12/15/2025 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Cheat Code Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
When I play video games, I like to just destroy the computer opponent. Winning the National title in NCAA Football ’08 with Purdue 105-0 was commonplace. Putting “College Slam” on easy mode and winning each game by 30 was fun to me. I speak the elder languages: IDDQD. IDKFA. UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A. (The real ones know what those codes mean.) I essentially am more entertained by winning than I am by a challenge.
In the real world, challenges are presented to you. I used to be pretty good at Mike Tyson’s Punchout. I would not fare so well against a real Mike Tyson punch (particularly in the early 90s, as a child). Video games aren’t real life. Basketball, however, is played in reality. So, when Iowa State punched Purdue in the face, and damn-near knocked Purdue’s ass out last weekend… Purdue had to get up, and dust themselves off.
Champions get off the canvas.
-Matt Painter
The Games:
Minnesota 57, #6 Purdue 85
A late first half run by the Gophers led to a 2 point game at halftime. The rest of the game was a Purdue scoring run.
Braden Smith led the way emotionally, as well as statistically, scoring 15pts adding 12 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals. Joining Smith in double digits was Trey Kaufman-Renn (14), Oscar Cluff (14), Daniel Jacobsen (11), and Fletcher Loyer (10). Both Oscar Cluff and TKR joined Smith in the double-double club by hauling in 11 & 10 rebounds respectively.
Purdue – Minnesota Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-minnesota-12-10-25/
Marquette 59, #6 Purdue 79:
A game ending 12-2 run against Purdue’s deep bench, allowed Marquette to cut the lead down to… 20.
Oscar Cluff flexed his muscles, scoring 22 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Fletcher Loyer added 15 points. TKR narrowly missed the double-double with 10 pts and 9 rebounds. Boilers had everything clicking on a snowy, blustery, blizzard-y day in West Lafayette.
Purdue – Marquette Photo Gallery: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-marquette-12-13-25/
Break It Down:
The Boilermakers had their cheat codes working this week. Everything seemed to come together following the first half against Minnesota. Since then, Purdue has been in god-mode, mowing through the competition. Now, lets be fair, considering the competition this week, Purdue might have the game set on “Easy” difficulty. However, they did what they needed to do, and “beat the game”.
Also, you might have noticed that this week’s breakdown of the games deviates from normally bombastic columns. Quite frankly, there is literally nothing too in depth to dive into. Every player who played had some bright spots. Purdue won two games via blowout. The games were a breeze. IDDQD IDKFA.
What Went Well:
- 3 Players: Achieved double-doubles in the same game against Minnesota. Smith, TKR, and Cluff. While we are used to it as Purdue fans, we need to reflect on how ridiculous it is that there are upwards of 5 players who could go off for a double-double on any given night, and it wouldn’t surprise you.
- Defense Lives Here: Purdue gave up an average of 58 points in the two contests this week. Yes, both of these teams were offensively challenged, but Purdue didn’t let these teams get a whiff of offensive success.
- Mackey Arena Crowd: Packed to the rafters during Snowmageddon 2025 on Saturday. Several Saturday school events in the area were cancelled. The roads were awful. Polar bear sightings quadrupled along the Tippecanoe River. Purdue fans ain’t no cowards! They packed the house!
- 22: Points by Oscar Cluff against Marquette. This sets a Purdue record for most points scored by a player who did not miss a singular attempt to score. Cluff went 9-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line, so he was literally perfect. That is what I call an efficient performance!
Opportunities for Improvement:
- Peacock: The visuals of my feed kept lagging and spazzing out. I asked around and nobody else seemed to be having any problems, so let’s chalk this one up to being a Ben problem. Since the visuals were goofy, I had to rely on the audio from Fanta and Settles… who didn’t really talk about the game for the entirety of the second half. I should have just switched over to Rob and Bobby Buckets, you know they bring it! So this, again, is a Ben problem. I really fudged up this Saturday.
- Ben: For not making the logical corrective-actions for my Peacock streaming issues, and fudging up a Saturday.
Big Man on Campus:
Braden Smith turned his intensity up to 100 this week. Leading by example, he averaged in double digits for both points and assists. He also had 7 steals in the two games combined, meaning he is picking it up on defense as well. This week, Braden Smith became just the second division 1 player to amass 1500 points, 850 assists, and 550 rebounds.
Purdue Volleyball is ELITE:
The Purdue volleyball team fell in the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament against hosting Pitt. Purdue lost several stars from the previous season to the transfer portal, and Coach Dave Shondell worked closely with the loyal members who stuck with the Boilermakers through thick and thin, and had his team on the verge of making a Final 4.
In what very well could be a National Coach of the Year season, Coach considered retirement prior to this campaign. He rediscovered his passion due to his love of this team saying, “They basically saved my coaching career because the eight players that returned were so loyal and showed so much love to me, and the freshmen that came in, the five freshmen, they can’t find anything wrong with Purdue.” This weekend, it was announced that Shondell has signed a 4 year contract extension to coach the Boilermakers.
Congrats, Purdue Volleyball on an exciting year!
A Look Ahead:
We have reached finals week in West Lafayette, which means that we have reached the doldrums of December when it comes to basketball. The Boilermakers only have one game this week, as they will take on the (as of this writing) #21 Auburn Tigers in a neutral site game, Saturday 12/20. By neutral site, I mean it is the “Indy Classic” and it will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis… so, not very neutral (6:30 pm, Peacock).
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…
