.jpg) Painter in 2017 | |||||||||||||||
| Current position | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Head coach | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Purdue | ||||||||||||||
| Conference | Big Ten | ||||||||||||||
| Record | 471–214 (.688) | ||||||||||||||
| Annual salary | $4.85 million | ||||||||||||||
| Biographical details | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1970-08-27)August 27, 1970 (age 54) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Purdue University | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | |||||||||||||||
| 1989–1993 | Purdue | ||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Guard | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Washington & Jefferson (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Barton (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1998 | Eastern Illinois (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–2003 | Southern Illinois (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Southern Illinois | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Purdue (associate HC) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–present | Purdue | ||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Overall | 496–219 (.694) | ||||||||||||||
| Tournaments | 24–16 (NCAA Division I) 1–1 (CBI) | ||||||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | |||||||||||||||
| Championships | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970)[1] is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the current and 19th head coach of thePurdue Boilermakers, serving in that role since 2005. He playedcollege basketball at Purdue from 1989 to 1993. He was also the head coach of theSouthern Illinois Salukis from 2003 to 2004.
Painter was born inFort Wayne, Indiana. He attended high school atDelta High School inMuncie, Indiana.[2] After graduation from high school in 1989, Painter enrolled atPurdue University and played point guard for the Boilermakers, starting for one season. As a senior in1993, he led Purdue in assists and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection.
From 1993 to 2003, Painter was an assistant coach atWashington & Jefferson (1993–94),Barton (1994–95),Eastern Illinois (1995–1998) andSouthern Illinois (1998–2003). After helping lead Southern Illinois to consecutiveMissouri Valley Conference championships in 2002 and 2003, he was promoted to head coach whenBruce Weber left forIllinois, where he led the Salukis to another conference championship in one season, including advancing to the2004 NCAA Division I Tournament. Immediately afterward, Painter signed a six-year deal as head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, where he would spend a year as a coach-in-waiting untilGene Keady's retirement at the end of the season. With Painter at the helm, Purdue teams have won the Big Ten Conference five times, the Big Ten Tournament twice, and have reached the NCAA tournament 16 times, with eight Sweet-16 appearances, two Elite Eight appearances, one Final Four and one national title game appearance. Combined with his Southern Illinois' NCAA Tournament appearance, he has a total of 16 tournament appearances in 19 years coaching. Painter has coached a total of nine players who went on to play in theNBA in his tenure at Purdue University, with three of them being drafted in the first round of theNBA draft.[3] Painter has been named Big Ten Conference Coach of the year five times, which is second all time behind his predecessor Gene Keady.
Matt Painter was born inFort Wayne, Indiana, and attendedDelta High School, inMuncie, Indiana. He played basketball for former basketball coach and athletic director, Stan Daugherty. He grew up a fan ofIndiana Hoosiers men's basketball and dreamed of playing for coach Bobby Knight at IU; however, Coach Knight never offered him a scholarship. Instead, Painter attendedPurdue University as an undergraduate. He played four seasons as aBoilermakerspoint guard under head coachGene Keady and assistantsBruce Weber andSteve Lavin. During his college career, the team went to threeNCAA Tournaments and oneNIT appearance, with his best NCAA Tourney finish being the round of 32. He was teammates withJimmy Oliver,Steve Scheffler, andGlenn Robinson. He started 50 of the 109 games in which he appeared and helped his team to a 75-45 overall record. In his senior season, he was selected as a team captain and was named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. Painter finished his career averaging 4.5 points-per-game and totaling 276 assists.
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | Purdue | 19 | 4.4 | .267 | .333 | .400 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| 1990–91 | Purdue | 29 | 20.3 | .423 | .357 | .634 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| 1991–92 | Purdue | 33 | 13.7 | .390 | .286 | .717 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| 1992–93 | Purdue | 28 | 30.3 | .491 | .387 | .677 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.6 |
After graduation from Purdue in 1993, Painter moved on to coaching basketball. His first year as a coach was an assistant coach position atWashington & Jefferson College.[5] as an assistant to former Purdue assistant coach Tom Reiter. With Painter's help, the team finished the season with a 22–3 record and a quarterfinal appearance in theNCAADivision III tournament.[5] During this time, he worked as aforklift operator to supplement his income.[6]
The next season, he became an assistant coach atBarton College. In the 1994-95 season, Barton finished with 13 wins and 13 losses. Painter then moved toDivision I as an assistant coach atEastern Illinois of theOhio Valley Conference, where he also received his master's degree.
