Purdue Boilermakers Statistics
The Purdue Boilermakers basketball team is a college basketball program representing Purdue University in Indiana. The Purdue team competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big Ten Conference. Purdue basketball holds the record for most Big Ten Championships with 22, and is the only program in the conference to boast winning records against every other school in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers have reached two NCAA Tournament Final Fours and were the National Finalist in 1969. Purdue won its first and only National Championship to date in 1932. The Boilermakers share an in-state rivalry with the Indiana Hoosiers, in which Purdue holds a 110-84 series lead.
Basketball Venue for the Purdue Boilermakers
Mackey Arena is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Part of the Purdue University campus, it is home to the university's basketball teams, and occasionally hosts home games for the volleyball and wrestling teams. The arena opened in 1967 as a replacement for Lambert Fieldhouse.
Originally named Purdue Arena, it was renamed in 1972 to honor Purdue alumnus and long time athletic director Guy "Red" Mackey. On December 12, 1997, the floor was renamed Keady Court, in honor of longtime men's coach Gene Keady. The circular arena, similar to several built in the 1960s, seats 14,123, and is considered by many as one of the loudest arenas in the nation, due to its domed aluminum roof.
'Boilermakers' - The Story behind the Name
"Boilermakers" is the official name for the intercollegiate athletic teams of Purdue University. The nickname is often shortened to "Boilers" by fans of the school.
The name 'Boilermakers' goes back to 1891, when the Purdue football team defeated nearby rival Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, 44-0. An account of the game in the Crawfordsville Daily Argus News of October 26, 1891 was headlined, "Slaughter of Innocents: Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue." Engineering education in the 1890s at Purdue meant hands-on work in the forge room, where students heated and molded metal, just like "blacksmiths" and "boilermakers". The local Purdue press picked up on the name, with a notice in the November 1, 1891 Lafayette Sunday Times, "As everyone knows, Purdue went down to Wabash last Saturday and defeated their eleven. The Crawfordsville papers have not yet gotten over it. The only recourse they have is to claim that we beat their 'scientific' men by brute force. Our players are characterized as 'coal heavers,' 'boiler makers' and 'stevedores.'"
Early History of Purdue basketball - Purdue Becomes a Powerhouse
The history of Purdue basketball dates back to 1896, with their first game against the Lafayette YMCA. In the 1902-03 season, head coach C.I. Freeman, in his only season, led them to an undefeated 8-0 record. At the end of the season, the university recognized the popularity of the sport and made it part of the Purdue University Athletic Association.
The Boilermakers began play in the Big Ten Conference three years later, with its first championship coming in 1911. In 1917, Ward "Piggy" Lambert, was named head coach of the Boilermakers. Lambert led the Boilermakers through one of the most dominant eras of Purdue Basketball at the conference and national level. In 28 seasons, Lambert mentored 16 All-Americans and 31 First Team All-Big Ten selections. Lambert compiled a career record of 371-152, a .709 winning percentage. His 228 wins in Big Ten play have been bested by only Indiana's Bob Knight and former Purdue head coach Gene Keady. Lambert won an unprecedented 11 Big Ten Championships, which ties Bob Knight for most in conference history. Purdue was named the 1932 National Champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.
Fourteen years after being named National Champs, Ward Lambert announced his resignation on January 23, 1946. Under new head coach Mel Taube, Purdue won both meetings against Indiana State. On February 24, 1947, tragedy struck, as two students were killed and 166 people were taken to hospitals after the student section of the Purdue Fieldhouse collapsed during a game against Wisconsin.
After Mel Taube's four and a half seasons, Ray Eddy took over as head coach. During his fifteen year tenure, he coached Terry Dischinger and Dave Schellhase, both All-Americans, and Ernie Hall, the first Purdue junior college transfer and African-American player to wear a Boilermaker uniform. In 1955, his team played one of the longest games in college basketball history, lasting six overtimes in a loss to Minnesota.
Boilermakers Statistics during the 60's and 70's
Over the next few decades the Boilermakers would enjoy moderate success, culminating with an appearance in the 1969 NCAA Finals game under head coach George King and led by All-American Rick Mount, where they would fall to former Purdue great, John Wooden, and his UCLA Bruins squad.
Former Los Angeles Lakers coach/general manager, Fred Schaus took over the program after George King stepped down to become solely the school's athletic director. Schaus led the Boilermakers to the 1974 NIT Championship, becoming the first Big Ten team to capture the NIT title. In the 1978-79 season, new head coach Lee Rose introduced Purdue basketball to a new approach with a slowed-down, controlled style of play. With All-American center Joe Barry Carroll, he led them to the 1979 NIT Finals and to a 1980 NCAA Final Four appearance.
Recent Statistics for the Purdue Boilermakers Basketball Program
In 1980, Gene Keady was named the new head coach of the Boilermakers. Over the next 25 years, Keady led the Boilermakers to six Big Ten Championships and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances, with two Elite Eights. Purdue received their highest Associated Press and Coaches Poll ranking in its program's history during the 1987-88 season, where they were ranked as high as 2nd in the nation.
In 1991, Keady recruited Glenn Robinson, who ultimately became an All-American and Purdue's second National Player of the Year. A few years later, Purdue managed to recruit the program's first of many foreign players when they picked up Matt ten Dam from Holland.
In December 1997, Keady became Purdue's all-time winningest head coach, surpassing Lambert with his 372nd win. Many of Keady's former assistant coaches and players throughout the years have gone on to enjoy success as head coaches.
As the Keady era came to a close in 2005, the Matt Painter era began. Painter played for Keady during the early 90's, with Keady naming him captain in his senior year in 1993. After one season at Southern Illinois as the head coach, Painter was hired as Keady's associate head coach for the 2004-05 season, as a planned replacement for Coach Keady.
After a disappointing first season marred with injuries and suspensions from off-court altercations, Painter re-energized Purdue basketball in the summer of 2006 by signing the top recruiting class in the conference, and made one of the biggest turnarounds in the program's history. His "Baby Boilers" developed into three all-conference players that led Purdue to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances. Since the 1994 season, Purdue has won 12 consecutive NCAA First Round games.
During the 2010 season, Matt Painter led his Boilers to a 29-6 record, while providing Purdue its first All-Americans in sixteen years, with Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore. With a victory over Minnesota on January 5th, 2010, Purdue won its 500th game at Mackey Arena. Purdue became the first and only team in Big Ten Conference history to beat Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois, and Minnesota on the road in a single season, and Purdue received a #3 ranking in both major polls, giving the program its highest ranking since 1994.
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