3/23/2026 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Sweetness Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
Being a Chicago Cubs and Blackhawks fan, I have a bit of a hesitancy about the city of St. Louis. Yes, I have several friends who live there, and they are wonderful people… but its St. Louis. Home of the Cardinals, the Blues, Kurt Warner. I had to go against my sports instinct, and embrace the “Gateway to the West.” You know what, I had an excellent time.
You can probably tell by looking at me, and my rapidly expanding waistline, that I love trying local flavors. St. Louis is known for several things. BBQ. The dairy adjacent provel cheese on a cracker crust pizza. Toasted ravioli. Budweiser. Gooey butter cake. While that sounds like a recipe for heartburn, I call it Saturday.
I tried most of these things. The one thing I missed was the gooey butter cake. I am not much of a dessert person [I save my excess carbs for booze]. While I didn’t try the cake, I am sure that it is delicious. My thought process is simple… there is more something sweeter than dessert. The Sweet 16.
Round of 32 Game:
#2 Purdue 79, #7 Miami 69
Despite what Seth Davis told you pregame, Purdue was actually the better team. Despite some rocky moments, Purdue led for 27 minutes of the game, and stretched the lead out late.
Fletcher Loyer led the way with 24 points, on a nearly perfect offensive performance. He went 6-7 from the field, a perfect 4-4 from three, and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. This was, perhaps, the best performance of his career, when it mattered the most. Braden Smith struggled, scoring 12 points and 8 assists, but also turning the ball over 8 times. Luckily, this performance was buoyed by Trey Kaufman-Renn (19 pts, 9 rebounds), CJ Cox (11 pts).
This game was saved by CJ Cox, who went thermo-nuclear from 3 at the end of the 1st half, when Miami was running away with things for a bit. After that, Purdue did what they needed to do. They took care of the ball. They played tough defense. The Boilermakers ended up keeping Miami at an arm’s length for the second half, finally extending it to double digits.
Break It Down:
The number 9 is an important number for the Boilermakers. The last 9 years, Purdue has achieved a top 4 seed each season. Of the last 9 years, Purdue has reached the Sweet 16 seven times. That is 78%.
Seventy eight percent of the time, during the last 9 years, Purdue has made the Sweet 16. Matt Painter has now made 9 Sweet 16s at Purdue, good for 3rd most in Big Ten History. Third straight second weekend. This is a run that most schools would dream about. Matt Painter has continued to get it done, year in and year out.
There is a tired narrative, led mostly by twitter trolls and NBA analysts who never watch college basketball (but are hired to talk CBB for a month in March), that Purdue can’t win in the first weekend. Yeah, Purdue has had some jarring, severe, losses. SEVENTY EIGHT PERCENT of the last 9 tournaments, Purdue has reached the Sweet 16 or better.
Reaching the second weekend for Purdue is now the baseline. It is expected. So I am not going to dunk on the nay-sayers. I won’t spike the football. I am not going to trash talk or go on Twitter wars. The S16 is a baseline for a successful season. Purdue has not accomplished their goals… but they have put themselves in position to succeed. That is what matters. Survive. Advance. You can’t make a Final Four without making a Sweet 16.
Items of Note:
- Matt Painter: With a win over Miami, Coach has now won his 500th victory as Purdue’s head coach. He is only the 4th coach in Big Ten History to reach this milestone. Rarified air, for a legend! Congratulations to Coach Painter!
- Fletcher Loyer: Became the 1st Purdue Boilermaker to cross 300 three-pointers for a career. Congratulations to Fletcher!
- CJ Cox: Rose to the occasion against Miami, hitting multiple threes. Great to see the sophomore come up big when things were getting tight. Solid performance under pressure.
- CJ Knee: From what is being reported, his knee injury was a hyper-extension. It is not considered to be serious at this point, but surely will be something that will be highly tested the next several days. Hopefully CJ is ok, and ready to go later this week.
- Braden Smith: Broke his own assist record 8 times during this game.
- A Miracle: In the year of our Lord 2026, Purdue covered the spread in a game officiated by Courtney Green.
Big Man on Campus:
Big. Game. Fletch. Fletcher Loyer wasn’t just a shooter, he was a scorer. He wasn’t just a scorer, he was a killer. Whether it be from deep, mid range, taking it to the hole, or from the free throw line. Fletcher brought it. The most prolific shooter in Purdue history added another chapter to his novel.
A Look Ahead:
On Thursday, Purdue will play their Sweet 16 matchup against Camden Heide’s #11 seed Texas Longhorns (7:10 PM,CBS). If Purdue wins that contest, then they will play the winner of #1 Arizona and #4 Arkansas for the chance to make it to the Final Four (Time/Channel TBD). Just Win, Baby!
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