Purdue played an overall great game against the Illini but it was to no avail as Keaton Wagler had one of the greatest performances in Mackey Arena history on the way to an 88-82 victory for Illinois. It was an unfortunate loss for a team that has struggled to maintain leads in the last several […]
10 days ago | 1 read
The Purdue Women’s Basketball Team hosted IU today in the annual Barn Burner Game, Winning 80 to 69. They had to fend off 37 points from Ciezki, but still came out on top. On their way to victory, Madison Layden-Zay corralled her 500th rebound and broke the record for most 3 pointers made in Purdue […]
10 days ago | 1 read
It was the Keaton Wegler show in Mackey Arena. This is one that stings because Purdue’s defense was completely out of sorts, but the Boilers were still in control up 4 at the final media timeout. For the second straight game an individual player completely disrupted anything Purdue tried to do defensveily and he either […]
10 days ago | 3 reads
Coming into this game on a very cold Saturday the question on every Purdue fan’s mind was if the Purdue offense could get hot once again (there’s my one). Well, they started the first half with an incredibly efficient half. Unfortunately for Boilermaker fans Illinois happens to have a guy by the name of Keaton […]
11 days ago | 1 read
2025-2026 Season Overall Record: 16-3 Big 10 Record: 7-1 Previous 3 Games 1/21: W – 89 – 70 vs Maryland @ Home 1/17: W – 77 – 67 vs Minnesota @ Home 1/14: W – 79 – 68 vs Northwestern @ Away Illinois Personnel Starters Bench Key Analytics (Per KenPom.com – National Rank in ()) KenPom Ranking – 42 Offense Adjusted […]
11 days ago | 1 read
Purdue men’s basketball is coming off of their second loss of the year, and first in the Big Ten, as Illinois comes to town. Just like Purdue, Illinois has just one loss so far in Big Ten play and are part of the logjam at the top of the standings. This is a game where […]
11 days ago | 2 reads
The two best offenses in the country will battle it out in Mackey Arena on a frigid Saturday afternoon when the #4 Purdue 17-2 (7-1) play host to #11 Illinois 16-3 (7-1). Both teams come into this game hobbling from a loss. For Purdue, it’s a simple matter of scoreboard. After struggling against USC last […]
11 days ago | 2 reads
We’ve reached the end of the week with snow coming just around the corner but a red hot game between Illinois and Purdue less than 24 hours away. This week there was just one question in the fan survey as the other one became moot after Purdue’s loss to UCLA this week so I had […]
12 days ago | 2 reads
It’s been a rough few games for the Boilermakers as they’ve needed strong second halves, or even final 10 minutes to beat a number of their recent opponents. The game against UCLA resulted in them allowing an 8-0 run to finish the game and lose to UCLA. So I wanted to ask the staff about […]
12 days ago | 2 reads
It is a very chilly Friday afternoon and a snowstorm is headed towards West Lafayette, but that doesn’t mean Hammer & Rails is without some HAWT PRESS CONFERENCE action today across multiple sports. Naturally, football news is on the backburner witht he season being long over. Indiana’s recent national championship (words that I honestly never […]
12 days ago | 1 read
The Boilers suffered just their second loss of the season with a 67-69 loss to the UCLA Bruins on the second game of their west coast trip this season following defeating USC. Purdue struggled against a very average UCLA team on both ends of the court, a trend that has followed them for the past […]
13 days ago | 3 reads
The Purdue Boilermakers and Head Coach Matt Painter have one of the best recruiting classes in 2026 ranked #5 behind only Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, and Maryland. Leading that group is Mt. Vernon senior Luke Ertel, ranked as the 41st player in the country, 4th at his position of combo guard, and #1 in the […]
13 days ago | 1 read
It’s been a dark week to be a Purdue sports fan. First, the Indiana Hoosiers, the team with the most losses in football, just completed one of the most improbable turnarounds in sports history and won the football national title on Monday. Where does this leave Purdue football and Purdue fans? How do you recover […]
13 days ago | 2 reads
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Purdue fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Just one question this week and it’s a more general question about the Big Ten basketball […]
14 days ago | 1 read
It seems like there is a lot of competition this season for a No. 1 seed not just across the country, but within the Big Ten itself. There are currently four teams in the top 10 nationally from the Big Ten, and Illinois is just outside at No. 11. Whoever wins the league is almost […]
14 days ago | 2 reads
CJ Cox’s last second three hit the front of the rim, and bounced harmlessly away as Purdue falls for the first time in the Big Ten, 69-67 to the UCLA Bruins. Behind a 23 point Donovan Dent performance, the Bruins were able to knock off the #4 Purdue Boilermakers. It is just Purdue’s second loss […]
15 days ago | 2 reads
Purdue takes on UCLA tonight, and I do mean tonight, in the second game of their west coast swing. After surviving a scare from USC in their first game all eyes will be on if the Boilermakers can improve in this one. Special focus will be on TKR who has had a rough three games […]
15 days ago | 2 reads
2025-2026 Season Overall Record: 12-6 Big 10 Record: 4-3 Previous 3 Games 1/17: L – 74 – 86 vs Ohio State @ Away 1/14: W – 71 – 60 vs Penn State @ Away 1/10: W – 67 – 55 vs Maryland @ Home UCLA Personnel Starters Bench Note Skyy Clark pulled his hamstring against Iowa and has missed the last […]
15 days ago | 2 reads
The Big Ten has gone through a lot of changes in the last 15 years. It has gone from the Big Tenleven, to 12 Big 12 Ten (including a really confusing time where the Big Ten had 12 teams and the Big 12 had 10 teams), to the Bigger Ten, and now to the B1GGEST […]
15 days ago | 1 read
Purdue’s trip out west did not start out on a pretty foot. Purdue played poorly, saw its star point guard go down early, and though Braden Smith would return to the court and Purdue would record its 9th straight win when it hung on 69-64 against USC. Now Purdue hopes to have a healthy Smith […]
15 days ago | 1 read
The title says it all on this one. After staying at #5 for a number of weeks Purdue finally moved up a notch to #4. Iowa State was the victim here as they fell from #2 all the way to #9 after losing two straight games. Let’s take a look at where past or future […]
16 days ago | 2 reads
It’s NFL playoff season which means Ryan is off to watch his team, the Bears, while my team, the Bucs, choked away their chance at the playoffs this season. That means Ryan is unavailable to record a podcast with me, but no matter he sent me his thoughts in text message form and I’ll relay […]
16 days ago | 4 reads
Purdue had a stretch of nearly 8 minutes where it did not score in the first half. It had another stretch of nearly 5 minutes in the second half. It was 1 of 14 from the floor for a stretch. It trailed by 14 early and looked like a blowout could happen. Boilers win. Folks, […]
18 days ago | 1 read
After starting an unblemished 6-0 in conference season Purdue had to pack everything up, hop on the plane, and head out West to make their fortune. This time they are heading to face the USC Trojans in sunny Southern California. USC sits at 3-3 in conference play and Drew and Ryan both have previews of […]
18 days ago | 1 read
2025-2026 Season Overall Record: 14-3 Big 10 Record: 3-3 Previous 3 Games 1/13: W – 88-71 vs Maryland @ Home 1/9: W – 70 – 69 (OT) vs Minnesota @ Away 1/2: L – 51 – 80 vs Michigan State @ Away USC Personnel Starters Bench Key Analytics (Per KenPom.com – National Rank in ()) KenPom Ranking – 51 Offense Adjusted […]
19 days ago | 0 reads