Merry Christmas! A Look Back at the Best Moments of 2022.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from myself and the rest of the Boiler Upload family. This has been a crazy round up to 2022 for us, and a lot of you I'm sure. We're thankful for the year we've had and excited for the year to come.

The end of the year is a good time to make sure and not forget the blessings and memories we made along the way. So the staff and I have gotten together to chronicle the year in three categories: Best Game, Best Win, and Best moment in Purdue sports 2022.

Please share yours, as well, on the forum, and have a beautiful New Year.

Best Game - Beating Duke in the PK85 championship game. It wasn't just a 2 point win, it was an obliteration of an opponent whose name carries weight and is a perennial powerhouse. It was also surprising, as the entire basketball season has been thus far, as this was tabbed as supposed to be a 'down year.' Credit when credit is due. Casey called it in June that this team will be special, he was spot on.

Best Win - I am giving to the Purdue Volleyball Team with sweeping #8 Minnesota to start the Big Ten season.

Coach Shondell always has that team humming and with him at the helm, is having a historical stretch of success. At some point, they will have a breakthrough and win a national championship.

Best Moment - seeing Jaden Ivey's dream come true and get drafted to the NBA. Jaden was the highest drafted Boilermaker since Big Dog and I often think many people take advantage of the time we had with him.

He was outstanding, and did everything for a shorthanded back court in 2021. Many people placed expectations on a kid that had just an okay supporting cast.

Best Moment: Jaden Ivey’s three-pointer vs. Texas

This moment seems somewhat stained by the events of the next game, but at the time Ivey’s clinching three against the Longhorns was an incredibly cathartic moment. Just 79 seconds earlier Purdue had a 10 point lead and seemed to be cruising to the Sweet 16. Suddenly with a little over a minute left Purdue was up three with the ball and nearly turned it over in front of the bench. After games like Cincinnati, Little Rock, and Virginia it was an “oh great, here we go again,” moment. Those were just the ghosts of March past. After losing four games on three-pointers with less than 10 seconds left I could already see Texas’ Marcus Carr tying the game after the longhorns got a stop.

As Ivey pulled up I even started to yell, “what the f*** are you doing!?!?!” because Purdue didn’t need a three there. It was a moment of horror, followed by joy as it went through the net. Finally, it felt like a March moment went our way. What happened a week later sucked, but Ivey’s three against Texas was my favorite moment of the year and it felt like things were finally turning our way.

Best Game: Beating Gonzaga in Portland

I’ll stick with basketball here, but beating the Zags was the first, “hey, these guys might be pretty good” moment this year. Beating Marquette at home was nice, but not a surprise simply because Purdue rarely loses in Mackey anymore. Beating West Virginia felt like we prevailed in a pretty evenly matched game and it insured that the Portland trip would include at least one good win to tuck away until March.

Gonzaga though? The Zags have been among college basketball’s elite for years now with multiple Final Fours and a near undefeated season just two years ago. With 17:22 left the Bulldogs trailed by only one, but from that point forward Purdue was completely dominant. Zach Edey ascended to another level by winning the battle against Drew Timme. It was a double-digit win over a very good team on a neutral floor. Suddenly all the goals from last year felt possible. It was also a national coming out party for Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.

This game removed any doubt Purdue was going to the NCAA Tournament (barring a complete collapse), and suddenly anything felt possible.

Best win: Beating Minnesota in Minneapolis

If there was a turning point this season for football it was the game in Minneapolis. Purdue came in at 2-2 after just barely getting past Florida Atlantic at home. It had blown two very winnable games against Penn State and Syracuse. It was playing an undefeated, ranked Minnesota team that was looking like the clear favorite in the Big Ten West. Purdue had never won in Huntington Bank Stadium either. A loss would not have been backbreaking, but it would have ended any hopes of a repeat special season.

The Boilers surprised us that day. Aidan O’Connell, playing through pain, had a gritty performance. The defense made some big plays including a Cam Allen interception in the end zone. Devon Mockobee had his first big play with a 66 yard run that set up the clinching touchdown. As a whole, Purdue made big plays all day long and got an important win that setup the first divisional title in program history.

Moment of the Year: Purdue beating Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket Game. (November 2022)

There were so many layers to this game. First and foremost, it was Purdue beating Indiana to keep the bucket back in West Lafayette for the second straight year. Then, the win clinched the Big Ten West and a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan. Regardless of the outcome in Indianapolis, that is a special moment for the program, players and fans. Purdue had never gone to the B1G Champ Game and who knows when they can get back with everything happening within the conference.

It turned out to be Jeff Brohm’s final regular season game with Purdue.

You also can’t forget to bring up Aidan O’Connell. He had a great game in unimaginable circumstances. Losing his older brother a short time before the game would impact others differently, but he was able to go out and perform. That aspect of the game made things one that the Purdue program won’t forget any time soon.

