For the second consecutive year, the Purdue Boilermakers are heading to the Sweet 16.
After the school's infamous loss against 16-seeded Farleigh Dickinson in the first round of the 2023 tournament, Painter has refocused his team's efforts, guiding the Boilermakers to a pair of impressive postseason performances.
Of course, Purdue made it all the way to the National Championship Game last year before running into a historically great UConn team, and despite a leaner year this time around, Purdue has bested both No. 13 seed High Point and No. 12 seed McNeese (fresh off an upset of Clemson) on its way back to the second week of the tournament.
With his early-exit demons behind him, Painter must now look ahead to the third round of March Madness, where he and the Boilermakers will draw the Midwest Region's No. 1 seed — and arguably the hottest team in college basketball — the Houston Cougars.
Matt Painter's Sweet 16 record in March Madness
Painter actually lead Southern Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big Dance in his lone year at the helm, though the Salukis fell in the first round to Alabama in a crushing 65-64 defeat.
Since taking Purdue's job back in 2005, Painter's tenure has run 20 years with 16 NCAA tournament appearances to show for it.
Including this year, Purdue has made it to the Sweet 16 eight times in that stretch, with a 2-5 record in the third round.
Year | Seed | Furthest Round Reached |
|---|---|---|
2008-09 | 5 | Sweet 16 |
2009-10 | 4 | Sweet 16 |
2016-17 | 4 | Sweet 16 |
2017-18 | 2 | Sweet 16 |
2018-19 | 3 | Elite Eight |
2021-22 | 3 | Sweet 16 |
2023-24 | 1 | National Championship |
2024-25 | 4 | ? |
Painter lost each of his first five Sweet 16 appearances before breaking through in 2019 with an Elite Eight showing, though it wasn't until last season that he and Purdue made their first Final Four since 1980, when Lee Rose was the school's head coach.
Overall, Painter has a 24-16 career record in the NCAA Tournament, though he'll be hard-pressed to add victory No. 25 to his ledger against the Cougars.
The Big 12 regular season and tournament champions, Houston now holds the nation’s longest winning streak at 14 games. The Cougars lead the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and shoot nearly 40% from three.
Led by guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, the Boilermakers should be able to withstand some of Houston's relentless pressure, but Kelvin Sampson's squad will be playing with plenty of confidence following a tight win over Gonzaga in the Round of 32.
If Purdue does win, it would be the first time in Painter's career that he has lead a team to the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons.