Purdue coach Matt Painter discusses Big Ten basketball gauntlet with Mike Krzyzewski

No. 3 Purdue (17-1) is rolling this season and head coach Matt Painter did not hold back about the strength of the Big Ten Conference.

The Boilermakers scraped by Michigan State on the road Monday afternoon to keep pace in the conference ahead of Rutgers and Michigan. Painter described the gauntlet that was the Big Ten and how Purdue turned over its roster from year-to-year to grab a top-three ranking at the midway point of January.

At this rate, the Big Ten could be well represented in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

“We lost a lot of players and I think that’s the kind of the true test,” Painter said on Basketball and Beyond with Mike Krzyzewski. “Can kind of reload with … we have some good freshmen on our team and, you know, just across the board we’ve had some good freshmen in our league. And then some guys, your league can really jump when you see those guys that are role guys as freshmen and sophomores and then really jump into a better role across your league. 

“And that’s what we’ve been able to have, great coaches and great players. Our venues, a lot of people don’t realize, (we) have the most attendance in our conference since 1976. It kind of shows for the student bodies and then the numbers. You know, Purdue has 50,000 students and you don’t look at it kind of that way, which doesn’t mean if you have more students, it’s better because it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

“But when over and over you have that many teams in your league now with UCLA and USC, you know, just the following the alumni base is huge.”

That was pretty evident in Purdue’s win over Michigan State. With Zach Edey drawing all of the attention, and eventually hitting the game winner, Painter talked about Fletcher Loyer’s resilience in the second half to give the Boilermakers a second option.

“Any time he struggles this year in the first half,” Painter said, “he plays great in the second half. He’s very aggressive, very sure of himself. He can make catch-and-shoot threes, shoot off the dribble and get to the basket. He’s very deceiving when he handles the basketball, but he does a good job getting angles and being aggressive. He’s not scared of the moment.”

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Big Ten Basketball Standings

1. Purdue, 17-1 (6-1)

2. Rutgers, 13-5 (5-2)

3. Michigan, 10-7 (4-2)

4. Illinois, 13-5 (4-3)

5. Iowa, 12-6 (4-3)

6. Michigan State, 12-6 (4-3)

7. Northwestern, 12-5 (3-3)

8. Penn State, 12-5 (3-3)

9. Wisconsin, 11-5 (3-3)

10. Indiana, 11-6 (2-4)

11. Maryland, 11-6 (2-4)

12. Ohio State, 10-7 (2-4)

13. Nebraska, 9-9 (2-5)

14. Minnesota, 7-9 (1-5)