2/23/2026 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Fifty Fifty Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
I was there, for the Tyler Trent game. You know what game I am talking about. I scored last minute tickets in the south end zone, took my pops to that game. It was story-book night, as Purdue beat the tar out of #2 Ohio State. Another addition to the ever growing list of Spoilermaker occurrences. The electric performance that night was powered by Tyler Trent, but exemplified by explosive receiver Rondale Moore. 12 catches. 170 yards. 2 touchdowns.
As luck would have it, I was at Rondale Moore’s first ever game. Took my pops to that game, as well. A historic night where Rondale Moore set the all time yards from scrimmage record for Purdue, as a true freshman, first time touching a collegiate football. You could tell that this young man was something special. Something different.
It was announced, on Saturday, that Rondale Moore tragically passed away. He was just 25 years old.
We as people think of our athlete heroes like they are gods. Mythical beings. Run the fastest. Hit the hardest. It is all we know. He excels at the game we love to watch and plays for the team we root for. In a way it is natural, we only see what we can see, and we only feel what we can feel. We see the glamor of excelling on national TV, getting drafted, being a professional athlete.
Remember too, that our heroes are not gods. They feel. They think. They stress. They hurt. They bleed. There is no perfect human in the world, and the best we can do is support each other. Tell your family you love them. Give your buddies a call. Say prayers for those around you in need. Be kind. Be supportive. Be present.
I am heartbroken. Rondale Moore was one of my favorite Purdue football athletes of all time. I have been watching Purdue sports for four decades, and Rondale… man. I just don’t know what to say. He was incredible. On the field, and off, he exemplified what it meant to be Boilermaker. He bled old gold and black. My prayers go out to him, his family, and his loved ones. Unbelievable.
Ever grateful. Ever true. Rondale Moore. Boilermaker.
The Games:
#1 Michigan 91, #7 Purdue 80
Purdue played well for 30 of 40 minutes. During that 10 minute span, Michigan destroyed Purdue, putting the game away in the first half. 6 Michigan players scored in double digits. Michigan shot 57% from 3. Yeah, they’re good.
TKR led the way with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Braden Smith scored 20 points, adding 6 assists. Fletcher Loyer added 11.
Indiana 64, #7 Purdue 93
From the opening tip, to the final buzzer, Purdue stomped the Hoosiers into a fine paste. Then scraped the goo off of their work boots, for the walk-ons to clean up. A late, garbage-time run by Indiana made the final score seem closer than the game actually was. Also of note, at 29 points, this was the most lopsided IU loss in the rivalry since 1969 (57 years).
TKR had 20 points. Fletcher Loyer and Omer Mayer each added 18 points. Braden scored 15 and dished out 8 assists. This is the Purdue team that we have been waiting for the entire season. A constant, unstoppable, continual force.
Purdue-Indiana Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-indiana-2-20-26/
Break It Down:
Purdue split the week, which is not exactly surprising.
Michigan was ranked #1 coming into the game, shot 20% above their season average from 3, and played one of their better games of the season. Losing by 11 to the best team in the nation, isn’t surprising. That is what the best team in the nation does.
Purdue rebounded from that game by kicking Indiana in the teeth. Yes, granted, IU is a sub-par program, but it still is a rivalry game. Sometimes during rivalry games the lesser team has miracle performances, as we saw earlier this season. What is impressive is that there were zero lulls against IU. It was a perfect performance. The Hoosiers would have to have been Mythological Hero Achilles in order to have stood a chance. Tucker DeVries didn’t have enough energy to blow into Mackey Arena and bump Purdue off. It all ended up with one of the easiest Purdue wins, that I can remember, in a fun, buzzing environment. Toot, toot. Boiler up!
There is a bit of a fifty-fifty thing going on with this team. They haven’t clicked it all together yet. What Purdue needs to do is play against the Michigans of the world (a team with tremendous talent) like they did against the IUs of the world (a team of lesser talent). Yes, Michigan had something to do with that, but we are still waiting for the Boilermakers to put the perfect game together against worthy opponents. When that happens, it will be tremendous.
What Went Well:
- The Big 3: All three averaged double digits this week in their two performances. This is the type of leadership that we are going to need if Purdue has a run in them come March.
- Omer Mayer: 18 points against IU showed what he can do. He poured in 4 threes, in just 20 minutes of gametime. Tremendous efficiency.
- Effort: Was there in both contests this week. There has been some occasions where the “give a darn” wasn’t on, but this week the effort was there.
- Mackey Arena: Was beautiful and loud. I love it when my happy place is nasty like this week.
Opportunities for Improvement:
- Poison Picked: Against Michigan, Purdue continued with their clog the lane and let everyone shoot defense. Considering the front line of Michigan goes something like… 7’10, 7’8, and 7’2″ that defense makes sense. Michigan bombed from 3. When they make those shots (The same ones they missed against Duke yesterday) Michigan ain’t losing to anyone.
- Mackey Arena: Far be it for me to agree with the “olds” in Mackey Arena… but there were some chants involving F-Bombs and Yaxel that came through loud and clear on TV. Yes, I was a college kid 20 years ago. Yes, I did immature things, and chanted some similar things. I will, however, say that vulgarities in chants seem to be a bit uncouth. They are unbecoming. Maybe I am becoming one of the Mackey Olds… the math checks out…
Big Man on Campus:
Omer Mayer is this week’s BMOC. Hustle plays, bombing 3s, and showing out against the Hoosiers. Mayer averaged 13 points per game this week, providing another scoring threat from the bench, which is incredibly valuable this late in the season.
A Look Ahead:
The (as of this writing) #7 Purdue Boilermakers continues their “murderer’s row” of B1G games. The will host (as of this writing) #15 Michigan State for a Thursday night tipoff (8:00 pm Peacock (ugh)). Purdue should be pretty solid favorites in this matchup, presuming they can survive a game against Jeremy Fears without getting injured. Following that, Purdue hits the road, for a Sunday game at Ohio State (1:30 PM CBS). Purdue should be strong favorites in this game as well… at least until you remember that Painter can’t beat Jake Diebler for some reason, and Purdue does not play well in the cursed Value City Arena. We’ll see how this week fares!
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