No. 4 Purdue lost 62-60 to No. 1 Houston in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. However, the overwhelming cheers in Lucas Oil Stadium stuffed to the brim in black and old gold tell a different story.
The game unfolded exactly as Purdue coach Matt Painter predicted, calling Houston “an elite defensive team” pregame.
But his Indiana-born players rose to the occasion:
Westfield’s Braden Smith (7 points, 3 rebounds, 1-5 3PT) battled Houston’s relentless pressure, facing what Painter called “maybe the biggest challenge he’s had.”
Sellersburg’s Trey Kaufman-Renn (14 points, 5 rebounds, 4-5 FT) delivered inside.
Fort Wayne’s Fletcher Loyer (Blackhawk Christian) answered Painter’s call to “take your shots,” leading Purdue with 16 pts (6-12 FG, 2-7 3PT), including clutch second-half jumpers.
The loss closed the collegiate career of Fort Wayne’s Caleb Furst a symbol of Purdue’s culture.
Before tip-off, Painter emphasized that “Education has been part of our equation… when guys maybe don’t play as much, you really gotta think about transferring and not getting a degree at Purdue.”
Furst played limited minutes (0 points, 2 rebounds) but leaves as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Purdue’s season ended shy of goals, but Painter’s pregame vision of continuity held postgame:
“We’ve stayed the same path… we’ll use the portal, but probably not as much as everybody else.”
Houston survived, as Painter warned — but not without feeling the fight of Indiana’s finest.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more NCAA March Madness news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
