Two years after its National Championship runner-up season, Purdue is still seeking its first men's basketball NCAA Tournament title. The experienced Boilermakers were considered preseason frontrunners with Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn returning, but their volatile season is destined to end in disappointment.
While neither Smith nor Kaufman-Renn was considered an elite NBA prospect, their simultaneous return announcements were big victories for Purdue in the 2025 offseason. The returns have just not been what anyone expected.
Purdue has still done enough to keep itself in title contention, posting a 20-4 record through 24 games. The Boilermakers recovered from a three-game skid at the end of January with a three-game win streak to begin February, including a big win over No. 7 Nebraska on Feb. 10. The victory was their third over a top-15 opponent, having previously beaten No. 8 Alabama and No. 15 Texas Tech.
The responding win streak is a positive sign for Purdue while also highlighting the team's inconsistencies. The Boilermakers have yet to take a bad loss, but they are just 7-4 against Quad 1 opponents, according to the NET Rankings. Matt Painter's team is undeniably one of the best in the Big Ten, but it lacks the firepower to maintain the level of consistency required to win a conference title.
With games against Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State and a rematch with Indiana remaining on its regular season schedule, Purdue still has time to flip the narrative before the Big Ten Tournament. But barring a complete turnaround, this team is not as deep as Boilermakers fans are used to and will fall short in the postseason yet again.
Braden Smith has carried Purdue all year
Any postseason success Purdue has will be directly attributed to Braden Smith, who has carried the team all season. Smith has been the team's engine from the first day he arrived on Purdue's campus and has taken his game to another level in his final season of college basketball.
While Smith's numbers are nearly identical to those of his junior year, his shooting efficiency and late-game shot-making ability have skyrocketed in year four. The undersized point guard leads the team with 15.1 points, 8.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while shooting a career-high 48.7 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from distance.
Smith has been a prototypical floor general throughout his career, earning comparisons to Chris Paul, T.J. McConnell and J.J. Barea amid his breakout. Nobody runs the pick-and-roll or elevates their teammates better than Smith does at the NCAA level.
However, after spending most of his career as a pass-first point guard and complementary scorer, Smith has seamlessly taken over as Purdue's go-to option.
Braden Smith TOOK OVER in the second half against Bama 🔥
29 PTS | 7 REB | 4 AST and a huge road win pic.twitter.com/6hqUo0Pwtk
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 14, 2025
Smith will not likely defend his 2025 Bob Cousy Award, given to the best point guard in college basketball, but Purdue would be in a world of trouble without him. Most of their struggles all season have been due to Smith's lackluster supporting cast, namely 2025 first-team All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn.
As much as Smith has improved, his elevation has been offset by frustrating regression from his veteran teammates. Smith and Kaufman-Renn were supposed to grab the Big Ten by the throat as seniors, but the latter has been a shell of himself all year.
Trey Kaufman-Renn will ruin Purdue in Big Ten Tournament
Purdue has always been one of the biggest teams in the country under Matt Painter, a concept reinforced when it snagged Oscar Cluff from the college basketball transfer portal to pair with Trey Kaufman-Renn in 2025-2026. Everything aligned for the Boilermakers to make another national title run, but the entire plan hinged on Braden Smith and Kaufman-Renn as the program's centerpieces.
After two years of sharing the court with Zach Edey, Kaufman-Renn broke through as one of the best big men in the country in his junior season. He thrived in the two-man game with Smith while expanding his low-post arsenal and remaining a relentless rebounder on both ends of the court. Kaufman-Renn's massive year three leap improved his scoring from 6.5 points as a sophomore to 20.1 points per game as a junior, nearly earning him the Big Ten Player of the Year award.
Everyone expected Kaufman-Renn to bring the same energy in 2025-2026, but the results have been disappointing. Smith keeps him engaged in the pick-and-roll, but Kaufman-Renn's post-up game is virtually non-existent, while any shooting touch he once had is nowhere to be found.
Nothing about Kaufman-Renn's junior season suggested it was a fluke, but that is precisely what he has made it seem like. His game has been exclusively limited to easy layups and putbacks as a senior, reverting him to a role player.
Kaufman-Renn is still a nightly double-double threat that every team needs, but he is nowhere near the scorer and dominant paint enforcer he was in 2024-2025. Other Boilermakers have also disappointed — Fletcher Loyer's numbers have also taken a hit — but nobody in the country has been a bigger letdown than Kaufman-Renn.
Purdue will have success in the postseason, but without another consistent scorer, it does not have enough to pull off a miracle in the Big Ten Tournament.
