Right now, Purdue basketball looks like a team searching for answers-and fast.
What started as a promising stretch, with close-but-survivable wins over Washington, Penn State, and Iowa, has unraveled into a three-game skid that’s raising real concerns. Just a week ago, the Boilermakers were clinging to a second-half lead at UCLA, sitting atop the Big Ten at 8-0.
Since then? The wheels have come loose.
Yes, the Big Ten is a grind. Yes, rivalry games are always emotional.
And yes, the margins in these losses have been razor thin. But that’s exactly what makes this so frustrating.
Because we’ve seen what this Purdue team can be. We’ve seen the flashes of dominance-on both ends of the floor-that made them a preseason favorite to not just win the conference, but to make a serious run at the school’s first national title.
Right now, though, those flashes feel like distant memories.
Since the final minutes of that loss at UCLA, Purdue has looked like a different team. The defense has gone cold, especially on the perimeter.
Opponents are getting too many clean looks from deep, and Purdue’s closeouts haven’t had the urgency we saw earlier in the season. On the glass, Trey Kaufman-Renn-normally a reliable presence-is being neutralized, and that’s hurting second-chance opportunities and transition defense alike.
Offensively, the rhythm is gone. The ball movement that once created easy looks has stalled.
Fletcher Loyer, a key piece to Purdue’s perimeter attack, is struggling to find his shot. And when the outside isn’t falling, it puts even more pressure on the interior to produce-something they haven’t consistently managed in recent weeks.
It’s a tough stretch, no doubt. But it’s also a pivotal one.
There are still 10 games left in the regular season. The goals-another Big Ten title, a deep run in March, maybe even a trip to Indianapolis-are still on the table.
But the margin for error is shrinking. With matchups looming against Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska, Purdue has a chance to right the ship.
But they’ll need to rediscover their identity-and soon.
The good news? The next two games come against teams at the bottom of the conference standings.
That’s not a guarantee of anything in the Big Ten, but it is a golden opportunity. A chance to reset, to regroup, and to remind everyone-including themselves-what this team is capable of when it’s locked in.
Purdue doesn’t need to be perfect. But it does need to be Purdue again.