The Purdue men’s basketball team kicks off the 2025-2026 regular season tonight against Evansville. With Danny out of school and losing my John Purdue Club pre-sale opportunities, it may be a while before I attend another regular season home game, but, like last year, I can look for road opportunities. So, with the 129th season in school history about to get underway, let’s take a look at the results of the now 25 men’s college basketball games I have attended in my lifetime, with the latest coming at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa.
All-Time Team Records – Men
| Team | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Hoosiers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| North Texas Mean Green | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Butler Bulldogs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 17 | 7 | 0.708 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Gonzaga Bulldogs | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Houston Cougars | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Long Beach State 49ers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Vermont Catamounts | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Jacksonville Dolphins | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Four years ago, the Purdue men’s basketball team reached #1 in the AP rankings for the first time in program history. Over the past three seasons, the Boilermakers have spent at least one week each season at the top of the poll, leading all of college basketball with thirteen weeks total. Yesterday, another first was achieved as the team was atop the first preseason poll for the first time in program history. They’ve come close twice before, ranked #3 in 2023-24 heading into Zach Edey’s final season and #2 in 1987-88.
In a tournament that has been lacking any major upsets, it is fitting that the Final Four contains the four #1 seeds for just the second time ever. My bracket is officially toasted, so congratulations to whatever team winds up winning.
A few picked upsets that didn’t happen mar the bottom half of this region, but the top half, including my reginal champion, is clean.
For the third consecutive year, the Big Ten’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Year calls Mackey Arena home. Braden Smith took home the honor on Tuesday, thanks to a season averaging 16.3 points, 8.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He became just the fourth player in Division I history to have at least 500 points, 270 assists, 140 rebounds and 70 steals in a single season. Along the way, he scored his 1000th career point, his 500th career rebound, and broke the school record for career assists.