ISC Purdue

12/22/2025 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Holiday Edition

Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.

Tis the season of spreading love and joy. Memories, nostalgia, sugar plums, nutcrackers, Christmas ghosts, Bumpus hounds… you know, the usual happenings around the holidays. Good people, good food, Midnight Mass, and wrapped presents under the tree. Remember, though, it is not about receiving gifts, it is about giving. I love shopping for my wife and family. Getting them that special gift for these special days.

Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was extremely giving this year. He took an out of character trip off of the naughty list and was quite generous! You see, nepotism be damned, but coach gift wrapped this Auburn team and handed over the reins to his unproven son in a last-minute, totally above board and not strange, coup transition this fall. Also, mind you, Mr. Pearl also provided bulletin board material, bragging about how Auburn “… bitch slapped” Purdue last year before feigning respect for Matt Painter and dumping platitudes. Yeah, that is a direct quote. Bitch slapped. In fairness, it was 18 points last year… so it wasn’t pretty.

Hm, maybe a revenge spot, in Indianapolis…

The Game:

#21 Auburn 60, #6 Purdue 88

If an 18 point victory is considered a “bitch slap” to Bruce Pearl, what does he call his son’s 28 point loss?

Trey Kaufman-Renn went off for 18 points. Braden Smith played Santa Claus, dishing out 14 assists while adding 11 points. 5 total Boilermakers scored in double digits. The three joining TKR and Smith were CJ Cox (14), Gicarri Harris (12), and Jack Benter (11). Everything clicked as the Boilermakers roll another ranked opponent.

Purdue – Auburn Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-auburn-12-20-25/

Break It Down:

What more can you ask for? Purdue beat the snot out of a team that disrespected them prior to tipoff. Or, well, more accurately, the opposing team’s coach’s daddy insulted Purdue pregame.

There are plenty of violent euphemisms that could channel the inner Bruce Pearl to describe this game’s outcome… I’ll just call it karma.

What Went Well:

• 46%: From 3 will equate to a lot of wins for this Purdue team.
• Speaking of That 46%: This is without a good shooting night from Fletcher Loyer (0-7). A normal shooting night from the Sr. sharpshooter, and this would be even more lopsided.
• Cleaning the Glass: Purdue continues to rebound the ball at an elite level, outrebounding Auburn by 11.
• 60: Points scored by Auburn, their lowest point total of the season. The Boilers may have the most efficient offense in the NCAA, but their defense is stepping up.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• N/A: Keep doing this.

Big Man on Campus:

Gicarri Harris found a new gear this game, riding the hot hand as he drilled 4 threes against Auburn. Great to see this young man starting to heat up from the floor!

One Last Thing:

I want to wish a sincerest happiest of holidays to all of our loyal, good looking, hyper-intelligent, ISC readers and Purdue-a-Maniacs out there. Whatever it is you celebrate, however you wish to do it, I just want to spread my holiday cheer to you! Also, as schedule would have it, I want to highlight that this is the final article of the year 2025. So, Happy New Year as well!

A Look Ahead:

Purdue’s next game is on Monday 12/29, which is -AFTER- the post time of this article. So we have a bit of a Christmas break ourselves, here! They take on Kent State (7:00, BTN+). Following that, Purdue will hit the road and head to Madison, WI for a new year tilt up in Badgerville on Saturday 1/3 (8pm, FOX).

Until then, I will be relaxing with family, sipping something spirit filled, and not counting carbs for the rest of the season. Merry Christmas, all, talk to you soon!

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