College basketball rankings: Purdue locks up Big Ten title as Matt Painter's team silences preseason doubters
The Boilermakers are currently in line to earn a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Purdue defeated Wisconsin 63-61 on Thursday night to secure the outright Big Ten regular-season title -- plus what should be a sixth Big Ten Coach of the Year award for Matt Painter.
There's really no great case for anybody else.
Painter lost four of the top seven scorers from last season's team, enrolled zero heralded newcomers and still finds himself on the verge of winning the Big Ten by three games. His best player (Zach Edey) was ranked outside of the top 400 of his high school class. His starting backcourt consists of two freshmen (Braden Smith/Fletcher Loyer) who were ranked outside of the top 90 of their high school class. Despite those facts, Painter's Boilermakers have gone from unranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll to legitimate candidates to earn a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
So what did AP voters overlook about Purdue in the preseason?
Answer: The presence of Painter himself.
When I placed Purdue at No. 24 in Version 1.0 of the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 last April, this is what I wrote: "The Boilermakers' ranking is based on Purdue returning three of the top seven scorers from a team that made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament -- among them All-American candidate Zach Edey. Admittedly, that's not a lot -- but Matt Painter deserves the benefit of the doubt based on the consistency with which he runs his program."
In other words, Purdue's roster didn't appear to be top-25 good, but I still ranked the Boilermakers in the preseason simply because Painter is always top-25 good, evidence being that he's about to finish in the top 25 at KenPom.com for the eighth consecutive season. The only coach with a longer active streak of top-25 KenPom finishes is Gonzaga's Mark Few (11 going on 12).
Purdue remains No. 5 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Houston is No. 1 for the 15th consecutive day. The Boilermakers will close the regular season Sunday inside Mackey Arena with a game against Illinois.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 25 points and three steals in Thursday's 83-66 win over Wichita State. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Memphis. | -- | 14-1 |
| 2 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 24 points and six assists in Wednesday's 90-85 win over Auburn. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | -- | 11-4 |
| 3 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 67-63 win over Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Texas. | -- | 11-4 |
| 4 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 26 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 79-61 win over Arizona State. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Arizona. | -- | 10-5 |
| 5 | | Zach Edey finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds in Thursday's 63-61 win at Wisconsin. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Illinois. | -- | 14-1 |
| 6 |  | Nae'Qwan Tomlin finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 85-69 win over Oklahoma. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | -- | 9-6 |
| 7 |  | LJ Cryer finished with 15 points and three rebounds in Monday's 74-68 win at Oklahoma State. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 10-4 |
| 8 |  | Marcus Carr was 4 of 16 from the field in Wednesday's 75-73 loss at TCU. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday against Kansas. | -- | 9-6 |
| 9 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 21 points and 10 assists in Tuesday's 72-56 win at Butler. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against St. John's. | -- | 6-10 |
| 10 |  | Drew Timme finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 104-65 win over Chicago State. The Zags' next game is Monday in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 17-1 |
| 11 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 87-81 win at USC. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at UCLA. | -- | 15-0 |
| 12 |  | Adama Sanogo finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 88-59 win over DePaul. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Villanova. | -- | 15-1 |
| 13 |  | Darrion Trammell was 2 of 9 from the field in Tuesday's 66-60 loss at Boise State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against Wyoming. | -- | 10-4 |
| 14 |  | Santiago Vescovi finished with 14 points and five assists in Tuesday's 75-57 win over Arkansas. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Auburn. | -- | 11-4 |
| 15 |  | Aidan Mahaney was 2 of 10 from the field in Saturday's 77-68 loss at Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game is Monday in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 15-2 |
| 16 |  | Colby Jones finished with 29 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 94-89 win at Providence. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday against Butler. | -- | 9-7 |
| 17 |  | Damion Baugh finished with 24 points and nine assists in Wednesday's 75-73 win over Texas. The Horned Frogs' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 11-4 |
| 18 |  | Indiana shot 18.2% from 3-point range in Tuesday's 90-68 loss to Iowa. The Hoosiers' next game is Sunday against Michigan. | -- | 12-3 |
| 19 |  | Miami blew a 25-point lead in Saturday's 85-84 loss to Florida State. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday against Pitt. | -- | 13-2 |
| 20 |  | Jayden Gardner finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 64-57 win over Clemson. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Louisville. | -- | 13-2 |
| 21 |  | Tyrece Radford finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 69-61 win at Ole Miss. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 12-3 |
| 22 |  | Jeremy Roach finished with 20 points and two assists in Tuesday's 71-67 win over NC State. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at North Carolina. | -- | 14-1 |
| 23 |  | D'Moi Hodge finished with 23 points and five steals in Wednesday's 81-76 win at LSU. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Ole Miss. | -- | 12-3 |
| 24 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 25 points and four assists in Wednesday's 99-59 win over Georgetown. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday at DePaul. | -- | 10-6 |
| 25 |  | Max Rice finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 66-60 win over San Diego State. The Broncos' next game is Saturday at Utah State. | -- | 9-6 |
| 26 |  | Kris Murray finished with 26 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 90-68 win at Indiana. The Hawkeyes' next game is Saturday against Nebraska. | -- | 12-3 |
