Last season, the Purdue basketball team had an incredible regular season that saw them win the Big Ten championship, and they followed it up by winning the Big Ten Tournament to earn a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That is when things took a turn for the worst. Purdue became just the second #1 seed ever to lose to a #16 seed as they went down against Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round. It was one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, and the Boilermakers will remember that one for a long time.

This Purdue basketball team has had a hard time finding NCAA Tournament success in recent years, and they are desperately trying to figure out how to get over that hump. One thing that will help this season is having star big man Zach Edey back. Edey was the Player of the Year in college basketball a year ago, and he is expected to have another monster year this season. It is already off to a good start as he was voted Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. After winning POTY in the whole sport last season, this comes as no surprise.

Since 2008, three Boilermakers players have been voted Preseason Play of the Year in the Big Ten. Zach Edey now joins Robbie Hummel and Carsen Edwards.

The Purdue basketball season gets underway in about a month, and Purdue fans are eager to get the sour taste of last year's postseason out of their mouths. We'll see if the Boilermakers can find a way to get over the hump and make a run at the national championship this season.