'Pimp the system': Why Purdue basketball proved the old ways still work with a Big Ten Title

Matt Painter wants you to know that he's cool with it.

Everyone is buying players these days. The federal government convened with sports leaders from across the country, including the New York Yankees, to find a way to save college sports.

Purdue basketball did not waste a second worrying about the future of college sports on Sunday. The Boilermakers won the 2026 Big Ten Tournament Championship over the Michigan Wolverines 80-72. The two were tied at halftime, but Purdue won with a 42-point second half where the Boilermakers led by as many as 14.

Painter, who celebrated a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament after he won his third Big Ten Tournament title, made it clear he's fine with players who make money in the modern era.

"I'm cool with it. I'm cool with guys making money," Painter said. "I'm good. Make money, make good basketball decisions, and get your education. Do it all, man. Pimp the system. Get it all."

Other teams can shell out cash and buy rosters. Purdue will stick with its guys like Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. Those three guys and Painter are on the verge of showing the rest of the world that the old ways can still work. 

Big picture view:

Michigan was well on its way to being one of the best Big Ten teams the conference has ever seen.

At 31-2, the Wolverines were a popular pick to win the national title. Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg is as imposing as he is skilled, Elliot Cadeau is a tough point guard who's a terrific passer and Aday Mara is a nightmare to guard standing well over 7-feet. ALl of that is coordinated by head coach Dusty May, who looks stellar as Big Ten head coach.

The Wolverines were up there. No Big Ten team might ever catch the 75-76 Indiana Hoosiers. That Indiana team ironically beat Michigan to finish a perfect 32-0.

The 2005 Illinois, 1993 Indiana, 2007 Ohio State and 2015 Wisconsin teams all come to mind. They all had four or fewer losses. None of them won the NCAA Tournament. Michigan could still win the national title. But, on Sunday, Purdue proved they should be discounted.

The Boilermakers were the preseason No. 1 team. They didn't retain that title. They still won the Big Ten Tournament, and did it with acore of players that stuck around for four years.

"Their three seniors that have been together for a long time. It looked like they really found something deep inside," May said. "When you start the year preseason Number 1, you have two first-tem All-Americans, and it doesn't go as planned and you come in as a 7 seed with your back against the wall and perform the way they did, it's impressive."

Purdue did something only two other teams have done: beat Michigan.

The Wolverines don't let teams win. They don't falter, or give games away. Purdue needed to take it on Sunday. They siezed control when two of their best players found a crack in the armor and kept hammering away.

Smith and Kaufman-Renn, two of the four-year players defying the present-day of college sports, kept utiliziung the pick-and-roll offense to perfection. Kaufman-Renn didn't need to drive to the basket either. He was lethal from within five feet.

Smth, who is one assist away from tying the all-time NCAA assist record set by Bobby Hurley, said that pick-and-roll success had been over a year in the making.

"I think it started going in our junior year, that summer, maybe actually the summer before," Smith said. "We started working on it, and we just clicked. Obviously he trusts me to get it to him, and I trust him to catch it andthen obviously go make a play or make passes or score out of it."

You only get that suceess if players stay for all four years. That's what Purdue has done. It was rare before the transfer portal era when one-and-done players became mainstream. 

Sunday was a testament to the confidence the players have retained. It was also a reminder how many games this team has played together.

"We've been in positions where we've been Number 1 in this tournament and we've won it before and we've lost," Smith said. "For us, it doesn't matter what number is in front of our name. We know what we're capable of because we have a lot of good pieces on our team."

Of course, Purdue won't ignore the transfer portal.

Oscar Cluff, the 6-foot-11 center who went toe-to-toe with Mara and led the Boilermakers in scoring Sunday, is a transfer from South Dakota State. But, when transfers are an anomaly and not the norm, it's easier to fit players with certain attributes to a team instead of asking brand new players to lead them.

Painter said his Purdue team isn't labeled as physical across the board. But, individually, the Boilermakers players are so experienced, they know to how exploit mismatches with what's on the floor.

"You saw some times where we were getting posted and they didn't have all their skill in the game and we were able to play off of them,"
 Painter said. "Now when they put that skill in the game, now we can't play off of them as much, but now maybe they don't have another big in there to rebound."

What's next:

Smith had a moment where he ripped his No. 3 jersey.

Plenty all over were wondering what happened to his usual number after he came back with a No. 41 jersey on. After an 0 for 3 start, Smith was just frustrated.

"I ripped it fully with both hands like Superman style," Smith said. "I was really frustrated. A lot of misses these past four games, and I was really frustrated because I put a lot of time and work in."

Instead of taking it out the wrong way, on a teammate or in another way, Smith just found a way to move on. The jersey suffered, but that was it. The experience Smith has helped him come up with a simple goal.

Get over it and find a way to figure it out.

That experience is why Purdue rose to a No. 2 seed. Before the Big Ten Tournament, the Boilermakers were a No. 3 or 4 seed depending on who you asked. It's one last chance for this Purdue class to prove they can win the national title.

With players who know each other, played for a national title with each other in 2024 and can navigate nearly any situation with each other, the 2026 NCAA Tournament is next.

Winning the national title with this group in a landscape that's completely different will be proof the old ways don't just work.

The old ways still beat buying rosters. 

"Those guys are just chasing money and they're just doing that, they're going to have a couple all-conference plaques, they're not going to invest their money," Painter said. "They're not going to have a degree. That's our job, man. When you're a coach, that's your job. You've got to go out and sell it so they know, now you're not having a basketball career and you've got a little extra money, now you can take the opportunity to have a great life. That's the mission at Purdue."

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