Great expectations for Boilermaker basketball

Purdue men’s basketball had a historic season last year, starting off ranked No. 3 in the nation by the first AP Poll and ending No. 2 as the National Championship runner-up.

Before March, the Boilers hadn’t reached the Final Four since 1980, despite winning 10 Big Ten titles in that time.

The countdown to the season has begun, and only 30 days remain until basketball returns to Mackey Arena.

Students and faculty alike are hoping to witness another deep run in the NCAA tournament this year.

Anticipation among Purdue basketball fans is building and cautiously optimistic energy is prominent.

Senior Porter Ransom is hopeful that the Boilers will make it to the Big Ten Championship, but is not as confident as last year.

“I don't think it's gonna be as good a season as last year, but I would hope for the Big Ten (Championship),” Ransom said.

“I think that's the biggest hope, and I think it's reasonable. I think we got a chance.”

A pair of sophomore computer engineering students have slightly higher hopes for the Boilers.

Aadhavan Srinivasan and Shaunak Sarlashkar each shared that their goals are for the team to “make it back to the Final Four” Srinivasan said.

“Yeah, and hopefully win this time,” Shaunak added.

The Boilermakers won their Final Four matchup against North Carolina State in March, before falling to UConn in the National Championship game.

Alan Bunning, a retired computer science faculty member, expects a good performance from the Boilers as well.

“I think they'll do very well. They’re predicted to be top three in the Big Ten, and I think that's about right. They could be first, they could be second, they could be third. I expect them to do something like that,” Bunning said.

As last season proved though, making it to the Big Ten Championship is no easy task.

“I hope that Painter simply looks at who's playing the best and plays the best. Not like, this guy's been here longer, so we'll put him in, but who's best,” Bunning said.

“If these freshmen are better, put them in. If they're not, don't play them. I think they have a lot of good people, so I think he's got a lot of good players to pick from.”

In the same vein, freshman Isaac Robinson thinks Purdue should reflect back to their last season and mimic that team dynamic.

“Find someone who can lead you through it. I feel like Zach Edey must have been a leader for the team,” Robinson said.

“Find someone who can lead the team into victory, if that's their coach or if there's a prospect on the team, and they can kind of unite their morale and have good leadership,” Robinson said.

Jillian Hirsh, a junior in environmental and ecological engineering, is looking to Trey Kaufman-Renn.

“I hope that Trey Kaufman-Renn can kind of take over for Zach Edey now that he’s gone,” Hirsch said. “They mostly had him in the four position.”

Ransom provided tactical advice for the team to follow.

“Now that Zach Edey is gone, I would love to switch up the defense and the offense, and focus more on guard play. We can't have that big center in the middle anymore, so we can work on our three's a little bit,” the civil engineering student said.

“If we can get Miles Colvin in the game more, have him hit his threes, maybe let Loyer get that three pointer back, that'd be really great for the team. Let Braden Smith go in there to see what he can do with the ball, spread it around a little more, hopefully, play a little less high-low and stretch to the corner,” Ransom said.

While other students and faculty hoped that the Boiler’s make it to the Big Ten Championship, Natalie Cantieri’s main focus is that they have fun.

“Enjoy your time on the team because it's gonna go by fast. Have a good school year,” the senior in behavioral sciences said.

Help the Boilers make the most of the new season by tuning in to the first basketball game of the fall on Oct. 30.