October 5, 2026: Purdue enters the 2026-27 season facing something it hasn't had to deal with in quite some time: figuring out how to play basketball without Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. The two longtime backcourt starters finished their Purdue careers having started all 149 games they played together, and their departure leaves Matt Painter with some enormous holes to fill. The Boilermakers will turn to a combination of returning players and newcomers, including C.J. Cox, Omer Mayer, Jack Benter and highly regarded freshman Luke Ertel, to take on much larger roles. With Smith's playmaking and Loyer's shooting no longer available, where will Purdue's offense come from, and who becomes the new voice in the backcourt? And while Purdue's 30-9 record and trip to the Elite Eight would qualify as a terrific season for most programs, expectations in West Lafayette are a little different. The Boilermakers entered last season with considerably higher aspirations, and the loss to Arizona in the regional final left the season feeling somewhat disappointing despite another deep NCAA Tournament run. Now the challenge is to see whether Painter can successfully reload rather than rebuild. We'll look at the new-look Purdue roster, the players who are positioned to step into starring roles, the newcomers who could make an immediate impact, and what Michigan State should expect when these two teams meet in a very different chapter of the Purdue-MSU rivalry. OUR AWESOME SPONSORS Every great podcast needs great sponsors. And we’re fortunate to have three that not only support the show, but also make it more fun for you guys. First up: Nudge Printing. If you’re looking for Michigan State gear, there are approximately 47,000 places on the internet willing to sell you a green T-shirt. But we recommend going with the Spartans who actually know what they’re doing. Nudge Printing is owned and operated by MSU alums Gabe and Brittany, right here in Michigan. They make some seriously good Spartan apparel, along with gear for a bunch of other schools. And, perhaps most importantly to you, Nudge supplies the apparel and gift cards for our listener contests. So when you win something on the show, there’s a pretty good chance Nudge is the reason you have something to put on your body or spend at the mall. Check them out, support a couple of fellow Spartans, and get yourself some new gear. Then there are The Brothers that just do Gutters. You know what gutters do? They keep water out of places where water shouldn't be. You know what we want Michigan State to do? Keep opposing players out of places where opposing players shouldn't be. That's why The Brothers are the official sponsor of our “player MSU needs to keep in the gutter” segment. It’s a match made in heaven. If your gutters are overflowing, clogged, damaged, or generally behaving like a Big Ten defense that has forgotten its assignments, call Kurt Stauffer and the Grand Rapids crew. The Brothers that just do Gutters — Grand Rapids They handle installation, repair, cleaning, maintenance and gutter guards throughout the Grand Rapids area. They also have you covered in Metro Detroit. The Brothers that just do Gutters — Metro Detroit Mention “Final Four” to get 10% off your gutter work. That's a much better discount than the one you'll get if you tell your contractor you finished second in your office pool. And finally, our friends at Squeegee Squad of Grand Rapids. We’ve decided that if two people are going to spend an entire basketball season arguing about who is better at cleaning the glass, we might as well have a professional window-cleaning company sponsor it. Thus, Squeegee Squad sponsors our “who cleans the glass best?” competition. They specialize in residential and commercial window cleaning, along with pressure and soft washing, gutter cleaning and other exterior cleaning services. Basically, if it's dirty and attached to your house or business, they probably have a way to make it look better. Squeegee Squad of Grand Rapids And if you'd like to let someone else handle the dirty work, you can request a free estimate here. We genuinely appreciate all three of these businesses for supporting the show. And yes, we realize there is a certain amount of irony in having a gutter company sponsor a segment about putting an opposing player in the gutter while a window-cleaning company sponsors a competition about cleaning the glass. We didn't plan it this perfectly. It just happened. #purdueboilermakers #purduebasketball #bigtenbasketball Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
