Number Crunching: Purdue Basketball's upcoming season

It’s going to be a season for Purdue basketball that might require constant attention to the record books, as Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer finish up their Boilermaker careers and Matt Painter keeps adding to a growing Hall of Fame-level résumé.

Here are some notable record-book thresholds that will come into view this season.

37

The number of wins Purdue’s fourth-year seniors would need to break the Big Ten record of 123 currently held by Ohio State’s 2013 seniors, led by Aaron Craft.

Smith and Loyer have played in every game since they were freshmen, Kaufman-Renn alongside them as a redshirt freshman.

Purdue’s record in that span: 87-23.

41

The number of wins Painter needs to surpass Gene Keady as the school’s all-time leader, a record he’d undoubtedly claim with mixed emotions given his loyalty to his former coach.

Keady’s record officially stands at 512, the total Purdue recognizes. Painter enters the season with 471.

This will be a 2026-2027 matter.

THE QUEST FOR 2,000

The 2,000-point mark is really special.

Will any of these seniors get there?

Braden Smith needs 625 points. He scored 567 last season.

Fletcher Loyer needs 719. He scored 495 last season.

Trey Kaufman-Renn needs 869. He scored 723 last season. He’d be chasing 2,500 right now if not for having to wait out Zach Edey’s usage early in his career.

23

The number of double-digit-assist games Smith has posted in his Boilermaker career, 13 of which came last season after losing Zach Edey.

There have been only 49 other 10-plus-assist games ever at Purdue and the last one prior to Smith came from Dakota Mathias in 2017. Under Painter, only Mathias and Lewis Jackson — two each — hit the number in games.

1,076

Bobby Hurley’s NCAA career-record assists total, set from 1990-93 at Duke.

319

What Smith would to break Hurley’s record, as he enters his senior season with 758

Notably, Hurley averaged 7.7 assists over 140 college games; Smith has averaged 6.9 over 110, but averaged 8.7 last season.

Crunching the numbers, if Smith fills in the games-played (30) at his same average from last season, it would put him around 261. It is overwhelmingly likely Purdue goes well beyond 30 games this. At 8.7 per, it would take Smith 37 games or so, which would be one more than last season, but two fewer than the NCAA runner-up season.

Purdue is guaranteed 32 games, bare minimum, but figures to play well into March.

110

The number of games started together by Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, every game of their careers.

Barring anything cataclysmic, they’ll tie Bruce Parkinson’s record of 112 later this week against Oakland, then break it next week at Alabama.

Both are well on pace to break E’Twaun Moore’s 136 career starts.

138

The number of double-digit scoring games for Smith and Loyer in their careers, each of them with 69.

They’ve combined for 26 20-plus-point games, too, while Smith has hit 30 twice.

197

Fletcher Loyer’s career three-point make total, putting him 10th all-time at Purdue, 84 behind all-time leader Carsen Edwards.

Loyer has amassed his total on an average of 4.5 attempts per game and on a 40-percent success rate, lower volume than most of the rest of the leaderboard at Purdue. Edwards, through the same number of years, shot 763 threes. Loyer has attempted 492, which isn’t even top 10 in school history yet.

Braden Smith enters the season with 177 made threes and will easily crack the top-10 all-time at Purdue.

24

The number of dunks recorded last season by returning Purdue players, counting those by Raleigh Burgess, who’ll redshirt this year, and the two from Daniel Jacobsen before he got hurt.

Look for Purdue’s dunk total of 58 to at least double this season.

15

Purdue’s average final KenPom offensive efficiency ranking the past 10 seasons. It’s been top 10 five times in that span, top five four times.

83.6

Loyer’s and Smith’s combined free-throw percentage for their careers

Loyer is 276-of-330 for 83.6 percent and Smith 238-of-285 for 83.5, an oddly similar superlative for two players who’ll long be associated with one another at Purdue.

132

The total numbers of years at Purdue its staff accounts for, both coaching or playing.

Breakdown …

Nick Terruso (28): 23 as video coordinator or staffer, four-and-a-half as student manager during Keady Era
Matt Painter (25): 20 as head coach, one as associate head coach and four as player
Elliot Bloom (24): 17 as various operations titles, seven as sports information director
Brandon Brantley (17): 12 as coach, five as player
Paul Lusk (12): 8 in first stint as assistant coach, four during current run
PJ Thompson (10): six as coach, four as player
Sasha Stefanovic (7): Five as player, two as coach
Carson Barrett (5): four as player, one as coach
Isaiah Thompson (4): three as player, one as coach

20.75

The average age of Purdue’s scholarship players, the high end of the scale being soon-to-be 24-year-old Oscar Cluff and the low end being freshman Antione West at 18. Fifth-years Trey Kaufman-Renn and Liam Murphy are each 23, as is Cluff for two more weeks before he turns 24.

Four players on Purdue’s roster redshirted either by intent or injury. Raleigh Burgess is redshirting this season and may not be alone.

183

Braden Smith‘s career steals total, putting him fourth all-time at Purdue. He’d need 14 more this season than his 78 from a year ago to break Chris Kramer’s record of 274.