Painter and Boilermakers leading nation early in 2021-22 season
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (BVM) — The Purdue Boilermakers are off to a great start this season, currently sitting atop the AP rankings. This is the first time in program history that the Boilermakers have reached the top spot on the list, with their previous best being No. 2, which they’ve held a few different times. Most responsible for the team’s success is its long standing head coach, Matt Painter.
Painter has coached Purdue since the 2005-06 season, after acting as the associate head coach during the 2004-05 campaign. He spent his first years coaching as an assistant at Washington & Jefferson, Barton, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois, where he was also head coach for a season. While his coaching career prior to Purdue did not amount to much success — besides an NCAA Tournament appearance with SIU — his previous stops set him up for a long tenure with the Boilermakers.
Painter was born and raised in Indiana, hailing from Fort Wayne, and attended Purdue University as an undergraduate student and player on the basketball team. During his playing career, he managed modest stat lines, but by his senior year, he was a team captain. It’s evident that his passion and ingenuity within the sport of basketball has transcended his career as a player into his stellar coaching success.
During Painter’s time with Purdue, he has led his squad to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances including trips to the Sweet Sixteen four times and an Elite Eight appearance. He has also coached the Boilermakers to four regular season Big Ten Conference championships and one Big Ten Tournament championship victory. As Purdue’s coach, he has been recognized as a brilliant mind in the sport, having acquired four Big Ten Coach of the Year accolades and one National Coach of the Year award after the 2018-19 season.
The 2021-22 season is underway and the Purdue Boilermakers have secured a top spot in the nation. Purdue has an 8-0 record so far this season, having obtained substantial victories against Villanova and Iowa up to this point of the campaign. In 18 years as a head coach, Painter has managed an impressive 388-189 record, including 12 seasons with 20 or more wins. Painter has been a measure of consistency to which other coaches hope to be compared to in college basketball.
While Purdue has been off to one of the best starts in program history, they will need to continue to play at a high-level to remain at the top. The Big Ten has several competitive teams, including Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio State, most notably. Each of these teams are coming off of finishes in the top seven of the nation’s top-25 rankings at the end of last season. It is safe to say that the season will be full of excitement as it approaches March.
Last season’s team did not finish the year as it had hoped. The team had successfully reached the NCAA Tournament and obtained the No. 20 rank by the regular season’s end, but Purdue was unable to surpass the first round. The Boilermakers suffered a loss to a surprising North Texas team after Purdue entered with a No. 4 seed in the South Region.
Painter and the Boilermakers clearly understand the opportunity that presents itself to finish the season at the top of the NCAA standings and win the Big Ten’s first national championship since 2000.
Coach Painter and Boilermakers will be back on the court next on Dec. 9 in a trip to Jersey Mike’s Arena to face off against Rutgers.
