Purdue’s Matt Painter Signals New Era After Rare December Big Ten Road Victory

Purdue entered this season as the clear favorite to finally win the big dance. They were one victory away from a championship in 2024, with Zach Edey carrying them every step of the way. But those days are gone. This is Braden Smith’s team now. And under Matt Painter, Purdue has already checked off something you almost never see from the Boilermakers. What are we talking about? Purdue’s long, frustrating history of stumbling in its Big Ten road opener.

Ever since the conference started scheduling league games in December, those early road tests have haunted the Boilermakers. Over the last seven years, Purdue has gone just 1–6 in Big Ten road games played in December, with the only win coming against Nebraska during the 2022–23 season. But the Boilermakers finally broke the curse this season, beating Rutgers 81–65 to open Big Ten play on the road as they aim to win their third regular-season championship in four years.

After the game, coach Matt Painter didn’t shy away from addressing Purdue’s long, frustrating history of stumbling in their first Big Ten road test.  “I was talking about it earlier. We’ve only lost one game in November in four years,” Painter said in the post-game conference. “When you look at the people we’ve played in our non-conference schedule, it’s hard to put an audit on it because you’re playing Villanova, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Duke, Gonzaga, and Marquette. I can keep going. Then we go on the road, play one conference game, and we haven’t had that success.”

He’s got a point. Every year, Purdue battles through one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, loaded with ranked matchups and high-pressure environments. Going from those heavyweight games straight into a Big Ten road opener can throw any team off rhythm, and that’s exactly what has tripped the Boilermakers up over the years. Just last season, they knocked off No. 2 Alabama and No. 23 Ole Miss… only to open Big Ten play with a loss at Penn State.

Here’s their record in the last eight Big Ten road openers (data taken from Sports Illustrated):

• December 1, 2017: Purdue defeated Maryland 80–75 (W)
• December 1, 2018: #7 Michigan defeated #19 Purdue 76-57 (L)
• December 15, 2019: Nebraska defeated Purdue 70-56 (L)
• December 22, 2020: #4 Iowa defeated Purdue 70-55 (L)
• December 9, 2021: Rutgers defeated #1 Purdue 70-68 (L)
• December 10, 2022: #4 Purdue defeated Nebraska 65-62 (W)
• December 1, 2023: Northwestern defeated #1 Purdue 92-88 (L)
• December 5, 2024: Penn State defeated  #8 Purdue 81-70 (L)

But no such thing happened this year, of course. Matt Painter’s side put all those December road-opening demons to rest, thanks in large part to their preseason All–Big Ten duo of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. The pair combined for 35 points and never let Rutgers sniff a comeback. The Boilermakers shot 47 percent from the field, knocked down 10 threes, and pushed their  record to a perfect 8-0 to start the season.

Speaking of Smith and Trey, Matt Painter also opened up about how hard it’s become to keep players in the same program now that NIL is a major part of college basketball.

Matt Painter Voices Frustration Over the Transfer Portal

One of the biggest reasons Purdue entered the season as the AP’s No. 1 preseason team was the rare continuity Matt Painter managed to hold onto. In the NIL era, keeping stars in the same program has become harder than ever, yet Purdue returned almost its entire core.

NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round-High Point at Purdue Mar 20, 2025 Providence, RI, USA Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith 3 controls the ball against High Point Panthers guard D Maurian Williams 4 during the second half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Providence Amica Mutual Pavilion RI USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xEricxCanhax 20250320_gma_qe2_0155

That included Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer, and standout forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, all of whom have been part of the program since day one. Painter believes that keeping a core together like this has become incredibly rare in the NIL era.

“They’ve been freshmen in this building. They’ve been sophomores in this building. We’re at an advantage. We have corporate DNA. We have guys that can coach our team,” Painter said. “But if you can’t keep your core group together, that’s what makes it hard. That’s why you see a lot of coaches say hey man I’m going to stick with this and play some young guys — and they leave on them. That’s why you see people just play older guys and go in the portal. Why not?”

Now it’s all about seeing whether this continuity can finally help Purdue win the championship they’ve been chasing since the program’s beginning. They’ve already taken a big first step by overcoming their long-time struggles in Big Ten road openers. But can they take the next step and actually win the big dance this year? What do you think? Let us know in the comments down below!

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