1/26/2026 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Philosophy Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
Circa the year 500 BC, Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it; for it is hard to be sought out and difficult.” Some 1900 years later, Irish writer Oscar Wilde dipped his toes into Greek Philosophy, paraphrasing Heraclitus saying, “To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.”
“Expect the unexpected”, over the years, has been used to describe many things. Movies. Plays. Action sports. Professional wrestling. Carnivals. Freak shows. Magic shows.
Expect the unexpected.
You know there are people online who expect Purdue to win every single contest, by several dozen points? Do you know there are people who expect Purdue’s opponents to lose every single contest, by several dozen points? People expect the averages to play out every single time. People expect perfection, and without it, it is a time for a referendum on the future of the program.
According to Oscar Wilde, “people” do not have a thoroughly modern intellect. Well, the way Purdue fans reacted to this week, at least.
The Games:
#4 Purdue 67, UCLA 69
A player who averages scoring in the teens explodes for a career defining game, dooming the Boilermakers on the road.
UCLA shot the lights out, shooting 45% from three, including a dagger in the closing seconds. Purdue, on the other hand shot a miserable 26%. Donovan Dent scored 23 points while dishing out 13 assists. Most of those assists were to Tyler Bilodeau, who bombed away for the game winner, in route to 14 points and 4 of 8 from 3.
#11 Illinois 88, #4 Purdue 82
A player who averages scoring in the teens explodes for a career defining game, dooming the Boilermakers at home.
Illinois shot the lights out, shooting 47% from three, on ultra-high volume. I will give Purdue some credit here, statistically they played pretty well, but the unexpected happened… Keaton Wagler who averaged a little over 15 points per game heading into this contest, went for a Mackey Arena Opponent Record 46 points, draining 9 of 11 threes in the process. Several of these shots were tightly covered, and 5+ feet behind the three point line. You aren’t stopping a team that hits 18 threes, when someone scores nearly 50 points, even if you play pretty well.
Purdue – Illinois Photo Gallery: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-illinois-1-24-26/
Break It Down:
I didn’t expect Purdue to win both of the games this week. I didn’t expect two different players, from two different opponents, to have career defining games in the same week against the Boilermakers.
Keaton Wagler, was on an extreme heater this Saturday. Could not miss. His historic performance was 1) The most points scored by a Purdue opponent in Mackey Arena, 2) 46 points is the most an individual has ever scored in a road win over a top-10 opponent in AP Poll history and 3) Purdue became the first team in the past 20 years to shoot over 56% from the field, score 80 or more, and have 3 or fewer turnovers, and still lose.
Sometimes you have to expect the unexpected, particularly when Purdue Basketball is involved.
Did Purdue lose two games this week? Yes. Did they lose the Big Ten? Eh, possibly. Probably. Did the Boilermakers let two games slip away that they had a stranglehold on? Absolutely.
That is the scary part here, folks. Purdue wasn’t just winning in these games, Purdue has been dominating for major parts of these last several games, but have been squeaking out victories. Taking their foot off the gas. No killer instinct. Allowing the miraculous performance to happen against them, as per history. Boilermakers need to lick their wounds, and fast.
What Went Well:
- Braden Smith: Averaged double digits in scoring this week, fleshing out to a robust 19.5 pts.
- 3: Turnovers against Illinois, in the loss.
- 50%: from three for Omer Mayer, 4/8 in two games combined this week.
Opportunities for Improvement:
- Rebounding: Is about effort. Several players are sitting underneath their average and Illinois just decimated Purdue on the boards. Several of the Illinois offensive rebounds were dished out for 3s. Purdue lost by 6, but gave up a staggering 13 offensive rebounds. Sometimes you have to get physical, and just take care of business… that is unless…
- Jeffrey Anderson: Will see your physicality and upgrade you to an F1. What effectively turned the game, the upgrade led to a huge run for the Illini to close out the game. It was, perhaps, the weakest upgrade that I have seen. I am not blaming the officiating like most Purdue fans have, but I am pointing out that whenever there is a big call late, High Knees Jeffrey Anderson will probably blow it.
