IOWA CITY - After Purdue’s commanding 78-57 win over Iowa on Feb. 14, Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter didn’t set out to critique Iowa’s roster - but his postgame comments spoke volumes about what separates the elite from the rest in college basketball right now.
Painter was asked about how his frontcourt handled the physicality of the game, and his answer, while focused on his own squad, inadvertently shined a light on a glaring issue for the Hawkeyes.
“If you look at the best teams in basketball right now, you look at their front lines - they’re all stacked,” Painter said. “You don’t walk away from any of those top six to eight teams and be like, these guys are just OK physically.
They’re all stacked. Every single one of them.”
And that’s the heart of the matter for Iowa. Against Purdue, the disparity in size, strength, and depth in the frontcourt was impossible to ignore.
The Boilermakers didn’t just win - they imposed their will. Whether it was on the glass, defending the paint, or finishing around the rim, Purdue had multiple bigs who made their presence felt.
Iowa, by contrast, simply didn’t have the bodies to match that kind of physicality.
Painter went on to emphasize the importance of having more than just one capable big man.
“If you’re going to compete against those six to eight teams and you get up against them, you’ve got to have Daniel (Jacobsen), you’ve got to have (Oscar) Cluff, you’ve got to have (Trey Kaufman-Renn),” he said. “You just can’t just have a dude. You’ve got to have a lot of guys physically that can defend down there, that can rebound down there and can put the ball in the basket.”
That’s not just coach-speak - it’s a blueprint. The top-tier programs aren’t relying on one dominant big; they’re rolling out waves of size and skill.
It’s not enough to have a center who can hold his own. You need depth, versatility, and toughness in the frontcourt to survive - and thrive - in high-stakes matchups.
For Iowa, this loss wasn’t just about missing shots or having an off night. It was a reminder of the physical gap between where they are and where they want to be.
Painter’s words weren’t aimed at the Hawkeyes, but they hit home all the same. If Iowa wants to climb into that upper echelon, the path forward starts in the paint.