1980–2005: Gene Keady era
In 1980, Gene Keady, the head coach of Western Kentucky and former assistant to Eddie Sutton with the Arkansas Razorbacks, was named the new head coach of the Boilermakers. Over the next 25 years, Keady led the Boilermakers to six Big Ten Championships, 17 NCAA Tournament appearances with two Elite Eights and no Final Fours. Purdue received their highest Associated Press and Coaches Poll ranking in its program's history during the 1987–88 season, where they were ranked as high as 2nd in the nation. They were ranked 1st in the nation during the 2021–2022 season. In 1991, Keady and assistant coach Frank Kendrick recruited Glenn Robinson, who ultimately became an All-American and Purdue's second-named National Player of the Year. A few years later, Purdue managed to recruit the program's first of several foreign players when they picked up Matt ten Dam from the Netherlands. In December 1997, Keady became Purdue's all-time winningest head coach, surpassing Lambert with his 372nd win. He also became the second-winningest coach in Big Ten history behind Indiana's Bobby Knight, against whom Keady went 21–20 in head-to-head meetings. Soon afterward, the playing surface at Mackey Arena was named Keady Court in his honor.
Many of Keady's former assistant coaches and players throughout the years have gone on to enjoy success as head coaches. Included in the Gene Keady coaching tree is current Purdue head coach Matt Painter, former St. John's head coach Steve Lavin, former Pittsburgh head coach Kevin Stallings, former Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber, former Wisconsin–Green Bay head coach Linc Darner, former UNC Charlotte head coach Alan Major, former Missouri and current Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin, former Missouri State head coach and current Purdue assistant coach Paul Lusk, and former Illinois State head coach Dan Muller.
Following the 1998–99 season, the NCAA placed Purdue on two years' probation due to minor violations over recruiting, benefits, and ethics. Purdue also lost one scholarship per season for the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons. Most severely, Purdue assistant Frank Kendrick was found to have provided an illegal benefit to Purdue player Luther Clay, who transferred to Rhode Island after his freshman year, namely a $4,000 bank loan. [9] Clay was found to be ineligible due to his extra benefit, so Purdue forfeited all 19 victories in which Clay played, including one win in the 1996 NCAA tournament. [10]
2005–present: Matt Painter era
As the Keady era came to a close in 2005, the Matt Painter era began. Painter played for Keady during the early 1990s, with Keady naming him captain in his senior year in 1993. After one season at Southern Illinois as the head coach after Bruce Weber left north for Illinois, Painter was hired as a planned replacement for Coach Keady for the 2004–05 season as Keady's associate head coach. After a disappointing first season marred with injuries and suspensions from off-court altercations, Painter re-energized Purdue basketball in the summer of 2006 by signing the top recruiting class in the conference and made one of the biggest turnarounds in the program's history. His "Baby Boilers" developed into three eventual All-Americans, including 2011 consensus selection JaJuan Johnson, that led Purdue to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances, a Big Ten title, and a conference tournament championship. During the 2010 season, Matt Painter led the Boilermakers to a school record-tying 14–0 start, as well with the most wins in a season with a 29–6 record and a Big Ten title. The season ended in relative disappointment, however, as Junior Robbie Hummel was sidelined with an ACL injury in February of that season. The following year, and with the anticipated return of Hummel, E'Twaun Moore, and Johnson, Purdue looked poised to have one of its program's finest seasons. This excitement was quickly tempered when Hummel re-tore his ACL on the first practice of the season, sidelining him for its duration once again. Despite Hummel's absence, Purdue remained in the top ten most of the season, being ranked as high as 6th and finished the regular season with a 26–8 record. At the conclusion of the 2010–2011 season, Johnson and Moore declared for the NBA draft. On June 23, 2011, both Johnson and Moore were drafted to the Boston Celtics in the first and second rounds, respectively. Purdue began the 2012 season with a 12–3 record, holding the fifth best home winning streak in the nation with 27, before leading the nation with the fewest turnover average per game. The home winning streak was lost during the 2012 season to Alabama. They finished with a 10–8 conference record, giving Purdue its sixth consecutive 22+ win season, the best in the program's history. In the 2012 NBA draft, Robbie Hummel was the 58th overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The following two seasons brought slim success, missing out on both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. They accepted a bid in the 2013 CBI, where they lost in the second round to Santa Clara. After a moderate 8–5 preseason campaign during the 2015 season, Purdue got back on track, finishing 3rd in the conference after finishing last the season prior. The 2015 season ended after losing to Cincinnati in overtime. It was the first time the program lost its opener in the NCAA Tournament since 1993, breaking a 14-game win streak. After making it back to the NCAA tourney, the program landed its biggest recruit in nearly a quarter century when Fort Wayne native Caleb Swanigan, a top ten recruit, de-committed from Michigan State. They opened the 2016 season with an 11–0 record, while setting a program record with consecutive double-digit victories and were ranked as high as 9th in the nation. That season ended with an NCAA First Round loss to Little Rock with a 26–9 record. In May 2016, it was announced that the 2017–18 Purdue team would represent the U.S. at the 2017 World University Games in Taipei. [11] The team went on to win the silver medal at the Games, winning every game until losing to Lithuania in the gold medal game.
