Purdue shows what must improve in near upset as tune up to March Madness continues

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue men’s basketball sidestepped a land mine Saturday and, as a result, it can march into the season’s most consequential stretch.

The No. 12 Boilermakers escaped Oregon’s upset bid, 68-64, on the back of Fletcher Loyer’s late hero 3-pointer and a defensive resurrection. The Ducks’ ninth straight loss came within a couple of minutes of being their biggest Big Ten win since joining the league.

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The way Purdue ended up teetering on the edge of a gutting loss may preview its vulnerability to a much shorter March experience than anyone predicted preseason. It certainly validated coach Matt Painter’s unimpressed postgame comments after a 30-point win at Maryland.

Even after that emphatic response to a three-game losing streak, Painter wondered what would happen when next his team did not drain 3-pointers with elite frequency. He probably imagined it might look a lot like Saturday.

Yet in the context of keeping any share of a Big Ten championship within reach, Saturday unfolded with a sort of survive-and-advance feel. Look at it as narrowly avoiding a second-round NCAA tournament game while heavily favored over some upstart mid-major.

The win sets Purdue up for three games in eight days against NCAA tournament teams — at Nebraska on Tuesday, a relatively quick trip back to Iowa on Saturday and home against Michigan on Feb. 17. Tack home dates against IU and Michigan State onto the back end of that scenario, too. The make-or-break stretch of the regular season has arrived.

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If the Boilermakers sweep those games, a championship remains within reach. Winning by any means necessary Saturday kept alive a best-case-scenario for the rest of the season — if they also locate the best version of themselves again.

Why Purdue nearly fell victim to Oregon’s upset bid

While the Ducks came in on an eight-game losing streak, this was the best version of them anyone had faced in a month.

Senior center Nate Bittle started after missing five games…

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Publish date : 2026-02-07 23:46:00

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