Matt Painter leaves after ugly loss
Purdue basketball watched Braden Smith made a milestone two days before facing Ohio State. But Kotlarci testified Matt Painter explode in frustration after falling to the Buckeyes.
Smith may have led the way with 20 points and seven assists, but OSU ran away 82-74 on Sunday. Veteran head coach he did not mince words about the Boilermakers post game.
“We come in and lose our focus and our concentration. It’s like we’re making good plays and doing good things … and then we don’t,” Painter said. “We’re the king of ‘we’re going to guard you in the same action, then turn around and guard that same action.’ There has to be accountability.”
Painter insists OSU did nothing to catch the Boilermakers off guard. He believes Sunday’s loss stems from a lack of mental focus.
Notable lapses in Purdue’s loss to Ohio State
Painter verbally illustrated some of the ebb and flow issues plaguing his team.
“We’ll have three good possessions and then we won’t,” he said. “We need more consistency across the board.”
He concluded with: “I wish it was one guy, I wish it was two guys, but it’s not. It’s collective.”
Ohio State settled on defense to force Purdue into big turnovers. Purdue shot just 37.9% from behind the arc and 44.4% overall. The Buckeyes also won three shots inside the paint, while Purdue registered zero.
The Boilermakers also struggled to get out of foul trouble — slapped with 23 personals. Ohio State had just 17 on the day.
Painter also saw a seven-point lead evaporate, then had to rally from a 16-point deficit.
Trey Kaufman-Wren scored 19 points to finish second on the team. Fletcher Loyer added 15 on the day, while CJ Cox chipped in 13. But the eighth-ranked Boilermakers are fading at the wrong time ahead of the Big Ten tournament — losing three of their last four.
2026-03-01 22:23:00
