2026 Tournament PreviewPicked as the consensus No. 1 team in the AP Preseason Poll, Purdue faltered a bit in league play after a 17-1 start, ultimately finishing fifth in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are the No. 2 offense in the country according to KenPom's efficiency metric, led by a backcourt of four-year starters Braden Smith (14.7 ppg) and Fletcher Loyer (13.3 ppg. 2.6 3PM). Smith is second in the country with 8.7 apg and is closing in on making history. Late in the season, he became the fifth college basketball player ever to surpass 1,000 assists, and Bobby Hurley's all-time record is within reach. Tre Kaufman-Renn also provides instant offense, but his scoring has mysteriously fallen off from 20.3 ppg last year to just 13.3 ppg in 2025-26. Defensively, Purdue sits at 34th in efficiency, with well below-average rates in turnover rate and two-point FG defense. The overall resume is solid, with non-conference wins over Texas Tech and Alabama, nine wins of the Quad 1 variety and zero losses in Quadrants 2-4. The ceiling may be the Final Four, but if defensive woes come back to haunt them, the Boilermakers could also fall before the second weekend.
Scouting Report Offense Defense
Efficiency 1.31 1 1.00 48
Pace 66.2 (329)
Effective FG% 57.72 (11) 52.35 (233)
Turnover % 11.79 (11) 14.17 (212)
Off Reb % 36.48 (21) 26.16 (21)
FTA/FGA 28.14 (339) 26.79 (17)
3P% 38.16 (17) 34.31 (204)
2P% 58.05 (23) 53.09 (243)
FT% 74.55 (99) 71.66 (137)
3PA/FGA 41.10 (146) 45.51 (337)
Totals
Per Game
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Purdue
Big Ten
Rankings
AP Poll: #18 Coaches Poll: #18 NET: #9 RPI: #20 RW: #8
Record
Overall: (25-8) Conference: (13-7) Quad 1: (8-8) Quad 2: (7-0) Quad 3: (7-0) Quad 4: (3-0)
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Purdue Starting Lineup - Last 5 Games
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