The Purdue Boilermakers are coming off one of the most historic seasons in program history. After winning the Big Ten regular season and Big Ten Tournament Championship, Purdue marched to the Final Four. They were able to reach the National Championship Game, before falling short against the UConn Huskies.
One of the biggest reasons the Boilermakers were the best the Big Ten had to offer in 2023-24, was All-American and National Player of the Year Zach Edey. That fortune of having such a skilled big man was big last season. Purdue will have to look elsewhere, as Edey is off to the NBA. An average of 25.2 points per game scoring certainly won’t be easy to replace. Still, Head Coach Matt Painter has made an outstanding career in West Lafayette by overcoming huge losses in the offseason.
As for the 2024-25 season the Boilermakers have some big returners with their backcourt all but the same from a year ago. Having elite guard play is a major difference. If the Boilers want to be the class of the Big Ten again, they will need one of their many post players to take a huge step.
Purdue Big Ten Basketball Preview 2024-25: No More Edey, But Still Impressive
Coach Painter enters year 20 in West Lafayette, with plenty of confidence after leading Purdue to its first final four since 1980. To have so many players back outside of Edey is a huge plus. Purdue will be shooting for its third-straight Big Ten Regular season title. The driving force for Purdue is certainly going to be Junior Point Guard Braden Smith, who was instrumental in stirring the whole team in 2023-24.
Smith had a great sophomore season as he scored 468 points and nearly had 300 assists. Having him back, along with fellow junior guard Fletcher Loyer is the best Purdue fans could have hoped for. Loyer had some strong games during the season, but cannot disappear like he did in the National Championship Game. He shot the ball five times in that game including four threes and failed to score a point.
That cannot happen, and if he continues to disappear in the Boilermakers’ biggest games, he has the possibility of losing some minutes especially on a team with so many new faces, looking to break into the line-up. Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn are the two other experienced players on the roster. Both have to be ready to rebound, as Edey averaged 12 rebounds per game. Kaufman-Renn saw a lot of playing time alongside Edey at times last season, so now he will be leaned on to likely see a lot of time in the post.
That is unless one of the two seven-foot-plus players the Boilermakers have along their bench takes a huge step. So who makes up the rest of the Boilermakers roster?
So Who Fills Out the Roster
Edey was the only major departure for Purdue. Lance Jones, who was a great sixth-man off the bench for the team last year graduated. They also lost two of the longest-tenured players alongside Edey, as Mason Gillis and Ethan Morton went to the portal. So they will have to lean on much younger players, and that’s where sophomore guard Myles Colvin and sophomore forward Camden Heide come in. Both were able to see playing time as a freshman in 2023-24, but Heide seems to be the one who could become a star for Purdue.
Coach Painter has long been known for his seven-foot players. Like always Purdue has two of them waiting in the wings. The first would be Will Berg from Sweden who saw action in 14 games last season. The other is incoming freshman Daniel Jacobsen. Jacobsen is part of an impressive five-man freshman class, as he comes in as the 54th-ranked player in the country according to 247 Sports.
The defending Big Ten Champs can be seen putting in the work in posts via social media, including this post from earlier this month.
📶 Keep stackin’ good days. pic.twitter.com/Rz1klscEre
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) July 8, 2024
Schedule Can Put Purdue Near the Top Again
Has Purdue turned into Michigan State, wow do the Boilermakers have some big-test games in the non-conference? Perhaps Coach Painter has taken a page out of Tom Izzo’s book. Purdue will be tested in the non-conference, with three games on the schedule against teams from the SEC. Those include huge games against a pair of tournament teams from last season in both Alabama and Auburn. They also face Texas A&M will also the possibility of facing another SEC team during their trip to San Diego for the Rady Children’s Invitational.
Winning at Marquette could bolster the expectations for Purdue as well. A full look at Purdue’s non-conference schedule is available on the team’s X page.
✔️ It’s complete.
The 2024-25 non-con is set. pic.twitter.com/T9jfS9mzWF
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) July 16, 2024
As for the Big Ten slate of the schedule, Purdue has high expectations given they are the winniest program in the conference over the last five seasons. It won’t be an easy task to win the Big Ten for a third straight year, as the Boilermakers have had hiccups on the road more often than at Mackey Arena. Road trips to Champaign, East Lansing, Eugene, and Seattle will test Purdue ultimately. They got a great home draw with both USC and UCLA having to come to West Lafayette, as does Northwestern who has given Purdue all they can handle in recent meetings.
As for the teams, Purdue will see twice, they get two games against Michigan, Rutgers, and rival Indiana. The Big Ten should be as hard as ever, but the Boilermakers have the talent to find themselves at the top again. A closer look at Purdue’s Big Ten schedule was shared on social media.
New faces, new places.
👉 2024-25 Big Ten Conference opponents. pic.twitter.com/HhXFx70Ch2
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) May 1, 2024
Can Purdue Win the Big Ten Again?
Purdue’s certainly going to have the opportunity to win the league once again. The four new teams in the league will make it interesting. Purdue appears to be right back in the driver seat, and will likely be one of the favorites to win the Big Ten again in 2024-25. Painter always has them ready for the challenge.