After three years at Eastern Illinois, he moved toSouthern Illinois in 1998 as an assistant to head coachBruce Weber. Painter was previously acquainted with him while Weber was an assistant coach at Purdue during Painter's playing days. Weber and Painter quickly turned a team that had a losing record the previous season into a successful team. Painter helped lead the Salukis to theNIT in 2000 and twice to the NCAA tournament the following seasons while an assistant coach. In the 2001–02 season, they qualified for theNCAA tournament and ended their season in the Sweet Sixteen with a loss toUConn. That year, SIU beat well-established programs such asGeorgia andTexas Tech. In 2003, Weber's and Painter's Salukis were featured onMTV's specialTrue Life: I Am a College Baller.
After serving as an assistant coach for five seasons at SIU, Painter stepped into his firstNCAA Division I head coaching position after Bruce Weber took the head coaching job atIllinois for the 2003–04 season. Leading the Salukis to a 25–5 record and a berth in the2004 NCAA tournament, the team was ranked as high as #15 in the nation by theAP poll during the season. Painter was named the 2003-2004Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
In 2004, Painter was recruited by Purdue as the replacement for retiring head coachGene Keady. He signed a six-year contract as the newPurdue Boilermakers men's basketball coach. As part of a planned transition, Painter was named the associate head coach for the 2004–05 season.[7] He joined former teammateCuonzo Martin (former head coach at theUniversity of Missouri) on the coaching staff. With key players out with injuries, suspensions and transfers, Purdue finished the season with a 7–21 record, the most losses in the program's history in a season.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Painter took over for Keady as the head coach at hisalma mater and became the second former Purdue player to become the head coach since Ray Eddy (1950–1965). In his first season in that role, despite the absences of injured starters,David Teague andCarl Landry, and only playing with seven scholarship players, they finished with a 9-19 record. Painter's first Purdue squad as a head coach came up with wins against eventual NCAA Tournament qualifierWisconsin and #23Michigan.
In his second season as head coach, the team had high hopes for an NCAA berth. Bothpower forwardCarl Landry andshooting guardDavid Teague returned to the lineup after injuries, combining an average of about 34 points and 15 rebounds per game. Painter's Boilermakers finished the non-conference season with an 11-3 record, which included wins over previously unbeaten and top 25 schoolsVirginia andMissouri. They headed deep into the regular season without a road win. The team had also not won a road game in the two prior seasons during which Painter was part of the Boilermaker's bench. That 29 road-game losing streak ended on February 3, 2007, when Purdue beatPenn State at theBryce Jordan Center. After winning seven of their last ten conference games during the regular season and setting a single-season school record for most home wins at 16 inMackey Arena, Painter and his Boilermakers finished the regular season with a 9-7 conference record. They received a 5th seed in the Big Ten tournament and were knocked out in the semifinals when they lost to aGreg Oden-ledOhio State team. Purdue was invited to the2007 NCAA tournament, Painter's second appearance as a head coach, and received a 9 seed. The team's opening round opponent wasLute Olson'sArizona. After beating the Wildcats, Purdue fell toBilly Donovan's number one seeded and defending/eventual national champions,Florida. With +13 wins from the previous season, it was the biggest win-margin turnaround in the program's history.
Coming off one of the program's biggest single season improvements, Painter returned only one senior on the roster with 6 newcomers. Painter achieved notable recruiting success, signing one of the top five recruiting classes in the nation for 2007, all coming from the state of Indiana. Painter started at least three freshmen in every game at the start of the '07-'08 season, making it the youngest starting line-up in the nation. His "baby boilers" finished the non-conference season with a 9-4 record, which included a win againstRick Pitino's #22 rankedLouisville, as well as a loss toWofford, their only home loss of the season. During an eleven-game winning streak in conference play, they swept the season series with the conference champion #8 Wisconsin and had a home win against #9Michigan State. It was the first back-to-back wins versus top ten teams in school history. Their winning streak was ended when they lost to in-state rival, #14Indiana. Painter and his Boilers finished the regular season in 2nd place with a 15-3 record. During the regular season and into the conference tournament, Purdue was ranked as high as #15 in both polls. Painter's team entered the Big Ten tournament with the #2 seed. They lost in the quarterfinals to the 10th seeded Illinois. They were invited to the2008 NCAA tournament and given a #6 seed. They beatBaylor in the first round, giving Purdue its 10th straight first round win in the tournament. They lost in the second round to a senior-ledXavier team. He was eventually named theBig Ten Conference Coach of the Year. The Boilers finished the season with a 25-9 record.
