Purdue tumbled out of the Top 10 this week while relinquishing a guaranteed spot in the quarterfinals of the upcoming Big Ten tournament.
While both spots haven’t eluded the No. 15 Boilermakers for good, they realize they must remedy their slide soon as the regular-season stretch run begins with Wednesday’s visit to Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
Purdue (22-7, 12-6) stands fifth in the conference with two games remaining but needs outside help to climb back to a top-four seed in the league.
Once 17-1, the Boilermakers have lost six of their past 11 games. They followed Thursday’s narrow home setback to No. 8 Michigan State with an eight-point defeat at unranked Ohio State on Sunday afternoon to plummet seven spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Led by Braden Smith (20 points) and Trey Kaufman-Renn (19), the Boilermakers had four scorers in double figures, but defensive lapses throughout the lineup took a toll. Purdue coach Matt Painter is seeking greater consistency against Northwestern (13-16, 5-13) and beyond.
“I wish it was one guy I can fix. I wish it was two guys,” Painter said. “It’s collectively as a team. It’s guys who have played in 125 games, and it’s a couple others that have played in 28 games.”
Wednesday marks the final home game for conference leading scorer Nick Martinelli. After enduring an offensive lull to begin February as the team worked to sustain depth behind him, the Northwestern senior is averaging 26.3 points during a three-game winning streak.
Martinelli rolled in a go-ahead layup with 1.8 seconds remaining Saturday to secure a 63-62 home victory against Oregon.
“We’re playing for our lives,” Martinelli said. “Inevitably, we’re going to have to win the Big Ten tournament to make March Madness or go on a serious, deep run, so that urgency is there.”
Northwestern coach Chris Collins has little doubt the team’s young core senses the same, considering Martinelli’s initiative and example.
“He takes a great responsibility to have his legacy by leading our young guys: Tre Singleton, Jake West, Tyler Kropp, Angelo Ciaravino — all guys who are freshmen and sophomores that are our future core,” Collins said. “Hopefully, they become leaders, great players and all-conference guys as they mature.”
Painter, meanwhile, knows the mettle of his veterans in the locker room and is confident they can spur a turnaround.
Fletcher Loyer, Kaufman-Renn and Smith each started for the Boilermakers team that finished as national runners-up to UConn two seasons ago.
Still, opponents are shooting 52.2% (107-of-205) against Purdue over the past four games. On Sunday, Ohio State set a season high for a Boilermakers foe with 32 trips to the free-throw line.
Said Painter: “I’ve seen them take us to Big Ten titles. I’ve seen them take us to the Sweet 16. I’ve seen them take us to the Final Four. I’ve watched them be quality people. I’ve watched them be the No. 1-ranked team in the country.
“When you have that, which a lot of people in college basketball don’t have, we have to get this right.”
