The Most Disappointing Season

One of the great things about being a sports fan is the concept of “What if...?” Bad timing of an injury, some special circumstance that costs your team leaves the door open for a discussion that can't be disputed. 'What ifs' are some of the greatest sports talking points while also being a main pillar of fandom, the unwavering hope you try and hold for your team.

Being a Purdue fan means defining your fandom by dozen of 'what ifs.' It's what you cling to as the team seems to find a way to break your heart almost every season. A certain level of Purdue's success in football always seems to be marred by some moment that has earned a nickname that every fan sighs at. The fumble, the back injury, the ACL, the broken elbow are all moments every Boilermaker fan knows, and moments that cost Purdue a chance to possibly break through a new ceiling. They are at the tops of 'What if...?”

It is exactly because a 'what if' that this Purdue basketball season is the most disappointing, definitely in basketball coach Matt Painter's tenure, and possibly ever for Purdue basketball. There wasn't an injury that derailed the season and it wasn't as if the talent wasn't there. It's further emphasized by the fact that the Boilers had actual luck with a broken bracket in their favor and STILL fell incredibly short.

Purdue had an NBA lottery talent in Jaden Ivey, a two-headed center attack no one could match, two other seniors who were on the Elite 8 team, talent behind that and even the addition of a big time freshman in Caleb Furst and it all added up to a season marked as a massive disappointment. A 29 win season with all that talent didn't win the Big Ten regular season, the tournament or get through a double digit seed to the Elite 8, let alone the first Final 4 in 42 years.

A preseason top ten team, one that ascended to the number one team in the country for the first time in program history, will be remembered as a team that massively under delivered. One game short. Purdue finished one game short of the regular season title, one game short of the Big Ten Tournament title and one game short at another chance to make history for the Boilermaker program. It would almost be a forgotten team if it wasn't for just how much fans have been let down by this team.

Two seasons in a row Purdue's season has ended to a double digit seed and was only 2-2 in the March tournament. The legacy of this team was disappointment. No hardware and, despite being able to say they were young in last year's upset to North Texas, this team showed us who they were all season. In eight losses, six were by less than five and four were on last second shots. While, as a fan, you try and say “Well they were just unlucky otherwise they might have six more wins.” The truth is this team just regularly let themselves be in those games and couldn't keep it turned on all the time after the undefeated non-conference streak.

While I do think Matt Painter has elevated this team, and the failure shows the raised expectations for Purdue basketball, it still is majorly concerning that his past two teams have been eliminated by double digit seeds with almost a week to prepare. Even more of an issue, the defense and hustle that has defined the Purdue program wasn't there. It was almost as if this Purdue team knew how good they could be, and delivered several teams in the season, but just expected to win because of the talent and name on the jersey. Instead they won nothing, but aren't even a 'what if' in Purdue's history.

Being a Purdue fan means you aren't unfamiliar with heartbreak, but normally it seems to be bad luck that robs the Boilermakers of their chance to break through. This time the team has no one to blame but themselves. That doesn't sit well for a team that has been defined by effort and energy. This one will sting for a long time as you just never know when your next chance will be to make a Final 4 run.