Purdue Boilermakers NCAA Basketball Betting
Matt Painter has run the most consistent program in the Big Ten over the last nine seasons, claiming a top-five seed in every NCAA Tournament over that span and finishing with a conference record of 12-6 or better in all but one season. He has also established continuity and development within his program at a time when the transfer portal has consumed entire teams. There’s a certain 7-4, two-time National Player of the Year who left the program this offseason, but the internal development should pay off in filling the giant gap.
With no incoming transfers for Purdue, I’ll get the list of outgoing players out of the way at the start of this preview. The aforementioned Zach Edey (25 ppg, 12 rpg) is the single greatest loss any team suffered this offseason, coming off of two dominant NPOY campaigns. Alongside Edey, seniors Lance Jones (12 ppg), Mason Gillis (7 ppg, 4 rpg), and Ethan Morton (1 ppg) all left the program.
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Headlining the returners for the Boilermakers is junior guard Braden Smith (12 ppg, 6 rpg, 8 apg), a two-year starter for two different Big Ten regular season champion and #1 seeded teams. Smith improved in every aspect of his game from his freshman to sophomore season, highlighted by his increased three-point percentage (43.1%) and assists per game (7.5 apg).
While Edey’s departure definitely hurts the number of open threes and easy assists for Smith, we think he’s still a highly talented guard who has had two full years of experience at Purdue. The shouts for Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year are more than warranted for Smith, and I’m excited to see if he can become more of a scorer with Edey out of the picture. This team will rely on Smith heavily, but it’ll be up to the guys around him to lift this team’s ceiling.
Fletcher Loyer (10 ppg) is the most prominent guy surrounding Smith, a fellow junior and two-year starter in the backcourt. Loyer broke out as an efficient three-point shooter (44.4% 3P) as a sophomore, but the rest of his game didn’t make the jump that many thought it would. Now, with two full years under his belt, there will be real pressure on Loyer to step up and be the right-hand man to Smith in the backcourt. Alongside Smith and Loyer, sophomore Myles Colvin (3 ppg) returns in the backcourt after a promising freshman campaign. Likely being catapulted into a starting role, Colvin will have a lot more on his plate as a sophomore. The promising aspect is once again his shooting, with Colvin hitting 41.4% of his three-point attempts last season.
The Boilermakers’ frontcourt has a fair number of returners as well, highlighted by junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (6 ppg, 4 rpg). Kaufmann-Renn started all 39 games for the Boilermakers last season and should now be the focal point of the Boilermakers’ frontcourt with Zach Edey gone. Camden Heide (3 ppg) was another promising freshman last season, appearing off the bench in all 39 games and an efficient shooter from the field. Heide will likely be the fifth starter for the Boilermakers, earning the nod over senior forward Caleb Furst (2 ppg). Furst had been pegged for a breakout year in each of the previous two offseason, but things never fell his way in the frontcourt. Will Berg (3 ppg), a sophomore Swedish center who stands at 7-2, could fill the physical void left by Edey but is probably a year away from having a fraction of the impact that Edey had the past two seasons. Junior forward Brian Waddell (1 ppg) also returns for the Boilermakers, likely set for a depth role once again at Purdue.
Purdue now enters a new future and uncertain season.
Latest NCAA Tournament Results
| YEAR |
RESULT |
| 2024 |
Lost National Championship vs. (1) Connecticut 60–75 |
| 2023 |
Lost First Round vs. (16) Farleigh Dickinson 58–63 |
| 2022 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (15) Saint Peter's, 64–67 |
| 2021 |
Lost First Round vs. (13) North Texas, 69–78 (OT) |
| 2019 |
Lost Elite Eight vs. (1) Virginia, 75–80 (OT) |
| 2018 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (3) Texas Tech, 65–78 |
| 2017 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (1) Kansas, 66–98 |
2024-2025 NCAA Basketball Top Teams
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