The last time Purdue made its way onto a basketball court, the setting was Phoenix, Arizona on Aplis 8th with the Boilermakers taking on the UConn Huskies for the national championship.

Now, with Zach Edey gone, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn will attempt to lead Purdue as a new big three as Matt Painter and company go for its third striaght Big Ten title.

Purdue has been great in conference play the last two seasons, but it's been unbeatable its last three non-conference schedules. Purdue hasn't lost a regular season non-conference game since a 58-54 road loss at Miami on December 8th, 2020.

The near four year win streak has included wins over some of the best programs in college basketball: Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Arizona, Alabama and more.

That success on top of breaking a near 50 year FInal Four drought, has announced Purdue and Matt Painter as part of the wave of new Blue Bloods.

Purdue handled the emotions and pressures of an early round exit last season, now it will have to try and handle success and the exit of back to back player of the year, Zach Edey.


This year's Purdue's schedule isn't light on heavy hitters either with Alabama, Marquette, N.C. State, Texas A&M, and Auburn as Purdue transitions to its Braden Smith era.

But before that, Purdue will get to play host at home to Texas A&M Christi, a team outside the KenPom top-200 as Purdue tries to integrate three or four true freshmen into a rotation chalk full of questions around its big three.

Corpus Christi finished second in the Southland Conference last year, going 14-4 in the conference won by McNeese State.

Corpus Christi was a defense first team that guarded the three-point line, forced turnovers, played ultra-aggressive, and attacked the glass on both sides of the ball.

While on offense, Corpus Christi was one of the worst shooting teams in the country and relied on getting on the offensive glass. This should be a good test for Purdue on both ends as Purdue has been secure with the ball in its two exhibition games but features two freshman guards handling the ball. Purdue's youth on the front court will also be challenged on the glass as Painter tries to figure out his rotation early in the season.

It appears that Matt Painter has found his starting lineup, for now: Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Gicarri Harris, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Daniel Jacobsen.

The two true freshmen lineup started against Creighton and there hasn't been anything to suggest Painter will go away from it yet. Some rotation questions were answered on Sunday with Matt Painter announcing Jack Benter would be redshirting. Benter was one of five true freshmen scholarship add-ons this year.

Purdue's guard rotation seems pretty secure with Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer controlling the starting jobs for the third straight season. They're joined currently by true freshman Gicarri Harris who brings on defensive intensity and added ball handling, something Painter thinks will be vital as Purdue gets into its schedule and teams try to take Smith away from the ball by doubling and hedging hard on pick and rolls. It's the exact role that Lance Jones thrived in last year after transferring from Southern Illinois for his final collegiate season.


CJ Cox has also secured his spot off the bench. Cox is a true freshman guard that's shown an impressive amount of shot making while providing a similar boost on the defensive end. Both true freshmen guards will look to make an impact this season.

There are two true freshmen bigs contending for minutes for Matt Painter, but despite Daniel Jacobsen pulling the start in Purdue's last game, it's uncertain who Purdue's best big next to Kaufmna-Renn is. Jacobsen has the highest ceiling, but his 7-4 frame has struggled to maintain with the physicality of college basketball and he was bullieds by Creighton in Purdue's first exhibition game.


To make matters more complicated, returning bigs, Caleb Furst and Will Berg, both seem to have unexpected challenges for minutes from true freshman Raleigh Burgess. Burgess looked like a prime redshirt candidate, but on Sunday Painter said the situation is still being worked out.

Purdue's bigs have failed to separate themselves aside from Kaufman-Renn, making the choice of keeping Burgess eligible or not a difficult one heading into the season.


Painter will have to make a choice quickly and real game minutes will probably be the deciding factor on who he feels comfortable with as Purdue looks to win its third straight Big Ten title and get back to the Final Four this season.

There's no doubt about Purdue's hierarchy.

Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn will lead Purdue this season and next. The three juniors will dominate points for Purdue, and will all be in the running for major Big Ten honors.

Purdue's biggest questions surround who on Purdue's roster will rise up and meet the big three's production. There's freshmen that have already shown capable as fill ins and add ons next to Smith and Loyer in the back court, and a few bigs have some tantalizing physical traits.

But there's still hope that one of Purdue's two wings can take a step up and become a star. Myles Colvin has shown a propensity to get up shots in a hurry. He's one of Purdue's best athletes and someone who turned himself into a good defender towards the end of last season. The only true freshman from last year's class still might have Purdue's highest ceiling, but can he find the time and consistency that was missing from his game last year?

Camden Heide has every bit of athleticism and size you could want on the wing, thrown on top of a 40% three-point shot. But Heide too often disappears in a game. His leaping ability isn't engaged except in the open floor. He's struggled to create space or opportunities for himself. He's been relegated to a 3 and D role, which could be perfect next to Braden Smith as teams try to sell out to stop the point guard.

But until Heide can create for himself, he will be at the mercy of Purdue's system to provide for him.

But Heide is Purdue's elite perimeter defender, and he has the size to potentially unlock Purdue's secret small-ball lineup that has yet to be put on display in action this year.

Purdue versatility and perhaps ceiling will be unlocked with how well Colvin and Heide can play this season. When so much depends on true freshman at the guard spot, either Colvin or Heide stepping up into a bigger role will relieve some of that pressure on the younger guys.

Purdue won't have long to work its way into the season. Purdue will play two relatively out matched programs - Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Northern Kentucky - before taking on an Ivy League school, Yale.

The fourth game of the season will feature a rematch from last year's game in Toronto, and two Final Four teams squaring off.

On November 15th, Alabama will be coming to Mackey Arena as the two programs have agreed on a new home and home series. That means Purdue's freshmen and new big three will have just three games before its first top-ten contest of the season. Painter will need to get a lot out of his guys early. He's once again packed the non-conference schedule with heavy hitters.

Who: Texas A&M Corpus Christi at Purdue

When: 6:00 p.m. EST

Where: Mackey Arena

How to Watch: Big Ten Network