball — himself and Braden Smith.
Purdue has their sights set much higher than a high-quality November win this year, but victories like this help position themselves to achieve their ultimate goals later in the season. In recent years, the NCAA Tournament committee has put great value on Quadrant 1 wins when determining tournament seeding. Purdue had a relatively average regular season by its standards last year, going 24–12 and finishing outside the top four in the Big Ten. But it was those early-season Q1 wins that helped propel the Boilers to a top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament despite their underachievement in conference play. Purdue has now earned a top-4 seed in eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments — and that is no accident.
Purdue’s win over Alabama last night was their first Q1 win of the season – and it’s a win that will likely age beautifully for them as the season progresses. It may only be November, but we will be talking about this win on Selection Sunday in March. Stacking as many Q1 wins as possible will best position the Boilers for what they have their eyes on: the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region (Chicago) and a clear path to their second Final Four in three years.
It’s only November, but it all counts the same.
The Purdue Boilermakers are off and running – and they’re the train that just keeps on rolling.
