3/17/2025 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Time to Dance Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
We’re rapidly approaching prom time, and as a father I have had multiple children partake in those festivities. Prom was the BIG one. The most important dance of the year. It was always fun to see the excitement. Kids running around, dressing up, enjoying life to their fullest. A few decades ago I donned a tux, my date got her hair done and wore a nice dress. We looked great, or as good as you can as an awkward teenager. You always want to look your best, before the big dance.
Purdue on the other hand…
The Games:
USC 71, Purdue 76
A horribly officiated contest was called heavily in favor of USC in the first half, then horribly in Purdue’s favor to end the game. Boilers squeaked by, despite being down most of the game.
Trey Kaufman-Renn was chastized by official Paul Szelc, on national television, but shrugged the disrespect off by scoring 30 points and hauling in 7 rebounds. Flanking him was Fletcher Loyer scoring 14, and Braden Smith scoring 12 and dishing 9 assists. Myles Colvin and Cam Heide played well off the bench, boosting the Boilermakers to victory.
Purdue – USC Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/btt-purdue-vs-usc-3-13-25/
Post game: Eric Musselman threw a temper tantrum and the entire USC roster tried to fist fight an elderly Purdue fan. You know, the usual.
Purdue 68, Michigan 86
TKR had 24 points. Braden 12. Gicarri 11. Myles 9. Purdue phoned it in this game, so I am going to phone it in on the recap.
Purdue – Michigan Gallery: https://iscpurdue.com/btt-purdue-vs-michigan-3-14-25/
Break It Down:
You always want to look your best before the Big Dance, and it looks like Purdue just rolled out of bed. Boilers look like they played half asleep this week. Against USC, the Boilermakers were down double digits early. While much of that is Paul Szelc induced, Purdue needs to cowboy up and lay it on a USC team that played a double overtime game the night before.
Against Michigan, Purdue played exhausted, shooting an awful 33.8%. You could see early that the Boilermakers were missing short, a telltale sign that their legs were tired. Defensively, they allowed the Wolverines to do whatever they wanted. That is a recipe for disaster, and Friday was a disaster.
This Purdue team is much better than the late season woes have indicated. I have been saying it for a couple of weeks, the Boilermakers need to get out of league play. They need to see fresh faces, new opponents, because right now the B1G Universe has the Boilermakers’ number. With two All Americans on this squad and a week of rest, the Boilermakers will have a chance to regroup and do some damage in the Big Dance.
Speaking of the Big Dance:
The Boilers have earned a #4 seed in the Midwest Bracket, and will be playing High Point in Providence, RI (Tip time Thursday at 12:40 PM on TruTV or the March Madness app). If they win, they will take on the winner of Clemson and McNeese.
This seed is about as good as they could have asked for following their major fumbling down the stretch. If Purdue can win the two games, they will feed into Indianapolis. At that point, anything can happen!
Fun fact: Purdue has been a top-4 seed for 8 consecutive tournaments, the longest streak in the nation.
Big Man on Campus:
Trey Kaufman-Renn averaged 27 points and 8 rebounds in the two contests. He will pose a matchup nightmare for teams in the NCAA tournament, and if the Boilermakers want to make the second weekend, TKR is going to be a big part of it.
Here We Are, Folks!
The Big Dance is here! The NCAA tournament is my favorite sporting event. I have had the opportunity to cover the Boilermakers in the Big Dance several times. I have seen the highest of highs, sitting courtside in the Elite 8 against Tennessee. I have seen the lowest of lows, sitting in press row when the Boilermakers played FDU. You never know what is going to happen! Agony and ecstasy.
This is why I love March. We sleep in April.
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