{"id":161059,"date":"2025-10-04T11:28:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T15:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=161059"},"modified":"2025-10-04T11:29:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T15:29:33","slug":"purdue-basketball-2025-26-preview-this-could-be-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/04\/purdue-basketball-2025-26-preview-this-could-be-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Basketball 2025-26 Preview: This Could Be The Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

After controlling the Big Ten for the last several years, Purdue basketball took a step back during the 2024-25 season. That, paired with a pretty massive leg injury for 7-foot-4 rising star Daniel Jacobsen<\/a>, limited the Boilers. While he was out, Purdue was still in the top-six of the Big Ten.<\/p>\n

Now, with Jacobsen and senior point guard Braden Smith<\/a> returning to West Lafayette, the Boilermakers have their eye back on winning it all.<\/p>\n

Purdue Basketball 2025-26 Preview: This Could Be The Year<\/h2>\n

Let’s take a closer look at why this could be the year for Purdue basketball.<\/p>\n

Roster Make-Up<\/h3>\n

Smith is back and ready to chase down the Big Ten’s all-time assist mark currently held by former Michigan State guard Cassius Winston<\/a>. Smith is only 132 assists away from doing so. That seems very obtainable, as he’ll have plenty of friends to feed the ball to with Fletcher Loyer<\/a> and Trey Kaufman-Renn<\/a> also coming back for their senior campaigns.<\/p>\n

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\ud83e\udee3 Sheesh. Long range \ud83c\udfaf. – @FletcherLoyer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6vB4R7nnsI<\/a><\/p>\n

— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) October 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n