The first week of the college basketball season already handed out a few ugly receipts, and the damage showed up fast for Dayton, Purdue and Oklahoma. These are the kinds of losses that don’t disappear just because the calendar is still young. They sit on a résumé all season, waiting to be judged come Selection Sunday.
Dayton’s stumble was the kind that will linger. Northern Illinois came in after losing to Grambling and carrying a kenpom ranking around 300, a team picked to finish near the bottom of the Horizon League.
That’s not the sort of opponent an Atlantic 10 program can afford to drop, but the Flyers did exactly that in an 81-76 overtime loss. Freshman wing Aiden Derkack tried to carry them with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but the result still counts as a Quad 4 setback that Dayton will have to spend months trying to erase with better wins.
Purdue’s week started in a way that could have been lived with. Losing to Gonzaga was acceptable, and the Boilermakers arguably overachieved in that opener.
What happened next was the real problem. Back home against Valpo, Purdue let a winnable game slip away in an 83-80 overtime loss, one that qualifies as one of the worst regular season defeats of the Matt Painter era.
Rakim Chaney poured in 35 points, and the Boilermakers are now 0-2 with what looks like a Quad 3/4 loss already attached to the résumé. There’s still time to recover, but the question hanging over them is simple: are they good enough to make up for it?
Oklahoma’s damage came right out of the gate. The Sooners lost 68-64 at home to East Texas A&M in what was arguably the biggest result on opening night.
Even without leading scorer Xzayvier Brown, that’s a Quad 4 loss that shouldn’t happen, especially against a newer D-I program from the Southland Conference. The saving grace is the schedule ahead.
Being in the SEC gives Oklahoma plenty of chances to stack signature wins. But if the bubble picture gets tight, this one could be the mark that pushes them to the wrong side.
Kansas State also opened with a rough one, though the Wildcats at least steadied themselves afterward. The Coach Casey Alexander era began with a 68-66 home loss to South Dakota State, an early Quad 4 setback.
They bounced back with a 95-78 win over Cal State Northridge, but the blemish remains. Since Kansas State was picked to finish last in the Big 12, it may not end up mattering much in the bigger picture.
In Other News...
Purdues Latest Collapse Exposed A Bigger Problem For Barry Odom
Purdues 34-29 loss to Maryland left Barry Odom searching for answers, and the postgame mood around the program reflected just how much this one stung. Odom met with the media alongside Ryan Browne, Charles Correa and DNylon Morrisette, and the coach framed the defeat as a painful step backward for a team that expected more from itself in a game that slipped away in key moments.
The bigger concern for Purdue was how the loss unfolded, with Odom pointing to defensive breakdowns and situational mistakes as the kind of problems that cant keep showing up if the Boilermakers want to stabilize. The result was disappointing on its own, but it also raised a tougher question for Odom and his staff about whether this was simply a bad night or a sign of deeper issues that still need fixing. [Read more 🡒]
Purdue Makes A Late Defensive Change As Barry Odom Tries To Stop Slide
Purdues search for answers on defense took a sharp turn after the Maryland loss, with head coach Barry Odom moving quickly to make a change in the middle of a season that has already been defined by too many breakdowns. Kevin Kane, who was hired after the 2025 season and had previously served as Purdues defensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024, is out effective immediately, a sign of just how urgent the situation has become in West Lafayette.
The Boilermakers have struggled to find any consistency on that side of the ball, and the latest setback left Odom with little room to wait for a turnaround. Bringing Kane back had been an attempt to restore familiarity and stability, but Purdues defensive slide has continued, forcing the program to reset again as it tries to salvage the season. [Read more 🡒]
Purdue Already Faces An Early Test It Cant Afford To Flunk
Purdue is already staring at a tricky early-season checkup as it gets ready for Illinois State, and the timing could hardly be more uncomfortable. The Boilermakers are still trying to settle in after a rough opening stretch, with the most obvious issues showing up where they can least afford them right now: perimeter shooting and defense. Against a team that knows how to stretch the floor, Purdue will need a cleaner offensive rhythm and a sharper edge on the other end than it has shown so far.
One place the Boilermakers do have an answer is size, with Daniel Jacobsen giving them a height advantage they can try to turn into a problem for Illinois State. But that edge only matters if Purdue can make the Redbirds play on its terms, which means forcing turnovers, getting stops and finding some kind of lift from outside. Early-season games can be messy, but this one already feels like the kind Purdue has to handle before the questions around its start get any louder. [Read more 🡒]