Painter's Boilermakers began the2008-2009 season with anESPN/USA Today Poll rank at #10 and anAP Top 25 #11 ranking. They had five returning starters from the prior season, includingChris Kramer, the conference's defensive player of the year and two all-conference selections inE'Twaun Moore andRobbie Hummel. Painter's Boilers opened the season with a 5–0 record. In the first game of the season, his team set the school record for fewest turnovers in a game, only committing three, againstDetroit on November 14, 2008. With a #9 ranking, Purdue had their first losses of the season back-to-back in overtime to #13 rankedOklahoma in theNIT Season Tip-Off championship game and a 16-point home loss against #4Duke. They finished the pre-season with an 11-2 record, which included a win against #22Davidson. Purdue finished third in conference play, including a season-sweep by Illinois and splitting the season meetings with conference title winners, Michigan State. Near the end of the regular season, he was selected as one of ten candidates for theHenry Iba Award, which goes to the nation's best coach of the year. With a much healthier Robbie Hummel in the lineup, they entered theBig Ten tournament with the #3 seed, beating Ohio State in the finals, giving Purdue its first conference tournament championship in school history. Throughout the tournament, Painter's team averaged 16 assists and less than six turnovers in three games. Painter led his team to a third straightNCAA tournament appearance with a #5 seed, the team's highest seed in 10 years. They beatNorthern Iowa from theMVC in the first round, becoming the program's 11th straight first round win dating back to 1994. After beatingWashington in the second round, Purdue reached their firstSweet Sixteen in 9 years, eventually losing toJim Calhoun'sHasheem Thabeet-ledUConn. Painter's team finished the season with a 27–10 record, the most games played in a season in its program's history. Despite beginning his Purdue head coaching position coming off a prior 7-win season, he surpassedGene Keady's first four season's (1981–1985) win total of 82 in his first four (2005–2009) with 83 victories.
On May 12, 2009, Painter accepted an assistant coach position for the 2009 USA Basketball U19 World Championships team. Along with current head coach and former fellow assistantChris Lowery atSouthern Illinois, he served underPittsburgh head coachJamie Dixon. Painter helped lead the team to a 9-0 record with a 22.2 point win margin, while winning the gold after beatingGreece.
Painter and his team began the2009–10 season with a 14–0 record, which tied the1993–94 team for the best start in the program's history. He returned his entire regular starting five, including three all-conference selections inJaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, and Robbie Hummel. Painter started his fifth season at Purdue with his team receiving a preseason 7th overall ranking by both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls, the program's highest in 22 years. Coach Painter led his top ten ranked team to the 2009Paradise Jam tournament championship againstBruce Pearl's #10Tennessee, followed by the preseason close with a home win over #6West Virginia and a 12-0 record against non-conference opponents. On January 28, 2010, he won his 100th game as Purdue's head coach againstWisconsin, becoming the fourth fastest to reach the mark behind former Purdue coachesWard Lambert,George King, andGene Keady. Deep into the regular conference season, Painter got his first career road wins against #10Michigan State inEast Lansing and #9Ohio State inColumbus, leaving Purdue as the only team in the nation to go 4–0 against top ten teams. With a ten-game winning streak in conference play, Purdue received a #3 ranking in both polls, giving Painter his highest ranking as both a player and head coach, while being the program's highest in sixteen years. After losing All-Conference starter Robbie Hummel to anACL injury, Painter pushed his junior/senior-led team in the last three conference games (2–1), culminating with a 14–4 conference record and a share of the Big Ten title, the program's first in fourteen years. At the end of the regular season, he was named the coaches' pick forBig Ten Conference Coach of the Year, his second time being honored with the title since arriving at Purdue. After beatingSiena in the first round of theNCAA tournament andTexas A&M in the second round with a 4 seed, Painter has led Purdue to consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances and currently has an overall 6-4 record in NCAA Tournament games after losing to Duke. Finishing with a 29–6 record, it tied for most wins in a season in school history.
