2/2/2026 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Fun Times Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
Sports are fun, right? Well, they’re supposed to be, at least. My blood pressure and liver don’t always think sports are fun, but this is what I asked for when I was born into being a Purdue fan.
Oh, yeah, I also cover local prep sports, when I am not tied into my day job. That is pure fun. Kids going out there, living their dreams of sacking the quarterback, scoring the game winning touchdown, hitting the buzzer beater against the rival two towns over… what sports are supposed to be.
Sure, being a local media guy, sometimes I fumble a name of a kid on air. Sometimes I made a dopey statement when analyzing a play. I am a dope. We laugh. We move on. Sports are fun, and in these “uncertain times” life needs fun. FUN. Kids playing a game. Entertainment for the purity of the sport.
Purdue had a frustrating stretch, here, losing 3 straight games. It wasn’t fun. There was no joy of youths playing a kids’ game. There was general malaise, and I get it. What else isn’t fun? Taking your misery out online, hurling insults, singling out players, or ruining the vibes of those around you. Throwing online temper tantrums and hot takes, isn’t how you start a party.
Spoke with a fellow media guy this week. Bro to bro. Brotalk. Someone whom I have eventually become buddies with, bonding over our shared life philosophies and love for the Boilers. We bemoaned that the NCAA has sucked the amateurism out of the sport, made it a financial x’s & o’s game rather than the joy of watching a contest. We laughed and rolled our eyes at the insults hurled at us as media folk. We both agreed, that landscape of the sport isn’t fun right now, particularly during a 3 game skid. Throw in a chaser of the NCAA’s current mismanagement of their only product and this past time is just… not fun.
Fun. Why do we do this? Fun. I am not saying that this article will be as exciting as a troop of exploding clowns stuffed with confetti, but I will say this… Every week I write this articles chocked full of in-jokes and Easter eggs to make my buddies chuckle. Other people seem to like it. We add pictures from the best photographer in the business. We ain’t getting rich doing this (for sponsorship opportunities, inquire within), we do this for fun. There is so much awful shit in this world to worry about… how an orange ball bounces is far from being up there. Relax.
So to paraphrase Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation…
Where do you think you’re going? Nobody’s leaving. Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Purdue Basketball Season. No, no. We’re all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm basketball emergency here. We’re gonna press on, and we’re gonna have the hap, hap, happiest March since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny [Expletive Deleted] Kaye. And when Purdue Pete squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney in March, he’s gonna find the jolliest bunch of a**holes this side of the nuthouse.
I think that just about covers it.
The Games:
#12 Purdue 67, Indiana 72
Indiana went out there and had some fun. Purdue seemed like they didn’t want to be there, you know, playing a kids game, against their rival, on the road, after losing two straight. The outcome wasn’t fun for the Boilermakers. The less we talk about this game, the more fun it will be for me to write, as well as better for you to read. Lets just say, when Purdue does not show max effort, basketball isn’t fun.
No wonder the Boilers had a players-only meeting following this game. I am sure that one was fun.
#12 Purdue 93, Maryland 63
This game was fun! The Boilermakers stepped on the gas and kept their foot planted. All gas, no breaks.
Fletcher Loyer started hot, and drilled 7 threes, seemingly busting out of his shooting woes. He scored 29 points. Braden Smith added 19 points and 6 assists, with Gicarri Harris pitching in 12. TKR narrowly missed a double-double going for 7pts and 10 rebounds.
One of those ho-hum, wire to wire, road 30 point victories. See how much fun that was? Lets do more of that.
Break it Down:
Whatever happened during the players only meeting, at least for one day, worked. Sunday was fun! The rest of January… not as much.
Seasons ebb and flow. Sometimes a team goes through a rough stretch, even against inferior teams. Purdue did just that.
The good news is that the average Big Ten Champion has 3-5 losses. The bad news is that the rest of the Big Ten frontrunners will need to hit their slump for Purdue to join them.
More bad news, 3 losses in a row, will definitely hurt Purdue’s seeding in the NCAA tournament. A 1 seed is out of the question. Would take a miracle for a 2 seed. The problem is, only the top 4 seeds are geographically favored, and right now Purdue is flirting with dropping below a 3 seed, with the murderer’s row of the B1G on the doorstep. More good news, however, the Boilermakers are still 18-4, a tremendous record to this point of the season.
What does all of this mean? I have no idea.
I am a dope, and we’ve established it. Lets have some fun and see how the rest of the regular season fleshes out.
What Went Well:
- 0: CJ Cox, who just happens to also be number zero, has not committed a turnover in Big Ten Play. That is now 11 games, for a starter, with heavy minutes played.
- 50%: From three (on 30 attempts) against Maryland helped propel the Boilermakers. Purdue will win a ton of games going forward if they keep shooting like this.
- 6: Point possessions normally happen against Purdue, not in their favor. A Fletcher Loyer 3, coupled with an off ball foul, followed by a Daniel Jacobsen 3 immediately thereafter. That was fun.
- Give a Darn: Turned to the on position against Maryland.
Opportunities for Improvement:
- 53%: Free throw shooting against Indiana. Boilers only went 8/15 from the charity stripe. Lost by 5. No team is expected to be perfect from the free throw line. Miss a few here and there, and it will cost you.
- Perimeter Defense: Third game in a row in which a lower percentage shooter punished Purdue from deep. The scheme is a “dare ’em to beat you from 3 and let God sort ’em out” defense, but that lends Purdue to being susceptible to some rando getting sagged off of and getting hot from 3. These are D1 athletes, most folks can shoot these.
- Twitter: Nasty business the last couple weeks. If you think my tweets are anything more than me, with tongue firmly planted in my cheek, throwing something against the wall to see what sticks… then I don’t know what to tell you. It isn’t that serious. None of this is that serious.
- Give a Darn: Turned to the off position against Indiana.
Big Man on Campus:
Purdue did win a contest this week, so the BMOC award is active… but as the King of the BMOC award, with one of those losses being against IU, there will be no recipient this week. Coffee is for closers.
A Look Ahead:
The (as of this writing but soon to be dropping) #12 Purdue Boilermakers have a bit of time to catch their breath. Boilers next contest will welcome the Oregon Ducks for a Saturday 1:00 pm tipoff (CBS). Oregon was highly regarded to start the year, but for some reason haven’t put things together. If fun Purdue shows up, then Saturday night will be alright! I’ll be on campus for this one, so feel free to come by and say hi!
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