Purdue won the outright 2017 Big Ten Conference title, along with Caleb Swanigan being named unanimous B1G Player of the Year. In the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Purdue reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing to #1 seed Kansas. In the 2017–2018 season, Purdue, led by seniors Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias and sophomore Carsen Edwards, spent several weeks at #3 while being on a program record and nation-leading 19-game winning streak. During that time, the Boilers led the nation in scoring margin, points per game, three-point shooting, and was one of only two teams with a top 3 ranking in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Purdue missed out on a consecutive B1G title after losing to Wisconsin, finishing 2nd in the conference at 15–3. The Boilers were seeded 4th in the Big Ten tournament, where they beat Rutgers and Penn State to reach the Big Ten tournament Championship for the second time in three years. They faced a familiar opponent in Michigan, whom they had already faced two other times throughout that season, Purdue winning both meetings. However, Michigan beat Purdue 75–66 to become Big Ten tournament Champions for the second straight season.
Purdue was seeded 2nd in the East Region of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, their highest seed in recent history. In the first round, they faced Cal State Fullerton Titans, winning 74–48. However, many Purdue fan's hearts broke in the second half of the game, as senior Center Isaac Haas fell on his elbow as he fought for a rebound, and broke his elbow as he hit the ground, ending his Purdue Basketball career. Purdue's second-round game was against Butler Bulldogs, whom Purdue had already played earlier in the season. The Boilers won the game on a last second shot by Dakota Mathias, winning 76–73 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue faced the third seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Boilers went on to lose in disappointing fashion 65–78, ending their season with 30 wins.
In 2019, Purdue was seeded 3rd in the South Region of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, after another strong season. In the first round, they eliminated a 26–8 Old Dominion team that was coming off a Conference USA championship, winning 61–48. In the second round, they handily defeated #6 seed Villanova, sending the defending champs home early after an 87–61 victory, and advancing to their third straight Sweet Sixteen under Matt Painter. The Boilermakers ran into their first real test with the #2 Tennessee Volunteers. After a back and forth contest that included 17 lead changes and needed overtime to be decided, Purdue came out victorious, barely beating the Vols 99–94 to reach their first Elite Eight in nearly 20 years. In the Elite Eight, Purdue faced the #1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers in what was another back and forth thriller.
After several lead changes throughout the game, and a 40-point effort from Carsen Edwards including 10 made 3s, Purdue led 70–67 with 5.9 seconds left and looked to be headed to their first Final Four since 1980. Virginia's Ty Jerome was fouled intentionally, and missed the second free throw of two after making the first. Virginia was able to come up with the offensive rebound, and after chasing down the loose ball that had gone into the Virginia back court, toss the ball to Mamadi Diakite who hit a free-throw line floater at the buzzer to send the game to overtime tied at 70. The Boilermakers once again looked to be en route to the Final Four, leading 75–74 with 43 seconds to go. However Virginia was able to hold Purdue scoreless over the final minute and prevailed 80–75, ending the Boilermakers season with 26 wins and their first Elite Eight appearance since 2000.
After the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Purdue picked up where they had left off in 2019, only this time they were the 4th seed in the South region of the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Their first-round matchup was against 13th-seeded North Texas, where they came back from behind 32–24 at the half to send the game to OT. Ultimately, once there, Purdue couldn't score until the last 30 seconds of overtime, and North Texas pulled off the 78–69 upset.
The 2022 season saw the Boilermakers reach #1 in the AP Poll for the first time in program history, led by senior Trevion Williams, and All-American sophomore guard Jaden Ivey. In the 2022 tournament, Purdue reached the Sweet Sixteen after a second round win over Texas, only to lose to the Cinderella story of that year's tournament, the 15-seeded Saint Peter's Peacocks.
The following year, Purdue put together a 29–5 season that again had them reach #1 in the AP poll at various points in the season, and saw them win the Big 10 regular-season and postseason tournament championship, leading to a #1 seed in the East Region of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Center Zach Edey was also voted the third player in Purdue history to win National Player of the Year honors. They then became the second team in NCAA Tournament history to be upset by a 16-seed, falling 63–58 to Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Round, suffering the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history with Purdue being 23+1⁄2-point favorites heading into the game.
Purdue was awarded a #1 seed for the second consecutive year in the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, this time in the Midwest Region. They cruised into the Sweet Sixteen with routs against 16 seed Grambling State, 78–50, and 8 seed Utah State, 106–67. With the victory against Utah State, they achieved their 31st win of the season, breaking the program record of most wins in a season. They then defeated 5 seed Gonzaga, 80–68, following a second-half surge, and moved on to the Elite Eight.
There the Boilermakers met a familiar foe in the tournament, 2 seed Tennessee. Zach Edey scored 40 points to go along with 16 rebounds, leading the Boilermakers to a 72–66 victory and a trip to the Final Four in Phoenix, the first under Matt Painter's tenure and the first since 1980. They lost the 2023–24 National Championship Game to UConn.
