College Basketball 2025-2026

[gflore34]

2 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

Loyer was invisible out there today

I think Painter was sticking with the hot hand in Mayer, dude was unconscious there for a moment.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

 

 

[scarey]

I legit pinned so much to this Purdue season. It really felt like it was our year. They were poised at the top of everybody's rankings preseason. There was a great story in the form of Braden Smith capping a fantastic 4 year career. The depth of experience, especially in NCAA tournament, was supposed to be an asset. They had to compete against 5 and 6 year players CONSTANTLY, but Purdue fans convinced themselves that it  was just making these players better and more battle tested.

I've been watching content on this team pretty much every day since their hard out against Houston last year. I've invested so many hours watching this team build up to this year... and it just feels so anti-climatic.

I really thought after they went to the national championship 2 years ago, that they had bucked the "Purdue doesn't show up in big games" reputation they had built for themselves. I went from worrying every game and every possession that they were going to drop the ball. I had confidence they would get come out on top when things got difficult. That confidence is gone. The UCLA loss was extremely disheartening. This result feels like the leg sweep.

Congratulations Illinois fans, you have taken the air out of this Purdue team and fan base. Wagler looks like he's ready for the NBA all-star team, let alone the NCAA. I think he's going to make you some great memories in the tournament. You, Michigan, and Nebraska are the class of the Big Ten. I envy you.

I truly hope you can enjoy the schadenfreude... at least this heartbreak will have some positive impact.

[gflore34]

12 hours ago, scarey said:

I legit pinned so much to this Purdue season. It really felt like it was our year. They were poised at the top of everybody's rankings preseason. There was a great story in the form of Braden Smith capping a fantastic 4 year career. The depth of experience, especially in NCAA tournament, was supposed to be an asset. They had to compete against 5 and 6 year players CONSTANTLY, but Purdue fans convinced themselves that it  was just making these players better and more battle tested.

I've been watching content on this team pretty much every day since their hard out against Houston last year. I've invested so many hours watching this team build up to this year... and it just feels so anti-climatic.

I really thought after they went to the national championship 2 years ago, that they had bucked the "Purdue doesn't show up in big games" reputation they had built for themselves. I went from worrying every game and every possession that they were going to drop the ball. I had confidence they would get come out on top when things got difficult. That confidence is gone. The UCLA loss was extremely disheartening. This result feels like the leg sweep.

Congratulations Illinois fans, you have taken the air out of this Purdue team and fan base. Wagler looks like he's ready for the NBA all-star team, let alone the NCAA. I think he's going to make you some great memories in the tournament. You, Michigan, and Nebraska are the class of the Big Ten. I envy you.

I truly hope you can enjoy the schadenfreude... at least this heartbreak will have some positive impact.

Your Boilers played awfully well yesterday, sure they got handled on the boards and the Illini go hot from three.  But, that's what it took to beat them, any other night the Boilers win.

Don't know if I'm sold on Nebraska, a very good college team, Final Four/National Championship good?  No.  At some point or another you're going to need a guy with NBA type talent to step up and win a game for you.  Saw something about Nebraska being the basketball equivalent of IU in football.  Not even close, IU had legit NFL talent (5 players in the top NFL' Tankethon top 100,  4 players in CBS Sports top 100, 5 in PFF Top 100) plus a Heisman winning QB who is likely a top 5 pick in 2026.  Nebraska basketball has nothing approximating that, I may be wrong still, wouldn't surprise me if Michigan wipes the floor with them Tuesday night. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

Yeah, I don't see yesterday's game as a negative for Purdue at all.  They shot 57% from the field, 82% from the free throw line, and had 3 total turnovers.  I would bet those numbers are good enough to win 90+ percent of the time.  They just ran into an Illinois team that played a slightly better game, moved the ball very well, and shot incredibly from behind the arc.

[gflore34]

Watching Illinois-Purdue on DVR and, holy horsefeathers, the Illini are tall, for the most part, they towered over Purdue.  Braden Smith is tiny out there against the Illini.  I know the Illini are the tallest team in the Big Ten however, the contrast may have looked greater due to those orange uniforms.  Smith performance is a testament to just how good he is, has a real good chance at the next level playing amongst the giants in the NBA.  How about the Bulls drafting him in the 2nd round?