Coming off the most wins in a four-year span in school history with 102 (2007–2010), Painter and his Boiler squad returned two All-American candidates (JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore), its primary point guard (Lewis Jackson), and an All-Conference freshman (Kelsey Barlow). ESPN'sAndy Katz selected Purdue as the preseason No. 1-ranked team for the2011 season, whileFox Sports selected them as the No. 4 favorite.[8] These predictions came premature as fellow All-American candidate, Robbie Hummel, re-tore his ACL during practice, preventing him from playing his senior season. Joining the sidelines was Painter's latest addition to his bench staff, Mike Jackson, a formerMichigan assistant coach. In preseason play, Painter's team began the season ranked as high as eighth in the nation and fell as low as 22nd following a loss toRichmond in theChicago Invitational finals. Painter's Boilers went undefeated at home on the season for the first time in 42 years (16–0). They tied series with rankedWisconsin,Minnesota, and the top-ranked team in the nation,Ohio State. No. 6 Purdue finished second in theBig Ten Conference with a 14–4 record, while finishing the regular season 26–8 overall. At the conclusion of the regular season, Painter was namedBig Ten Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in four seasons. Painter received his highestNCAA tournament seeding as a coach, with No. 13-ranked Purdue being named a No. 3 seed in the Tournament. They defeatedSaint Peter's in the first round, but were upset by Final Four-bound No. 11 seedVCU the second round.
On March 30, 2011, it was reported that Painter might accept theUniversity of Missouri head coaching position. However, after the initial reports surfaced, Purdue announced that Painter had accepted a new eight-year deal to remain with the school.[9]
After losing All-American seniors in JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore to graduation and theNBA, Painter returned a handful of experienced role players and Preseason First Team All-Big Ten forward Robbie Hummel, who returned from a second ACL injury. His Boiler squad began the2012 season unranked for the first time in four seasons. Joining him on the bench were two new assistant coaches inMicah Shrewsberry, who was part of the coaching staff that guidedButler to consecutive NCAA Finals, andGreg Gary, who previously assisted atDuquesne,South Florida,Miami, andTulane. On November 11, Painter's squad opened the season beatingNorthern Illinois by 62 points, the program's highest win margin since 1911. Painter's team received its first loss of the season against No. 15-rankedAlabama in thePuerto Rico Tip-Off title game. Their second loss of the season came on the road against No. 11-rankedXavier, a game where Painter's squad forced a season-high 22 turnovers and was up by 19 points in the second half. On December 17 atConseco Fieldhouse, his team was upset byButler after losing a 15-point lead, losing by two. Closing the preseason with a 10–3 record and a 3–2 start in conference play, Purdue owned the fifth longest home winning streak in the nation at 27 before losing toWisconsin. AgainstIllinois on New Year's Eve, Painter received his 150th win at Purdue and his 175th career win as a head coach. Three times in conference play, Painter's squad committed a school-record three turnovers in a game, losing all three, which included a three-point loss in a road game against No. 3Ohio State. Painter got his first win against a ranked team on the season beating No. 11Michigan on the road by 14 points, giving Michigan their only home loss on the season. His squad led the nation in fewest turnovers, committing just 8.9 per game (7.6 in conference play) while averaging a –4.6 turnover margin against opponents. With the 20th win on the season againstPenn State on February 29, Painter gave Purdue its sixth consecutive 20-win season, tying a program record with Gene Keady's mid-1980s mark. Purdue ended theBig Ten season at 10–8 in conference play (sixth) and stood at 21–12 overall after theBig Ten tournament. On March 11, the Boilermakers received an at-large bid as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region of theNCAA tournament. In the first round of the Tournament, Purdue beat No. 7 seedSaint Mary's 72–69, their 14th straight First Round victory, the longest current streak at that time. In the second round, Purdue lost to No. 2Kansas 63–60. Purdue ended the season 22–13, their sixth straight year with 22 or more wins.
Painter began the2013 season after losing three senior starters from the previous season including All-AmericanRobbie Hummel and point guardLewis Jackson. Also leaving the program were would-be seniors in shooting guard John Hart (transferred toIUPUI) and suspended guard/forward Kelsey Barlow (transferred toUIC). Painter's raw and young squad began the season with a 2–3 record, losing their season opener for the first time during the Painter-era. Purdue went on to lose games toVillanova andOregon State atMadison Square Garden in the2K Sports Classic. The Boilers finished 7–6 in non-conference play. InBig Ten play, Painter consistently started at least three freshmen, which included a B1G-All FreshmanA. J. Hammons and Ronnie Johnson. Painter's squad made improvement towards the end of the season, after going through much inconsistency, getting wins at No. 7Wisconsin, a near upset against of No. 7Michigan, and a blowout win against Minnesota, Painter's 200th career win. Finishing seventh in conference play with an 8–10 record, Purdue lost toNebraska in the first round of theBig Ten tournament. Purdue accepted a bid to theCBI, where they defeatedWestern Illinois before losing toSanta Clara and finishing with a 16–18 overall record.
