Quotes That Matter From Matt Painter Following Purdue’s 87-55 Win Over Ball State

Purdue didn’t look like a team going through a transition on Sunday afternoon. With four new starters, the Boilermakers cruised to an 87-55 victory over Ball State in their opening exhibition.

Here are the key quotes from Matt Painter following Purdue’s dominant performance.

Advertisement

Nine guys could start

Mar 25, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Jack Benter (14) shoots the basketball during a practice session ahead of the west regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Predicting Purdue’s starting five has been more difficult than usual heading into the 2026 season. Apparently, Matt Painter has run into the same challenge. Sunday’s exhibition featured a starting lineup of Omer Mayer, CJ Cox, Gicarri Harris, Caden Pierce and Daniel Jacobsen.

Still, Painter believes nine players on the roster are deserving of a starting role.

“I really felt like we had nine guys that deserved to start. There’s not a whole lot of separation out there,” Painter said. “Sometimes it’s really easy to pick a starting five. It’s really easy to get a rotation set. This will be a difficult one, but I think that’s a good problem. It’s a really good problem to have.”

Advertisement

The other four players in that group are Luke Ertel, Antione West, Jack Benter and Raleigh Burgess. It will be intriguing to see whether Painter makes any adjustments to the starting lineup as the season progresses, but Purdue’s depth could be a significant advantage.

The Boilermakers have several capable options off the bench, giving Painter the flexibility to adjust his rotation based on matchups. If Sunday’s performance is any indication, Purdue could have one of the deeper benches in the Big Ten.

Impressive rim protection

Mar 4, 2026; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Daniel Jacobsen (12) defends Northwestern Wildcats forward Arrinten Page (22) during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit:…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/quotes-matter-matt-painter-following-215344369.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-18 21:53:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.