The Greatest Purdue Sports Weekend

Fresh off of Purdue football punching their ticket to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game, and riding high off the basketball team's dominant win against Gonzaga in hostile territory, we've just witnessed the greatest Purdue sports weekend in modern history and possibly ever. That is with the basketball Boilers set to take on #8 Duke for the Phil Knight Legacy championship, which could just further cement it as the greatest sports weekend.

As a lifelong Purdue fan, Painter finally breaking through to the Elite 8 stands out as an important moment, followed by the heart break to Virginia. There's Drew Brees' Rose Bowl berth and I went to college with the Baby Boilers, but they all ultimately led to not much. Being a Purdue fan is being ever hopeful while waiting for the shoe to drop, and Boilermaker fans are in a familiar place yet again. But that's the thing about hope, it doesn't how many times you get let down you find it again. But more than just that, this weekend is tangible evidence of the growth.

The football coach before Jeff Brohm barely won enough games to qualify for a bowl in his four year tenure, and now Purdue has sealed back-to-back eight win regular seasons. That last happened in 2006-7 and you have to go back to 1997-98 for the time before that. It's four bowls in Brohm's six seasons, which hasn't happened since Tiller was at the helm at the turn of the century. But all of that stands as a great note to go along with Big Ten West Champs.

That's the first time Purdue has won the west, first time since the Big Ten went to divisions and a chance for the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2000. After early success, Brohm had two down seasons (including the weird COVID year), it has been followed up with a 17-8 record with two more games. The promise of the Rondale Moore and George Karlaftis recruits, early round NFL draft picks, waned a little to finally lead to success that shows an elevated program. No one will pick Purdue to win the Big Ten title game but it doesn't take away that they got there and have back-to-back 8-4 regular seasons in a wide open west.

The Boilers sit at 37th for 2023 recruiting with only one 4* according to 247 sports, but the transfer portal could bring some additions for players seeing the success Brohm has now established in West Lafayette. In 2023 Purdue draws the short end of the cross division match ups, having to host Ohio State and go to Michigan, but they get Fresno State, at Virginia Tech and Syracuse at home in the non-conference. Even with Aidan O'Connell leaving, another 8 win regular season is possible for three straight seasons, and that hasn't happened since 1978-80. That's more than hope, that's tangible results of the program succeeding that this weekend will only add to.

For Purdue basketball, it has been more sustained success as we're waiting for the breakthroughs in the second weekend of March Madness. The Hummel ACL, Haas' elbow, the buzzer beater against Virginia and last year's flame out to St. Peter's are the stand out memories for Boiler basketball. The team is regularly in contention for the Big Ten regular season, though only one Big Ten tournament win, and has had high seeds but with only one Sweet 16 win. Even last year, the Boilers beat Villanova and North Carolina in their non-conference tournament on their way to the first ever #1 ranking (only to promptly lose on a half court heave at Rutgers). Success hasn't been foreign to the basketball team, but it's the context of this season that shines through to make it such a great weekend.

Losing several decorated seniors, an NBA draft pick in Jaden Ivey, this was supposed to be a down year for Purdue basketball. They weren't ranked, though were close in preseason polls, and most predicted a step back. Even further exacerbated by Indiana being a preseason darling yet again with Trayce Jackson-Davis back in Bloomington. Yet, this Purdue team got it's deserved top 25 ranking and absolutely dominated a regular season power in Gonzaga, in hostile territory no less.

Now, I'll be the first to say that this is not last year's Gonzaga team and they don't look like the team from the past few seasons, but that doesn't change the fact that Purdue absolutely handled the #6 team on their way to an 84-66 win. The context is, they did it with two freshmen starting guards, a National Player of the Year candidate in Zach Edey, and 'role players.' Let's be fair, two of those role players are Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn who were top 50 players, but Furst hit a wall last year with a foot injury and this is Kaufman-Renn's first season playing for the old gold and black, and they contributed to the absolute post bludgeoning of the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Those freshmen, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, combined for 28 points, 5-10 from deep and 12 assists to only three turnovers. Both were huge in weathering the awful start Purdue had while the team struggled to get Edey going. They aren't playing like true freshmen and are part of the context that makes this weekend the greatest in Purdue sports history. In a 'retooling year' for Purdue, their play has this team in a familiar place, competing for a Big Ten title and a run in March Madness.

They also represent more than that hope, they represent the tangible proof of the growth of Purdue. A lot credit is deserved by head coach Matt Painter for his team construction, but you also see the team doesn't retool, it reloads. Grabbing Indiana Mr. Basketballs, consistent 4* recruiting and developing players has set the floor at those competitive standards, meaning if the Boilers aren't competing for a Big Ten title it's a story. Just look at the class that included Furst and Kaufman-Renn, the latter coming out of IU's backyard.

This is still a young team and there will likely be some hiccups, but to utterly dominate a top 10 team shows the growth of this program. The Blue Devils lost by five to Kansas, beat Oregon State by 3 and beat Xavier by seven before getting this Purdue team, with a day off to really prepare for them. Even without the result of the Duke game, which Purdue 100% has a chance to win, this is the weekend in Purdue sports when you combine it all. You win, and good things will happen, but you win division titles and blow out top 10 teams and even bigger and better things we'll come. It has been a fair amount of heart break, but we're seeing the tangible growth of these programs and better things are on the way.