1/19/2026 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Gut It Out Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
In 1972 a young author named Judith Viorst wrote a book called “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day”. Because I am a well cultured individual, and I read the classics, allow me to break it down.
Let me tell you something, folks, Alexander had a bad day. He got gum in his hair. He fell off his skateboard. His friend ditched him. His mom didn’t pack a dessert in his lunch. His artwork sucked in art class. Total disaster. Alexander was so frustrated that he wanted to run away to Australia, presumably to be friends with Oscar Cluff. When he got home, the movies he watched were rom-coms and they sucked. Everything sucks.
Alexander’s mom pretty much said, “Suck it up, kid. People have bad days, even in Australia. Deal with it.” There you have it. Now you don’t have to watch Reading Rainbow to get the story.
Sometimes everything goes wrong, and Purdue had a lot go wrong this week. Couldn’t shoot. Questionable defense. Miracle production from their opponents. Panicky play from veterans. Officials who shouldn’t be given a whistle. Peacock. Terrible horrible. No good. Very bad.
The good news is that Purdue didn’t run off to Australia. They gutted it out, and took Alexander’s mom’s advice. Deal with it. Despite a couple very bad days, the Boilermakers still won two games. In the B1G Ten, that is what you have to do.
The Games:
Iowa 72, #5 Purdue 79
Whether it be a poor defensive strategy, lacking energy, or simply a miracle performance, the Iowa Hawkeyes shot nearly double than their conference average (on high volume) from 3 point land, for the majority of the game. Eventually the shots stopped falling, and Purdue took over.
Braden Smith took over in the second half, pouring in 16 points, tallying 8 assists on the day. TKR, Loyer, and Cluff all scored in double digits, with the bench chipping in good offensive production buoying the starters. Purdue’s offense lived up to the billing, and the defense did just enough to get the job done, in a comeback home win.
Purdue – Iowa Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-iowa-1-14-26/
#5 Purdue 69, USC 64
The first stanza of the West-Coast trip had Purdue sleepwalking through the first 10 minutes in Los Angeles. USC led by as many as 14, 11 minutes into the game. Fletcher Loyer and Oscar Cluff were dinged with early fouls, Braden Smith suffered a knocked knee and was hobbling… terrible. Horrible, even. Luckily, Smith walked it off and then punished USC for the audacity of taking a big lead.
Smith led the way with 22 points and 5 assists. Oscar Cluff added 19 points. Jack Benter and Gicarri Harris filled in admirably for the foul riddled Fletcher Loyer and unproductive TKR, as Purdue wins a gutsy back and forth affair.
Break It Down:
The Big Ten is won in silence, with gut-it-out wins in non-marquee matchups. Like Alexander survived his no good, very bad day, Purdue survived this week.
Any time that a team has two come from behind wins in a week, two things are true. 1) You stay undefeated in conference, solidifying your position at the top of the standings and 2) Cardiologists everywhere get a bump in visits, so it stimulates the local economy.
The bottom line is this, Purdue did not win the Big Ten Championship this week. Tons of tough games in the coming weeks. A loss against a lesser opponent, however, could have lost the conference. The Boilers may have played terribly for stretches of this week, but they turned it on when it mattered. Just keep winning.
What Went Well:
- PG1: Braden Smith has had a legendary week. His second half against Iowa was one of the most impressive performances that you will see. His first half, after hurting his knee against USC, was another nasty performance. This week, Braden averaged 19 points and 6.5 assists. While those assist numbers are lower than his season average, it is at the expense of him hunting his shot, taking over games offensively, and closing it out against USC.
- HUSTLE: This week we saw several hustle and effort plays from the Boilermakers. Diving on the floor, taking charges, battling extra hard for rebounds… Several players kicked up the intensity when these games were looking dicey at times.
- Speaking of Australia: Oscar Cluff has gotten the raw end of the whistle, lately, however when he has been on the floor he has dominated. He was unstoppable against USC, and provided an anchor on the block against Iowa. He is currently the most efficient offensive player in the nation, shooting a blistering 76.3% from the field on the season.
- Boiler Brand: Had several friends who traveled cross country to the USC game. They had a great time sightseeing, enjoying the beach, and bringing hell in the Galen Center. Purdue played a de facto home game, and the noise was evident on the broadcast. Great turnout for the Boilermakers in SoCal! You love to see it!
Opportunities for Improvement:
- Give a Shit: Needs to be turned on for 40 minutes. Yes, basketball is a game of runs, but Purdue has appeared to be developing a pattern of falling behind. The occasional lackadaisical play. The mental mistakes. Occasional lazy passes. Getting out rebounded… All of these are effort mistakes. Yes, Purdue can turn it on, but my goodness, they are playing with fire with these switched off moments. Will bite the Boilermakers in a one-off championship tournament.
- The B1G Ten: Has an officiating problem. The Iowa game was frustrating for nonsensical calls/no calls (both in favor of and against Purdue), which allowed the pace of the game to get thrown off. Against USC, a complete shift in officiating called touch fouls for a few minutes, allowed acts of assault for a few minutes, called phantom calls for a few minutes, allowed flagrant fouls for a few minutes… No consistency. You want to know why the Big Ten hasn’t won a championship in a generation? The officials are allowing football on the hardwood, or ballet on the hardwood. No consistency. No in between. Now Purdue’s All-American point guard is hurt. What other players will follow?
- Peacock: The “mute announcers” feature which NBC has flirted with for their Peacock network cannot come soon enough.
- Eric Musselman: In the land of Big Lights, Big Bands, Big Ten, Eric Musselman is a small, angry man. Begged for a technical, against Purdue, never got it. Complained about officiating after the game. Just a petulant individual.
Big Man on Campus:
Box score watchers don’t know ball. People who know ball, know… Jack Benter is the BMOC this week. 2 huge threes against Iowa ignited the Mackey faithful. Timely rebounds, steals, assists, threes, charges taken… in limited minutes Jack Benter ignited the Boilermakers this week, helping propel Painter’s squad to victory. Energy guy, doing everything that Purdue needs!
A Look Ahead:
(As of this writing) #5 Purdue continues to sit a top of the Big Ten, and will continue their second leg of the LA road trip, with a visit to UCLA on Tuesday (10:00 pm, Peacock (ugh)). UCLA is a tough squad that has had a bit of a rough start to conference play. They will be looking to knock off a top 5 squad to get a signature win. Following that, Purdue will return home to take on (as of this writing) #13 Illinois in Mackey Arena (3:00 FOX). Illinois needs no introduction. What will be interesting for the Boilermakers is the “West Coast Trip Trap” where teams have been known to drop their first home game back from their Pac 12 West Coast trip. Keep your eye on that game. Either way, Mackey should be rocking!
For more content like this follow @ISC_PU on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. For a deeper look into the mad mind of Ben Kolodzinski, follow him at @BRKolo on Twitter. WARNING: Viewer’s discretion is advised…
