O Purdue Basketball the list has remained more consistent than most for 2024-25, with one notable exception.
The Boilermakers lost two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey but retain three starters and have a touted freshman class.
Many national experts observe a decline (it is difficult to advance above of the national runner-up), but the Boilermakers could continue to be a contender in the Big Ten (now 18 years old). Purdue’s average national ranking in this group is 13th.
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Where is Purdue ranked in college basketball?
Gary Parrish, CBS Sports: 12th
This ranking is based on Matt Painter’s Boilermakers returning five of the eight leading scorers – specifically Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Myles Colvin and Camden Heide – from a team that won the Big Ten regular season title and advanced to the championship game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers have finished in the top 25 on KenPom.com for nine consecutive years, and there’s no reason to think that streak won’t continue next season, even without Zach Edey, two times National Player of the Year.
Isaac Trotter, 247Sports: 18th
Having an All-Big Ten point guard like Braden Smith makes life a lot easier. Even without two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey, Purdue is expected to be a true contender in 2024-25. Smith will be nominated for Big Ten Player of the Year and Loyer is a reliable secondary option.
But Purdue didn’t add a single player to the transfer portal because it had no open scholarships. This offseason is a bet on young, talented wings like Cam Heide and Myles Colvin being absolute dudes. With Matt Painter at the helm and Smith in hand, Purdue has the infrastructure to cover up its flaws and maximize its strengths. It’s also time for Trey Kaufman-Renn to prove Purdue right. Your scenario is set.
This defense will undergo an overhaul, but perhaps freshman big man Daniel Jacobsen is ready to command a bigger piece of the pie. Will Berg and Jacobsen are in tow to make sure Purdue keeps its 7-foot streak alive.
Also, it’s Painter. He’s good at that.
John Fanta, Fox Sports: 10th
Has Matt Painter found yet another tower of terror for the Boilermakers? It’s certainly possible with four-star freshman Daniel Jacobsen, 7-3, showing big upside last year and now suiting up for Team USA in the FIBA U18 Americup. Jacobsen recently had nine points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in 20 minutes in the win over Argentina.
We won’t place unfair expectations on Jacobsen, but it will be interesting to see him in a Purdue uniform given the success Painter has had with Isaac Haas, Matt Haarms and, of course, Edey, who became the first repeat national player of the year since Ralph Sampson.
Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are back for their junior seasons and will be one of the best guard duos in college basketball, while Myles Colvin and sharpshooter Cam Heide are ready for sophomore leaps. Don’t forget forwards Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn, who are also back. Obviously, Purdue will play differently in the post-Edey era, but getting back that kind of core for the national runner-up should only help the Boilermakers make that big adjustment to the way they play.
CJ Moore the Athletic: 13th
Purdue’s KenPom ends in the five years following the Zach Edey era: 9, 19, 5, 9, 24. It will be difficult to replace Edey, but Matt Painter won a lot of basketball games before Edey came along and he will continue to do so. it. Painter has a very good return, led by Smith, who became a killer in the pick-and-roll last season as a scorer and distributor. If you asked college coaches to rank the best point guards in the country, he would be near the top. Purdue got a head start on what life would be like without Edey last summer when it went on an overseas tour without him and Kaufman-Renn led the team in scoring. Painter also has three centers on the bench who could be next in line as dominant low post scorers. The 7-foot-1 Berg has been learning from Edey the past two years, and then Painter signed two centers in Jacobsen and Raleigh Burgess. Jacobsen stood out last weekend at the US U18 national team tryouts. When I asked two standout coaches, they both mentioned Jacobsen, and one of them said he would eventually be a star. He’s 7-3, skilled and plays at Purdue, so the odds are in his favor.
Andy Katz, NCAA.com: 10th
The national runner-up has a returning backcourt in Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, rising stars in Trey Kaufman-Renn, Cam Heide and Myles Colvin and another 7-foot star in the making in Daniel Jacobsen.
Jeff Borzello, ESPN: 15th
The post-Zach Edey era in West Lafayette has officially begun, but don’t expect Matt Painter’s team to completely drop out of the national conversation. The Boilermakers will still return one of the best backcourts in the country with Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn is ready for a bigger role in the frontcourt. The key will be whether Smith and Loyer can transition from complementary players to starting players, and which backup or freshman will emerge. A good bet would be Camden Heide, while freshman Daniel Jacobsen recently turned heads at USA Basketball U18 National Team practice.
This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Where Purdue Basketball Makes Top 25 Rankings, Predictions
