The Purdue Boilermakers entered this season as the clear favorite to win the Big Dance, finally. They were one victory away from a championship in 2024, with Zach Edey carrying them every step of the way. But those days are gone. This is Braden Smith’s team now. And under head coach Matt Painter, Purdue has already checked off something you rarely see. What are we talking about? Purdue’s long, frustrating history of stumbling in its Big Ten road opener.

Ever since the conference started scheduling league games in December, those early road tests have haunted the Boilermakers. Over the last seven years, the team has gone just 1-6 in Big Ten road games in December, with the only win coming against Nebraska in 2022–23. But the Boilermakers finally broke the curse this season, beating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 81-65, as they aim to win their third regular-season championship in four years.

“I was talking about it earlier. We’ve only lost one game in November in four years,” Painter said in the post-game conference. “When you look at the people we’ve played in our non-conference schedule, it’s hard to put an audit because you’re playing Villanova, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Duke, Gonzaga, and Marquette. I can keep going. Then we go on the road, play one conference game, and we haven’t had that success.”

“I just think, for us, just trying to be consistent,” Painter said of the game plan now. “It’s trying to get your team ready to play and play for keeps.”

He’s got a point. Every year, Purdue battles through one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, loaded with ranked matchups and high-pressure environments. Going from those heavyweight games straight into a Big Ten road opener can throw any team off rhythm, and that’s precisely what has tripped the Boilermakers up over the years.

Just last season, they knocked off No. 2 Alabama and No. 23 Ole Miss… only to open Big Ten play with a loss at Penn State.

Here’s their record in the last eight Big Ten road openers (data taken from Sports Illustrated):

• December 1, 2017: Purdue defeated Maryland 80–75 (W)
• December 1, 2018: #7 Michigan defeated #19 Purdue 76-57 (L)
• December 15, 2019: Nebraska defeated Purdue 70-56 (L)
• December 22, 2020: #4 Iowa defeated Purdue 70-55 (L)
• December 9, 2021: Rutgers defeated #1 Purdue 70-68 (L)
• December 10, 2022: #4 Purdue defeated Nebraska 65-62 (W)
• December 1, 2023: Northwestern defeated #1 Purdue 92-88 (L)
• December 5, 2024: Penn State defeated  #8 Purdue 81-70 (L)

But no such thing happened this year, of course.

Painter’s side put all those December road-opening demons to rest, thanks in large part to their preseason All-Big Ten duo of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. The pair combined for 35 points and never let Rutgers sniff a comeback. The Boilermakers shot 47% from the field, knocked down 10 threes, and pushed their record to a perfect 8-0 to start the season.

But speaking of Smith and Trey, Painter also opened up about how hard it’s become to keep players in the same program because of one ever-growing factor in college basketball.

Matt Painter voices frustration over the transfer portal and NIL, calling it a “tough racket”

One of the biggest reasons the Boilermakers entered the season as the AP’s No. 1 preseason team was the rare continuity Matt Painter managed to hold on to. In the NIL era, keeping stars in the same program has become harder than ever, yet Purdue returned almost its entire core.

That included Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer, and standout forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, all of whom have been part of the program since day one.

“They’ve been freshmen in this building,” Painter said. “They’ve been sophomores in this building. We’re at an advantage. We have corporate DNA. We have guys that can coach our team. If you can’t keep your core group together, that’s what makes it hard. That’s why you see a lot of coaches go like, ‘Hey man, I’m going to stick with this and play some young guys, and they leave on them. That’s why you see people just play older guys and go in the portal. Why not?”

Now it’s all about seeing whether this continuity can finally help the Boilermakers win the championship they’ve been chasing since the beginning. They’ve already taken a big first step by overcoming their long-time struggles in Big Ten road openers. It’s time they take it to the next level with that core of theirs.