Edited January 25 by gflore34

[Bobson Dugnutt]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

Watching Illinois-Purdue on DVR and, holy horsefeathers, the Illini are tall, for the most part, they towered over Purdue.  Braden Smith is tiny out there against the Illini.  I know the Illini are the tallest team in the Big Ten however, the contrast may have looked greater due to those orange uniforms.  Smith performance is a testament to just how good he is, has a real good chance at the next level playing amongst the giants in the NBA.  How about the Bulls drafting him in the 2nd round?

With Kylan out, the shortest player in the rotation is 6-6.

[SouthSideRyan]

They’re the tallest team in the country

[scarey]

2 hours ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Yeah, I don't see yesterday's game as a negative for Purdue at all.  They shot 57% from the field, 82% from the free throw line, and had 3 total turnovers.  I would bet those numbers are good enough to win 90+ percent of the time.  They just ran into an Illinois team that played a slightly better game, moved the ball very well, and shot incredibly from behind the arc.

Honestly... Purdue playing so well (offensively) is kind of the problem. They scored incredibly efficiently at 1.37 points per possession and lost to a team that doesn't have their starting point guard in Mackey arena. Doesn't do much for confidence.

And look... I'm aware enough to realize that a college basketball season is long, and how well a team is playing  can change quickly. I thought this team was capable of being a number 1 seed just like the 2023-2024 team. A number 1 seed is so important.

Over the last 40 years, 26 NCAA champions were number one tournament seeds. That's 65% of the winners. The other 35% breaks down like this: 5 two seeds, 4 three seeds, 2 four seeds, and 3 teams of anything less than a four. Anything less than a final four for this team is a huge disappointment in my eyes, and given that Painter isn't bringing in multiple NBA talents year after year, it feels like this is going to be their last shot to potentially win a championship.

I've been a big time Purdue basketball fan since I started attending in 2002. I saw a hall of fame coach in Gene Keady pass the baton without winning a championship. I've watched Matt Painter perform admirably by taking second tier talent and shaping into a perennial top 25 program. In the most recent years he's generating consistent number 1 seed contenders in part due to one of the best NCAA basketball players ever (Edey) and one of the best NCAA point guards to ever play (Smith). To not capture a national championship in this window feels like missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity for Purdue basketball to win it all.

 

[gflore34]

3 hours ago, scarey said:

Honestly... Purdue playing so well (offensively) is kind of the problem. They scored incredibly efficiently at 1.37 points per possession and lost to a team that doesn't have their starting point guard in Mackey arena. Doesn't do much for confidence.

And look... I'm aware enough to realize that a college basketball season is long, and how well a team is playing  can change quickly. I thought this team was capable of being a number 1 seed just like the 2023-2024 team. A number 1 seed is so important.

Over the last 40 years, 26 NCAA champions were number one tournament seeds. That's 65% of the winners. The other 35% breaks down like this: 5 two seeds, 4 three seeds, 2 four seeds, and 3 teams of anything less than a four. Anything less than a final four for this team is a huge disappointment in my eyes, and given that Painter isn't bringing in multiple NBA talents year after year, it feels like this is going to be their last shot to potentially win a championship.

I've been a big time Purdue basketball fan since I started attending in 2002. I saw a hall of fame coach in Gene Keady pass the baton without winning a championship. I've watched Matt Painter perform admirably by taking second tier talent and shaping into a perennial top 25 program. In the most recent years he's generating consistent number 1 seed contenders in part due to one of the best NCAA basketball players ever (Edey) and one of the best NCAA point guards to ever play (Smith). To not capture a national championship in this window feels like missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity for Purdue basketball to win it all.

 

I'll give you this Braden Smith is a once in a lifetime PG.  He's really good.  And I'm really glad the Illini never have to worry about him again, at least, in the regular season.  Another thing, surprised me that Illinois' Mirkovic appeared taller than Kaufman-Renn, they're both listed at 6-9, maybe, it was the orange uniforms.

[Old Style]

On 1/14/2026 at 3:54 PM, mul21 said:

So I watched the last 5ish minutes and both OTs of the Tennessee Texas A&M game last night because I was working out and had TN on the money line (am I a degenerate? maybe).  The number of dumb things done and bad shots taken by both of those teams was criminal.  Neither one of them wanted to win it and I will be betting heavily against both going forward. 😂

So far that is A&M’s only SEC loss and we are alone in first place.  

