It’s no secret that expectations in West Lafayette are through the roof. We’re seven months away from the start of the college basketball season, and already Purdue is penciled in as the favorite to win the Big Ten and one of the top picks to win the 2026 national championship.
The reason for the offseason hype comes because of the work Purdue has done over the last month, both retaining and recruiting players. The Boilers return stars Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, as well as contributors in Gicarri Harris and CJ Cox. Freshman center Daniel Jacobsen returns from injury after missing nearly all of the 2024-25 campaign.
Additionally, Matt Painter and his staff brought in 6-foot-11 center Oscar Cluff and 6-foot-7 wing Liam Murphy via the transfer portal. The Boilermakers have also signed a two-man recruiting class, which includes top-50 prospect Omer Mayer and three-star shooting guard Antione West Jr.
For those reasons, former college basketball coach and current Big Ten Network analyst Bruce Weber believes there’s a strong outlook for the Boilermakers entering the 2025-26 campaign.
“When you have a point guard like Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, a big guy — you’re building a team with that point guard and big guy,” Weber said on Big Ten Network. “There’s no doubt you feel good about yourself, but you do have to have that mix in there. (Painter) was able to keep Fletcher Loyer, I think CJ Cox made a lot of improvement.
“He has Jacobsen, the freshman who redshirted last year, coming back. If he gets stronger — I saw him practice early last year, good skills for a big guy — it gives them more depth. And then … they needed physicality and rebounding. (Oscar Cluff) had about 12 rebounds per game, that was a point of emphasis. Then they brought in Murphy from North Florida who gives them some athleticism to kind of replace Myles Colvin and (Camden) Heide.”
Purdue’s combination of returning stars and incoming talent has garnered a lot of attention from national outlets. Most recently, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected that the Boilermakers would be the top overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Obviously, we’re still a long way from March Madness, but the excitement about Boilermaker basketball is already sky high. Weber is just the latest analyst to explain why Purdue has a great shot to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
PURDUE BIG TEN OPPONENTS REVEALED: The Big Ten has released the opponents for the 2025-26 college basketball season. Here’s who Purdue will play at home and on the road in conference matchups. CLICK HERE
PURDUE PROJECTED AS TOP SEED: ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects that Purdue will be the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, setting up a run to the Final Four. CLICK HERE
EDEY RESPONDS TO CRITICS: Zach Edey had a lot of doubters coming out of Purdue. After a full NBA season under his belt, he had a message for those critics. CLICK HERE
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
