Purdue’s exhibition slate continues Thursday night with a trip down the road to Fort Wayne, where the Boilermakers will face Purdue-Fort Wayne in their second preseason game.
Matt Painter’s group opened the exhibition season Sunday at Mackey Arena against Ball State, and now it gets its first road test of the fall. Purdue-Fort Wayne may not bring the profile of a power conference opponent, but the setting still gives Purdue a different kind of challenge.
One of the bigger questions in this one is what happens on the glass. Purdue-Fort Wayne does not have much size across the roster, but it does feature some larger guards. Purdue should have the advantage with its frontcourt size, yet the Mastodons’ perimeter size could still make things interesting.
Painter has already talked about his guards bringing plenty of physicality, and Thursday offers a chance to see how that plays out against Purdue-Fort Wayne. The rebounding battle could tell a lot about how ready that group is for this type of matchup.
The other thing to watch is how Painter and his staff handle lineups. Exhibition games are made for tinkering, and Purdue may not stick with the same combinations it used against Ball State. The staff has the freedom to experiment, and there could be a few different looks on the floor in Fort Wayne, much like the variations that showed up in Canada.
Even with a Purdue-heavy crowd expected, this still counts as the Boilermakers’ first road game of the season. They’ll wrap up the exhibition portion next week with a trip to Hartford to play UConn, which is a much tougher environment.
For now, Thursday is a chance for Purdue to step outside Mackey Arena and get a feel for playing away from home. It’s a useful early test before the competition ramps up.
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Zach Edeys pro career is already moving into the stage where Purdue fans can start tracking him against the schools long NBA/ABA history. The former Boilermakers star and two-time National Player of the Year is entering his third season with the Memphis Grizzlies, and the next step in his career gives his old program another reason to keep one eye on the league scoreboard.
Purdue has had plenty of names leave their mark in the NBA and ABA over the years, but Edey is beginning to climb that list in a different way now, with his early production starting to build toward a meaningful place in the school record chase. For fans in West Lafayette, the interesting part is no longer just that he made it to the league, but how quickly he can keep adding to a total that already stands out among former Boilermakers. [Read more 🡒]
Purdue Keeps Winning Despite A Big Ten Reality Fans Can't Ignore
Matt Painter has built Purdue basketball around continuity, development and a coaching approach that has kept the Boilermakers in the NCAA Tournament mix year after year. Even as the wider college landscape shifts under the pressure of NIL and roster churn, Purdue has managed to hold together the kind of structure that gives it a chance to keep competing at a high level. The programs latest group looks familiar in the best way, with every eligible player from last season back and reinforcements added through the transfer portal.
The question now is whether that model can keep holding up as Big Ten programs keep pushing harder into the new financial reality. Purdue has been able to win by staying organized and keeping its core intact, but sustaining that edge is becoming more complicated as the market changes around it. The Boilermakers enter the new season with the same advantage Painter has long valued, though the challenge is whether discipline and continuity will keep being enough in a conference where everyone is looking for an edge. [Read more 🡒]
Antione West Looks Ready For More But One Purdue Problem Lingers
Antione West has already given Purdue enough in practice and in the exhibition opener to make the coaching staff and his teammates think he could be a big part of the programs next wave. The redshirt freshman guard has the kind of scoring touch and defensive upside that could eventually make him one of the Boilermakers go-to players, and there is a growing sense around the team that his best basketball is still ahead of him.
PJ Thompsons message, though, was just as clear as the praise: Wests talent only matters if he can stay on the floor. Purdue sees a player who can attack, score and guard at a high level, but the next step is learning how to defend with enough edge without giving away minutes to foul trouble, a balancing act that will go a long way toward determining how quickly his role grows. [Read more 🡒]