#Matt Painter

Even though the college portion of the season is over, football is still dominating the betting market at this juncture of the winter. The large shadow cast by football in terms of betting interest and media coverage, well, that's good news for those wagering on college basketball. The CBB futures board hasn't been picked over by the public yet…

Well, that didn't take long for the Big Ten season to reach a full boil, did it? Consider the first five days in January. The losing coach from Indiana said the winning coach from Iowa should have been thrown out of the (bleeping) game. Purdue, the No. 1 team in the nation, was knocked off once and nearly twice, saved by a late 3-pointer from a…

PHILADELPHIA - Time isn't up for the biggest underdog of the N.C.A.A. men's tournament just yet. Tiny St. Peter's University is alive and well and moving on to the final eight of the N.C.A.A. tournament after slaying yet another basketball powerhouse. Playing inspired defense and without any fear, the No. 15 seed Peacocks stunned No. 3 Purdue,…

The Purdue Boilermakers attempt to extend their winning streak in season openers to 10 games when they host the Milwaukee Panthers on Tuesday. Purdue, which hasn't lost an opener since dropping a 70-65 decision to Bucknell in 2012, has outscored its opponents by an average of 28.2 points during the winning streak. The Boilermakers shot just 38.9%…

Seven months ago, I sat in the back row of seats in the media room at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and watched E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham do their best to hold it together and discuss Ohio State's second-round loss to the Villanova Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament. Moments earlier in the locker room, they embraced their concussed teammate…

Purdue coach Matt Painter has lamented that last season's Boilermakers squad, led by eventual NBA lottery pick Jaden Ivey, failed to reach lofty expectations, plateauing early after being No. 1 in the country for a week during the non-conference season. Those Boilermakers flamed out in a Sweet 16 loss to NCAA tourney Cinderella Saint Peter's. He's…

The Big Ten has a diverse set of 14 head coaches. It has long-tenured coaches who took over for their mentors years ago and have delivered big-time successes. It has former NBA assistants who have made big splashes immediately at their alma maters. It has inexperienced head coaches who have energized their programs, hoping that bigger wins are…

The two most coveted basketball prospects not currently in the NBA will not play NCAA Division I basketball this season. It would have been nice to have Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson in the 2023 NCAA tournament. But being totally honest, hardly anyone has seen those guys and hardly anyone will until next year's NBA summer league. But we've…