Where Purdue Basketball Lands in ESPN's Preseason 2025 Bracketology
ESPN college basketball expert Joe Lunardi is a big believer in the Boilermakers again in 2024-25. In his preseason Bracketology for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, he has Purdue slotted as a No. 4 seed.
In his Bracketology predictions that were released in mid-September, Lunardi listed Purdue as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region — which would be played in Indianapolis. The Boilers are playing No. 13 seed Bradley in the opening round of this way-too-early projection.
Lunardi penciling Purdue in as a No. 4 seed is probably a pretty safe bet. Coach Matt Painter has led his team to a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament every year since the 2016-17 (excluding 2019-20, with March Madness canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Boilers have earned a No. 1 seed each of the last two seasons.
Purdue lost two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey, who averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. The Boilers also lost starting guard Lance Jones and Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Mason Gillis.
That's a lot to replace. However, Purdue does return a dynamic backcourt duo of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, a tandem that has started all 74 of their games since arriving in West Lafayette before the 2021-22 season. The frontcourt is stabilized by Trey Kaufman-Renn, who is expected to take on a bigger role with Edey gone.
Purdue is also anticipating bigger roles for sophomores Myles Colvin and Cam Heide. Both played last season but will receive more opportunities in 2024-25 with the departures of Edey, Jones, Gillis and Ethan Morton.
Plus, Painter and his staff brought in a five-man recruiting class, which ranked 20th nationally (per 247Sports). So, despite the offseason departures, there's still a lot to like about Purdue this upcoming season.
It's pretty early to predict where the Boilermakers will land in the NCAA Tournament, but a top-four seed has been nearly a lock for the last decade. We'll see if Painter and Co. keep that streak rolling this season.
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