March 1, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Royer (2) reacts to a call in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Image Purdue fell out of the top 10 this week, giving up its guarantee of advancing to the quarterfinals of the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
At both points, no. 15 They haven’t been able to avoid the Boilermakers forever, but they soon realize they’ll have to correct the slide once regular-season overtime begins Wednesday with visiting Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.
Purdue (22-7, 12-6) sits in fifth place in the conference with two games remaining, but needs outside help to get back to a top-four seed in the league.
The Boilermakers are 17-1 and have lost six of their last 11 games. They fell seven spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll following a narrow loss at No. 8 Michigan State on Thursday afternoon and an 8-point loss at Ohio State on Sunday afternoon.
The Boilermakers, led by Braden Smith (20 points) and Trey Kaufman-Len (19 points), had four scorers in double figures, but defensive mistakes throughout the lineup took a toll. Purdue coach Matt Painter is looking for greater consistency against Northwestern (13-16, 5-13) and beyond.
“I wish there was one person I could fix,” Painter said. “I wish there were two people.” “It’s collective as a team. We have players who have played in 125 games, others who have played in 28 games.”
Wednesday marks the final home game for conference leading scorer Nick Martinelli. After enduring an offensive lull starting in February as the team struggled to maintain its depth behind him, the Northwestern senior is averaging 26.3 points during a three-game winning streak.
Martinelli made a layup with 1.8 seconds left Saturday to lead the team to a 63-62 home win over Oregon.
“We are playing for our lives.” Martinelli said. “Inevitably, we’re going to have to win the Big Ten tournament or make a serious, deep run to make March Madness, so we have to make sure the urgency is there.”
Northwestern coach Chris Collins has no doubt that the team’s young core feels the same way, given Martinelli’s initiative and example.
“He has a huge responsibility to continue his legacy by leading our future core of freshmen and sophomores, including Tre Singleton, Jake West, Tyler Kropp and Angelo Ciaravino,” Collins said. “As they mature, I hope they become leaders, great players and experts in all conferences.”
Painter, meanwhile, knows the skills of the veterans in the locker room and is confident they can facilitate the transition.
Fletcher Loyer, Kaufman-Renn and Smith each started on a Boilermakers team that finished as national runners-up to UConn two seasons ago.
Still, opponents are shooting 52.2% (205-107) against Purdue in the last four games. On Sunday, Ohio State set a season high for a Boilermakers foe with 32 trips to the free throw line.
Painter said: “I saw them take us to a Big Ten title. I saw them take us to the Sweet 16. I saw them take us to the Final Four. I saw them become great guys. I saw them become the No. 1 team in the country.
“If we have something that a lot of people in college basketball don’t have, we have to get it right.”
–Field level media
