Purdue Men’s Basketball 2026 NCAA Tournament Capsule
March 8, 2026 · CSM Staff
Purdue Boilermakers
Big Ten (27-8, 13-7)
Big Wins: 2/10 at Nebraska (80-77), 3/15 vs Michigan (80-72)
Bad Losses: 1/20 at UCLA (67-69), 1/27 at Indiana (67-72)
Coach: Matt Painter
Probable Starters:
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Senior, Forward, 13.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.6 apg
Oscar Cluff, Senior, Center, 10.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.7 apg
C.J. Cox, Sophomore, Guard, 8.3 ppg, 1.3 apg, 2.6 rpg
Braden Smith, Senior, Guard, 14.0 ppg, 9.1 apg, 3.6 rpg, 1.8 spg
Fletcher Loyer, Senior, Guard, 13.8 ppg, 2.1 apg, 2.3 rpg
Key Role Players:
Daniel Jacobsen, Sophomore, Center, 6.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Omer Mayer, Freshman, Guard, 5.7 ppg, 1.2 apg, 1.1 rpg
Jack Benter, Freshman, Guard, 4.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Gicarri Harris, Sophomore, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 82.3 (54th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.7 (89, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 50.1 (15, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.5 (197, 12)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.5 (62, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.5 (12, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.2 (116, 13)
Rebound Margin: 7.0 (22, 4)
Assists Per Game: 19.7 (3, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 9.1 (11, 5)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2025 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over High Point |
| 2025 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over McNeese |
| 2025 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Houston |
| 2024 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Grambling |
| 2024 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Utah State |
| 2024 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Gonzaga |
| 2024 | NCAA | Regional Final win over Tennessee |
| 2024 | NCAA | National Semifinal win over NC State |
| 2024 | NCAA | National Final loss to Connecticut |
| 2023 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 2022 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Yale |
| 2022 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Texas |
| 2022 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Saint Peter’s |
| 2021 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to North Texas |
| 2019 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Old Dominion |
| 2019 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Villanova |
| 2019 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Tennessee |
| 2019 | NCAA | Regional Final loss to Virginia |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Cal State Fullerton |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Butler |
| 2018 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Texas Tech |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Vermont |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Iowa State |
| 2017 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Kansas |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Arkansas Little Rock |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Cincinnati |
| 2013 | CBI | First Round win over Western Illinois |
| 2013 | CBI | Quarterfinal loss to Santa Clara |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over St. Mary’s |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Kansas |
| 2011 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over St. Peters |
| 2011 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to VCU |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Siena |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Texas A&M |
| 2010 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Duke |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Northern Iowa |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Washington |
| 2009 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Connecticut |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Baylor |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Xavier |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Arizona |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Florida |
*all team stats through 3/8