[scarey]

A loss to this IU team... I wonder what the odds are that Purdue doesn't make the tournament?

[cwood218]

57 minutes ago, scarey said:

A loss to this IU team... I wonder what the odds are that Purdue doesn't make the tournament?

Zero, although that would make me very happy. Coach Devries has accomplished the first of his three requirements this year.

[gflore34]

On 1/27/2026 at 11:38 PM, scarey said:

A loss to this IU team... I wonder what the odds are that Purdue doesn't make the tournament?

An Underwood special - playing poorly, inexplicable mistakes, losing to a good, not great team - the exception being it was Purdue.  As I watched the game unfold I could not believe my eyes, I've seen that kind of garbage from the Illini, never from Purdue.  Smith was brilliant against the Illini, Kaufman-Renn was very good as well, their performances in Bloomington were a complete 180.  Don't expect that kind of inconsistency from Matt Painter and Purdue.

I'm worried about tonight, Washington is good, not great, team, there's a big game Sunday.  It's a perfect trap game, a perfect setting for an inconsistent performance from the Illini.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

An Underwood special - playing poorly, inexplicable mistakes, losing to a good, not great team

Sometimes very good teams lose to good teams. This is not unique to Illinois or Underwood and mostly reeks of “only my teams” nonsense.

[gflore34]

22 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Sometimes very good teams lose to good teams. This is not unique to Illinois or Underwood and mostly reeks of “only my teams” nonsense.

I know, it's easy to say "only my teams".  I hope they play well tonight, would really like to see them go to Lincoln with a chance to tie for a share of the Big Ten lead.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

10 in a row for Illinois. Best record through 21 games in 20 years.

[mul21]

10 hours ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

10 in a row for Illinois. Best record through 21 games in 20 years.

Encouraging to me that they won comfortably without even playing that well.  A couple big 3s by Humrichous were key but the Huskies were never really that close.

[gflore34]

1 hour ago, mul21 said:

Encouraging to me that they won comfortably without even playing that well.  A couple big 3s by Humrichous were key but the Huskies were never really that close.

The Huskies tried the physicality approach with Wagler and others, lots of bumping, hand checking, grabbing and pushing.  It's the approach MSU is going to take, except MSU is far more capable offensively than Washington.  Physicality may work on Wagler but, the Serbians, Mirkovic and the Ivisics, have experience with prison ball, they'll take it and give it back, I like that.

[mul21]

Just now, gflore34 said:

The Huskies tried the physicality approach with Wagler and others, lots of bumping, hand checking, grabbing and pushing.  It's the approach MSU is going to take, except MSU is far more capable offensively than Washington.  Physicality may work on Wagler but, the Serbians, Mirkovic and the Ivisics, have experience with prison ball, they'll take it and give it back, I like that.

Mirkovic is a tank.  That dude is going to be able to play until he's 50.  He's got major old man game.

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, mul21 said:

Mirkovic is a tank.  That dude is going to be able to play until he's 50.  He's got major old man game.

Steinbach as well, he's taller and a better athlete, don't what he's doing at Washington.  They're not going to make the tournament and Steinbach is one and done.  Guessing he has a sweet NIL deal.

[gflore34]

UMFan hope your Wolverines win tonight. Lost all respect for Izzo when he sent his goon out to punch Ayo in the face.

[Tryptamine]

I know I should be thankful for how good Illinois is but damn if they had been able to keep the two Illinois kids in Morez-Johnson and Fears, they would have been a monster.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

I was such a big Morez fan last year. Shame it didn’t work out after he stayed firm in his commitment for 3 years of high school.

 

For someone that’s seen him play more than I have this year: how is Michigan using him? The story when he left is he wanted to shoot more than his role at Illinois was allowing him to. He lived in the circle last year. The FT% has skyrocketed this year, which indicates he’s been working on his shot a bit, but how has that translated to games? He’s not a factor beyond the arc, but I don’t think that was ever in the cards for him. Has he incorporated the midrange more?

[gflore34]

2 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

I know I should be thankful for how good Illinois is but damn if they had been able to keep the two Illinois kids in Morez-Johnson and Fears, they would have been a monster.

Morez-Johnson most definitely, Fears?  Think I'm okay with Wagler.