With Purdue’s loss to Arizona in the Elite Eight, my brackets, and my remaining interest in this tournament, are officially toast.
Tag / NCAA Tournament
2025-2026 Final Standings
Purdue’s men’s basketball season came to an end on Sunday, falling to Arizona in the Elite Eight. It was a disappointing, but appropriate, end for a team ranked #1 in the pre-season and expected to compete for a national title but struggled throughout the conference schedule. While home tickets remained hard to come by this season, I did manage to see six games in five arenas across four states, thanks to a January trip out west to California, a Valentine’s Day visit to Iowa City, and the Big Ten Tournament here at the United Center, tied for the greatest number of games I’ve attended in a single season while adding both the Galen Center and Pauley Pavilion to my collection.
2026 Team Records – Men
| TeamName | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| USC Trojans | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Nebraska Cornhuskers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
How Sweet It Is
The Sweet Sixteen kicks off today following an opening weekend light on upsets and heavy on top seeds, although I did manage to lose my champion pick. Three of my Final Four picks are still intact, which is better than usual.
A disappointing showing from the Big Ten in this region, leading to two of my three misses.
Purdue heads to its third straight Sweet Sixteen, which ties its longest streak in program history and is their seventh trip in the last nine years.
And I Would (Once Again) Walk 500 More
This past November, Matt Painter notched the 500th victory of his coaching career against Akron. In yesterday’s victory over Miami in the NCAA Tournament, he scored his 500th victory at Purdue, where he replaced Gene Keady in 2005. Painter becomes the fourth coach in Big Ten history to reach the 500-win plateau, joining Tom Izzo, Bobby Knight, and Keady.
Keady ended his time on the Boilermaker bench with 512 victories, meaning that Painter, barring any freak occurrences, should pass his mentor early next season. Painter will look to add to his total on Thursday, when Purdue faces Texas in the Sweet Sixteen.
Standing Alone Atop The Mountain
On November 8, 2022, about eight minutes into his first game as a freshman, Braden Smith passed the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored and gave Smith his first career assist. Last night, about eight minutes into the first game of the NCAA Tournament as a senior, Braden Smith passed the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored and gave Smith his record-breaking 1,077th career assist. The play moved Smith past Duke’s Bobby Hurley for the NCAA’s career assists record; one Hurley had held since 1993. Smith finished the game with eight assists, giving him 1,083 for his career. He will attempt to add on to that total tomorrow as Purdue takes on Miami in the round of 32.
Put On Your Dancing Shoes
The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today. I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride. With the Final Four and the Championship taking place just down the road in Indianapolis, I may have to expend a not-insignificant amount of money should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to make it that far. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.
Maybe it is personal bias, but I am expecting big things from the two Big Ten teams in this bracket, including one making their way to the Final Four.
Purdue followed up a disappointing end to the regular season with a spirited run through the Big Ten Tournament to capture the championship. Are they fixed? Well, I hope so since I have them coming out of this region and heading to Indy. Continue reading →
Braden Watch
With eleven assists in yesterday’s Big Ten Tournament championship clincher over Michigan, Braden Smith now sits just one assist behind Duke’s Bobby Hurley for the NCAA’s career assists record. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Smith should break the record early in Purdue’s first round matchup against Queens in the NCAA Tournament.
1,076 – Bobby Hurley
1,075 – Braden Smith
Braden Watch
Braden Smith moved closer to capturing the NCAA’s career assists record, adding another 9 in yesterday’s victory over UCLA in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Smith is now just 12 assists away from tying Duke’s Bobby Hurley’s record of 1,076. At his current pace of 9 assists per game, Smith would need Purdue to play just two more games between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in order to best Hurley, and both of those games are now guaranteed.
1,076 – Bobby Hurley
1,064 – Braden Smith
Braden Watch
Braden Smith moved closer to capturing the NCAA’s career assists record, adding 10 in yesterday’s victory over Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Smith is now just 21 assists away from tying Duke’s Bobby Hurley’s record of 1,076. At his current pace of 9 assists per game, Smith would need Purdue to play three more games between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in order to best Hurley, with two of those games now guaranteed.
1,076 – Bobby Hurley
1,055 – Braden Smith
Braden Watch
Tying his career high with 16 assists in yesterday’s victory over Northwestern in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament, Braden Smith has surpassed both Ed Cota and Chris Corchiani and now sits in second place on the NCAA’s career assists chart. Smith is now just 31 assists away from tying Duke’s Bobby Hurley’s record of 1,076. At his current pace of 8.9 assists per game, Smith would need Purdue to play four more games between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in order to best Hurley. Suddenly, with two of those games guaranteed, this once again feels possible.
1,076 – Bobby Hurley
1,045 – Braden Smith