In hisninth season at Purdue, the Boilermakers started well, finishing the non-conference slate at 10–3. However, the Boilers struggled inBig Ten play despite winning three of their first five games in conference. The Boilers would lose 11 of their last 13 regular season games to finish last in the league with a 5–13 record. A loss in the first round of theBig Ten tournament to No. 24Ohio State left Purdue with a 15–17 overall record and without a postseason.
In his 10th season as Purdue's head coach, Painter brought in three contributing freshman, including the tallest player in the program's history, 7'2" Isaac Haas. With an 8–5 non-conference record that included a blowout loss to a rankedNotre Dame and home losses toNorth Florida andGardner Webb, Painter was viewed by many as being on the hot seat. With the play of juniors A. J. Hammons and Rapheal Davis and the additional lift of transfer senior point guard John Octeus,Painter's squad turned things around in conference play. They finished third in conference with a 12–6 record after being predicted to finish near the bottom of the league. They defeated three ranked teams in a four-game stretch with home wins against No. 25Iowa, No. 20Ohio State, and No. 21Indiana. During this time, Painter received his 100th Big Ten win and reached a personal 9–8 winning record against in-state rivals Indiana with a season sweep. A loss in the semifinals of theBig Ten tournament to No. 6Wisconsin preceded an at-large bid to theNCAA tournament. The trip marked Painter's eighth appearance as a head coach. The No. 9-seeded Boilers would fall in overtime to the No. 8-seededCincinnati in the first round. They finished with a 21–13 overall record on the season.
Painter accomplished a first in his coaching career by landing a five-star recruit in 2015Indiana Mr. BasketballCaleb Swanigan, who switched his commitment from Michigan State to Purdue. Painter led theteam to a 26–9 overall record. The team maintained an AP Top 25 ranking throughout their entire season, but showed inconsistency. The team boasted victories over conference heavyweightsMichigan State,Maryland, andWisconsin. In the Big Ten tournament, they fell four points shy of the championship losing to Michigan State. The team's inconsistency continued as they fell to 12-seededArkansas-Little Rock in the first round of theNCAA tournament.
Senior centerA. J. Hammons was selected as a finalist for theKareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for best center, and was selected as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, succeeding Purdue teammate and 2015 recipient Raphael Davis.
Purdue was ranked in the top-25 throughout the entire season, the second consecutive season to boast that accomplishment. They won their 23rdBig Ten Conference regular season championship and first outright title in 21 years (1996) by finishing the season with a 25–6 record, 14–4 in conference. This was the Boilermakers best record and first conference championship since2010. They ended the year by winning 10 out of their last 12 games. Sophomore forwardCaleb Swanigan was namedBig Ten Player of the Year in a unanimous vote, the first Purdue player to win that award sinceJaJuan Johnson. They lost in their first game in theBig Ten tournament by the streakingMichigan who went on to win the championship. They received an at-large bid to theNCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed in where they defeatedVermont andIowa State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they were defeated, 98-66, by the #1 seedKansas.
Purdue came into the season off of aSweet Sixteen appearance, accompanied by being the reigningBig Ten Conference men's basketball regular season champions, making expectations for the season. However, with the departure ofCaleb Swanigan, the future was left uncertain. In the 2017–2018 season, Purdue, led by seniors Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias and sophomore Carsen Edwards, spent several weeks at #3 while being on a program record and nation-leading 19-game winning streak. During that time, the Boilers led the nation in scoring margin, points per game, three-point shooting, and was one of only two teams with a top 3 ranking in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Purdue missed out on a consecutive B1G title after losing to Wisconsin, finishing 2nd in the conference at 15–3. The Boilers were seeded 3rd in the Big Ten tournament, where they beat Rutgers and Penn State to reach the Big Ten tournament Championship for the second time in three years. They faced a familiar opponent in Michigan, whom they had already faced two other times throughout that season, Purdue winning both meetings. However, Michigan beat Purdue 75–66 to become Big Ten tournament Champions for the second straight season.
