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.
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.
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.
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 →
A pretty great week, as I surpassed 30,000 steps for the fifth straight week, ran my streak of 4000+ days to 20, and notched my highest step total completely in the state of Illinois since July. The week got off to a good start on Sunday thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures, leading to a longer walk through the neighborhood finishing 18 steps away from 6300. Record high temperatures on Monday facilitated a walk to Walgreens to pick up a prescription, which left me with 7700 steps, the first time I’ve reached my daily goal since January’s trip to California. The temperature, and my step total, dropped on Tuesday, but I still managed 4800 steps. The low point of the week came on Wednesday, but that still ended up at 4400 steps. An impromptu trip to the United Center on Thursday to see Purdue battle Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament left me 22 steps shy of 4100. A return trip on Friday to see Purdue defeat Nebraska was even better, finishing 26 steps away from 6200. Saturday finished the week strong with 4750 steps on the nose.
Total steps: 40,233
Daily average: 5747.6
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 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
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
Braden Smith finished Big Ten Conference play with nine assists in Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin, keeping him in fourth place on the NCAA’s career assists chart. Smith is now just one assists away from tying North Carolina’s Ed Cota for third place and 47 away from Bobby Hurley’s record of 1076 as we head into the Big Ten Tournament. At his current pace of 8.7 assists per game, Smith would need Purdue to play at six games between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in order to best Hurley. With the way they have been playing, that does not seem likely.
1,076 – Bobby Hurley
1,038 – Chris Corchiani
1,030 – Ed Cota
1,029 – Braden Smith
Smith ends his career with 585 assists in Big Ten Conference games, extending his record by 107 assists over Cassius Winston. Purdue makes their first appearance in the Big Ten Conference Tournament on Thursday.
A disappointing senior day loss to Wisconsin yesterday did have one bright spot for Fletcher Loyer. Making six three-pointers, he surpassed Carsen Edwards to become Purdue’s all-time leader in career three-pointers made with 282. He also became the all-time leader in career three-pointers made at Mackey Arena with 148, passing David Teague’s 146.
Finishing with 23 points, Loyer ended the game with 1,704 career points, moving him moving into fifteenth place on the Purdue’s all-time scoring list. Loyer and Braden Smith also played in their 141st career game, tying Dakota Mathias for the most games played in Purdue history.