- Turn the Water Off: Listen, there are a lot of talking heads and internet folk who are complaining about the defensive style Purdue put up against UCLA and Illinois. I am in the camp that good offense will beat good defense, and (at least in the Illinois case) that is generally what happened. While most of Wagler’s shots were well defended, not all of them were. Something has to change, and someone needs to get him off his rhythm. Face guard him. 92 feet. Fight over a screen a time or two. Send a different body. Box and 1. Zone. I don’t know what, because (like the rest of you Purdue fans) know 1/1000th about basketball as compared to Matt Painter. When you have someone having an all-timer of a game, you have to do SOMETHING different to stop him.
Big Man on Campus:
Due to popular demand, there will be no BMOC award this week. Coffee is for closers.
One More Thing:
Illinois fans are something special online. Several sliding into my mentions, just to troll. Fans are a tricky bunch. Its part of being a media guy. That is just a certain segment, as many Illinois fans are just fine.
Lets talk about certain segments of the Purdue fandom, shall we? The spoiled, sky is falling, chicken little, modern intellect-less, Purdue fan. The rats fleeing a ship that isn’t even sinking types. The Pur”DOOM”ers. You are the most laughed at entities in all of sports.
Folks, there is a reason that Purdue fans are hated far and wide on the web, and these pissy-pants fans are the reason why. I am not talking about the reasonable fans. I am talking about the fans who are “undefeated or bust” types. I understand that emotions run high, especially losing two straight to statistic outliers. Yes, the miracle always happens -TO- Purdue, not in their favor. I get it. I have been dealing with it for 40 years. If I live long enough, I will deal with it for another 40. Blowing up the program that is the envy of 300+ programs nationwide, is ridiculous. Twitter is a place where you can make your voice heard, however dumb or not your voice is.
Facebook is even worse. That is where the older generation hangs out, mostly. Yes, this article will be posted in several of the Purdue Facebook groups, and boy are you folks toxic. You’d think these people would have the historic perspective of several generations of being Purdue fans, but nope. One elderly woman says “We need a new coach” aka Fire Painter. A coach on pace to destroy all of Keady’s records, and who got Purdue to a National Title Game literally 2 years ago. Another grumpy man says Braden is the only person worth playing… everyone else should be cut. It is bitch and moan, complain and criticize. Grampa Verne played varsity basketball in the 1950s, and he has opinions about Purdue basketball. Surprisingly, toxic and vile opinions. Great Aunt Gertrude has a bone to Pick with one particular player. Uncle Barry was a JV starter. He says Painter needs to be fired.
I get it, folks. Purdue had a rough week, but showing your lack of intellect, your reactionary knee-jerk hysterics, your willingness to insult people online, showing your ass online… it’s a bad look. I don’t post much on Facebook, anymore, but I lurk. It is the great people watching of the digital age, and it is not a good look for many Purdue fans out there.
Quit being babies. Purdue is 17-3. In line to be a 2/3 seed, still maybe a 1. Still could win the Big Ten. Can still win the National Championship. No need to be petulant.
A Look Ahead:
It is not going to get any easier for Purdue this week. Purdue will absolutely drop in the polls, but the (as of this writing) #4 Boilermakers will head to that town down south for a Tuesday night game against the Hoosiers (9:00 PM Peacock). This rivalry is always nasty, but I suspect Ass. Hall will be extra venomous. 1) Purdue is on some sort of skid so the Hoosiers smell blood in the water and 2) because I am currently anchored in Sports Hell, you bet your sweet assets that Kurt Cignetti and Heismendoza will parade their shiny football National Championship trophy out at some point to get the townies on their feet. If I was IU I would do it every single time Purdue and IU play in any sport for perpetuity. Anyways… Following that Purdue will continue the road trip with a jaunt out east, to Maryland for a Sunday 2/1 afternoon tip (1:00 PM). Maryland hasn’t been great this season, so who knows which player will have an all timer this week!
Either way, I don’t know what to expect next week, because this week was the unexpected.
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