Win of the Year: Purdue beating No. 21 Illinois in football. (November 2022)

I’m going a different route with this one. After all of the great Purdue basketball wins, I decided to roll with Purdue football knocking off Illinois in Champaign. This was a defining moment in the final season under Jeff Brohm.

Purdue was coming off of back-to-back embarrassing losses against Wisconsin and Iowa that they were not all that competitive in. Those two games halted all of the momentum the team had after a four game winning streak and were sitting at 5-2 on the year.

A big topic of conversation leading up to the Illinois game was staying alive in the Big Ten West race. Aside from Penn State, the Boilermakers faced their toughest test of the season to that point. Purdue was able to solve the puzzle that was Ryan Walters’ defense and scored the most points against Illinois on the season.

The victory kick-started a three game winning streak to close out the regular season and clinch a Big Ten West title just a few weeks later. Had Purdue lost to Illinois, there is no telling how different everything could have been.

Game of the Year: Purdue basketball beats Ohio State on Ivey buzzer-beater

This game might get forgotten with everything that happened with Purdue basketball dating back to last season, but it was one of the most thrilling games of 2022.

Purdue entered the game No. 6 in the country and hosted No. 16 Ohio State at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers looked like their usual selves and opened up a 20 point lead at the 14:39 mark of the second half, then things started to fall apart.

The Buckeyes came all the way back down the stretch, similarly to how they did in the Big Ten Tournament in 2021. Mason Gillis hit a pair of three throws with 42 seconds left to give Purdue a six point lead, but EJ Liddell responded by hitting back-to-back threes and tied the game at 78 with 26 seconds to play.

Eric Hunter Jr. found Jaden Ivey after dribbling around aimlessly and the All-American saved the day. Ivey rose up to hit a fadeaway three at the buzzer as Purdue snuck out of the game with a win. It will get lost in the disappointment of the NCAA Tournament for the Boilermakers, but it was one of the most electric moments inside Mackey Arena this year.

Win of the Year: Purdue 96, Illinois 88 2OT January

I'm going to go way back into the start of 2022 for mine. Purdue's 96-88 double overtime win at Illinois. This turned out to be the definitive Sasha Stefanovic game, with him scoring 22 points on the road, and it was a hint of what was possible with Zach Edey, who had 20 point sin 27 minutes. He seemed unlocked by Jaden Ivey's ability to play in the pick and roll.

Ivey also shined as bright as he did at any point in the season, looking like the dynamic, unstoppable force that got him drafted in the top five of the NBA draft. He carved up Illinois' defense and got to the line 15 times. The energy and play in this game was as good as it gets in college basketball.

Game of the Year: Purdue 64, St. Peter's 67 - Sweet Sixteen

I guess it's only fitting as the only staff member in attendance in Philadelphia. It's easy to never want to think about this game again. St. Peter's was the Cinderella of all Cinderella's. I thought, most people thought, their end was absolutely coming against a Purdue team that had a top-5 NBA player and bigs they couldn't match up with.

That was the energy before the game. Purdue had never had a more winnable path. A 15-seed and a team they had already beaten that season. Then the game started. The result obviously sullies the experience for Purdue fans, but the atmosphere, the national attention, the narrative, there was nothing Purdue was involved with that meant more in college sports. It should have been Purdue's moment, but as Painter has proven this season, results will vary. The only thing you can control is the process, and that wasn't the last chance Purdue will have to finally give Coach Painter his Final Four run.

There's a good chance in a few years we'll all look back as it just being a strange blip for a Coach who finally broke through and who deserved to all along.

Moment of the Year: The Boilermaker Family Rises to the Occasion for Brian.

Maybe it's recency bias. Maybe I'm overly sensitive because since I've started covering Purdue, I've watched the Purdue family mourn the loss of two greats in Purdue media - Jeff Washburn and Larry Clisby. There's only so many defining voices in Purdue sports, and Brian Neubert is one of them.

So to see in real time, Purdue fans, players, and friends rise up to the occasion to help Brian Neubert with a GoFundMe as he prepares to take on brain surgery for the third time... well those are the stories I'm gonna remember now, and twenty Christmases from now. This is what defines what Purdue means to me personally, beyond any sport, or best win, or game. Watching this community raise over $100,000, including Matt Painter donating $5,000, that's the kind of Christmas Story worth telling.

I've never covered a basketball game without Brian there. If we're on the road, he knows where to go and makes sure I do, too, and I know I'm not the only one who'd get lost without his sports coverage.

He defines as much as he opines what covering Purdue sports is. So it's amazing to see people recognize and show support for someone who has provided so much to them for the last twenty years. Here's to a speedy recovery, Brian, and to everyone, a Happy New Year.