MBB: 2025-26 Basketball Preview: Purdue Boilermakers

Hellooooo everybody! We are back with another Big Ten basketball preview, and this one’s a doozy. We’re talking, of course, about the Purdue Boilermakers. So, let’s get into it, shall we? Purdue finished last season with a 24-12 record, finishing tied with UCLA and Wisconsin for 4th place in the conference (13-7). They would (of course) make the NCAA Tournament, making it to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to national runner-up Houston.

In a shocking (for this day in age, anyway) turn of events, the Boilermakers didn’t lose a whole lot this off-season. They really only lost three rotation players from last season. Two players hit the portal: G Myles Colvin (5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in ~18 minutes per game) to Wake Forest, and F Cameron Heide (4.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists in ~20 minutes per game) to Texas. The other rotational departure was Caleb Furst, a 6’10” forward who played around 18 minutes a game and averaged 4 points and 3.5 rebounds.

They would help shore up some of the size they lost in the portal, by grabbing Oscar Cluff, a 6’11” Australian center who averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds last year at South Dakota State, and Liam Murphy, a 6’7” forward who averaged 13 points on 42% from three last year at North Florida.

Honestly, this might be the most boring “names to watch for” I’ve done yet, because Purdue’s best players from last year all came back. The main one to watch is senior F Trey Kaufman-Renn, the team’s leading scorer (20.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.5 rpg) last season. TKR took a giant leap between his sophomore and junior seasons, partially due to his minutes per game doubling. But he also shot better from the floor across the board and was able to stay (mostly) out of foul trouble. Every year in the NBA draft there’s a sneaky college senior that gets picked in the 2nd round and goes on to be a legitimate NBA guy, and I honestly think TKR could be that guy in the 2026 draft. Dude’s got the tools.

Next up is another senior, G Braden Smith. Smith was the 2nd leading scorer for the Boilermakers (15.8 ppg), but was by far the best distributor, dishing out close to 9 assists per game (8.7). He also led the team in steals with an impressive 2.2 per game and was the 2nd leading rebounder (4.5). I absolutely LOVE this dude. Definitely undersized, at just 6’0” and 175, but he isn’t afraid to fly in for a rebound or hunt contact. The dude just goes out and hoops, and he’s as scrappy as they come. Perfect combination for a “fan-favorite” kind of guy. If he can knock the three ball down just smidge more often than last year (shot 38% in 6.1 attempts), I think he could be a standout guy this season.

The last name I’ll throw out to watch is going to be that big Aussie transfer, Oscar Cluff. Purdue thrives when they have a legitimate big man in the middle (such as Zach Edey, Isaac Haas, or AJ Hammons for you sickos who were watching Purdue in 2015). I think this coaching staff will be able to get the most they possibly can out of Cluff, and I really think he could end up as one of their best players by the time they inevitably make the NCAA Tourney again.

So, yeah, Purdue is good at basketball. They just are. I will be SHOCKED if they finish any lower than, like 6th in the Big Ten. They’re just always a tough, tough team. Yada yada yada, only certainties in life are death, taxes, and Purdue making it to at least the Sweet Sixteen in the tournament.

The Ducks will travel to Purdue this season, date and time TBD still.

As always, ‘Sco Ducks.