It turns out, playing tougher teams is harder than playing an opening schedule of Fairfield, Ball State, Appalachian St., and Davidson.
Those are the four teams Purdue opened the season against last year on their way to a 4-0 start. Purdue is just 2-2, falling out of the top-25, after losses to Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns at home and a road trip to Milwaukee where the Boilers lost to Marquette. In both games, Purdue gave up leads, and struggled to find a consistent offensive threat late in the game.
Thankfully, Coach Matt Painter has proven so thoroughly that his teams get better as the season goes - and I mean, a lot better - that no one is freaking out about two close losses from two pretty good teams by a team that is very young.