Matt Painter Wins 400th Game as Head Coach of Purdue Men's Basketball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue basketball's Matt Painter joined a legendary group on Friday night. With a 73-55 victory over Nebraska at Mackey Arena, he became just the fifth coach in Big Ten history with 400 career wins at a conference school.
Painter, who is in his 18th season with the Boilermakers, boasts a 400-193 overall record with the program including a 199-116 mark in conference play. He now sits alongside Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, Gene Keady and Lou Henson as the only Big Ten coaches to reach the benchmark.
"He's one of the best in the business," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said of Painter after Friday's matchup. "He does such a phenomenal job recruiting to his system, and he learned from a great one in Gene Keady.
"He has these guys play with great toughness every time they step on the floor. They play together on the road, it doesn't matter what environment they're in, they play the same and they're consistent."
Last season, Izzo passed Knight for the most wins by a Big Ten coach in conference history. Painter, who took over for Keady at Purdue ahead of the 2005-06 season, continues to chase his former coach's school record of 512 total wins.
Painter played in four seasons under Keady in West Lafayette from 1989-1993. Following his playing career, he served as an assistant coach at Washington & Jefferson College, Barton College, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois before being elevated to his first head coaching position.
In one season leading the Salukis, he paved the way for an NCAA Tournament appearance as the team earned a 25-5 record and dropped just one game in the Missouri Valley Conference. Southern Illinois, as a No. 9 seed, was knocked out in the first round by No. 8 seed Alabama in a 65-64 decision.
Following a successful 2003-04 campaign, Painter joined Keady and the Purdue coaching staff as the team's associate head coach for one year as part of a planned transition. Since taking the helm, Painter has led the Boilermakers to 13 NCAA Tournament berths, six Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight.
Friday's win over Nebraska also marks the 1,900th win in the history of Purdue basketball. The Boilermakers are the 11th team in the country to reach that total.
"Purdue is a special place," Painter said. "It's got great people, it's got great education and they love basketball."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.