Purdue was seeded 2nd in the East Region of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, their highest seed in recent history. In the first round, they faced Cal State Fullerton Titans, winning 74–48. However, many Purdue fan's hearts broke in the second half of the game, as senior Center Isaac Haas fell on his elbow as he fought for a rebound, and broke his elbow as he hit the ground, ending his Purdue Basketball career. Purdue's second-round game was against Butler Bulldogs, whom Purdue had already played earlier in the season. The Boilers would win the game on a last second shot by Dakota Mathias, winning 76–73 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue faced the third seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Boilers would go on to lose in disappointing fashion 65–78, ending their season with 30 wins, the most wins in program history.
In 2019, Purdue was seeded 3rd in the South Region of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, after another strong season. In the first round, they defeated a 26–8 Old Dominion team that was coming off a Conference USA championship for a 61–48 win. In the second round, they handedly defeated #6 seed Villanova, sending the defending champs home early after an 87–61 victory, and advancing to their third straight Sweet Sixteen in his tenure. The Boilermakers ran into their first real test with the #2 Tennessee Volunteers. After a back and forth contest that included 17 lead changes and needed overtime to be decided, Purdue came out victorious, beating the Vols 99–94 to reach their first Elite Eight in nearly 20 years. In the Elite Eight, Purdue faced the #1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers in what would be another back and forth thriller. After several lead changes throughout the game, Purdue led 70–67 with 5.9 seconds left and looked to be headed to their first Final Four since 1980 when Virginia's Ty Jerome missed the second free throw of two. Virginia was able to come up with the offensive rebound however, and after chasing down the loose ball, Mamadi Diakite nailed a last second jumpshot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. The Boilers were once again looking towards the big dance, leading 75–74 with 43 seconds to go, but Virginia was able to hold Purdue scoreless the rest of overtime and prevailed 80–75, ending the Boilermakers' season with 26 wins and their first Elite Eight appearance since 2000.
In 2020, Purdue went 16-15 overall and 9-11 in Big Ten play, and the Boilers finished tied 10th in the Big Ten final standings. Postseason play was canceled due to COVID-19.
In 2021, Purdue finished with a record of 18-10 overall and 13-6 in the Big Ten. The Boilers finished 4th in the Big Ten final standings and received a 4 seed for the NCAA tournament. However, the Boilers suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of 13th seed North Texas 78-69 in OT in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Painter won his 372nd game as Purdue's head coach on January 8, over Penn State. This vaulted him past Hall of FamerWard "Piggy" Lambert to become the second-winningest coach in Purdue history. Earlier, a victory in their conference opener over Iowa propelled the Boilermakers to No. 1 in both major polls for the first time in school history.
Purdue finished the season by losing to 15 seed Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, which is the first time in NCAA history that a 15 seed has won in the Sweet 16.
On January 13, 2023, Painter became only the fifth coach in Big Ten history to win 400 games[10] (his overall record at the milestone being 400-193).
Purdue finished the regular season 26-5 and 15-5 in conference play to win the regular season Big Ten title. They then won theBig Ten tournament, the first time in school history that Purdue won both the regular season and tournament titles in the same season.[11] However, after receiving a #1 seed, Purdue finished the season by losing to #16 seed FDU in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. FDU was only the second #16 seed in NCAA tournament history to win a game. The FDU loss marked the third consecutive year that Purdue had lost to a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite their first round exit in the 2023 tournament, Purdue came into the season with high expectations. They returned reigning National Player of the YearZach Edey and were number 3 in the preseason AP poll, their highest preseason ranking since the1987–88 season. On November 27, after winning theMaui Invitational, they made Big Ten history as the first team to be ranked number 1 in the AP Poll 3 consecutive seasons.[12] The Boilermakers finished with 17 wins in conference play, the most in program history and most in Big Ten history since Indiana's 18 in 1976. Purdue went undefeated at home (16-0) for the fourth time in Mackey Arena history. The senior class ended with 59 victories in Big Ten play, tied for the most for any class in Big Ten History (Indiana, 1977).[13]
Painter has been married to his wife Sherry since October 2018. He has three children: Maggie, Brayden, and Wyatt Painter.[14] Matt Painter is not related to former Purdue quarterbackCurtis Painter.[15]
In 1994, Painter had a brief role in theNick Nolte filmBlue Chips, playing for the fictitious "Coast" squad.[16]
On May 7, 2009, he served as the honorary starter and waved the green flag for the starting round of qualifying at theIndianapolis 500 inSpeedway, Indiana.
Media related toMatt Painter at Wikimedia Commons
