Purdue dropped its first Big Ten game this season, then lost two of its next three to fall to 8-4, which represented the program's worst start through 12 contests since Zach Edey's freshman year. Edey's freshman year, by the way, was the last time the Boilermakers didn't have a 7-foot-4 center averaging at least 14.4 points and at least 7.7 rebounds. So, after the uneven start to this season, some folks started connecting those dots and suggesting that maybe, just maybe, Purdue was slipping significantly now that it no longer has a two-time Wooden Award winner in the middle.
Perhaps those folks will be proven right.
As always, we'll see.
But, it should be noted, that since falling to 8-4, the Boilermakers have won four straight games, all by double-digits, most recently Thursday night's 68-50 victory at Rutgers in which Braden Smith finished with 16 points and 14 assists. As a result, Purdue remains No. 15 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the third consecutive day.
Now let's spend the rest of this space on Rutgers.
After Thursday's loss to Purdue, the Scarlet Knights are 8-8 overall, 1-4 in the Big Ten, 0-6 in Quadrant 1 and nowhere near the NCAA Tournament bubble despite having two projected top-five NBA Draft picks — namely Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
Both played against Purdue.
Neither played well.
Bailey took 15 shots and missed 10. Harper took nine shots and missed seven. Those two elite prospects are the main reasons some had high hopes for the Scarlet Knights this season — but they're quickly turning into examples of why others are hesitant to build around freshmen in this era of college basketball (though, in fairness, Duke and Illinois are doing just fine with rosters headlined by first-year players).
As Matt Norlander detailed earlier this week, if Rutgers misses the 2025 NCAA Tournament, which seems likely, and Harper and Bailey are both top-five picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, which also seems likely, the Scarlet Knights will be the first team in the history of this world to ever miss the NCAA Tournament with a roster featuring two players who were subsequently selected in the top five of the same NBA Draft.
That's not the type of history anybody wants to make.
But, unless there's a big turnaround, that will be the history made.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johni Broome finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 87-82 win at Texas. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 14-1 |
| 2 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 82-59 win over Utah. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 13-1 |
| 3 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 76-47 win over Pitt. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Notre Dame. | -- | 13-2 |
| 4 |  | Alijah Martin finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 73-43 win over Tennessee. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Arkansas. | -- | 14-1 |
| 5 |  | Mark Sears finished with 22 points and six assists in Wednesday's 88-68 win at South Carolina. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | -- | 13-2 |
| 6 |  | Chase Ross finished with 27 points and six steals in Tuesday's 74-66 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at DePaul. | -- | 14-2 |
| 7 |  | Chaz Lanier was 3-of-16 from the field in Tuesday's 73-43 loss at Florida. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Texas. | -- | 14-1 |
| 8 |  | RJ Melendez finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 76-64 win at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 14-1 |
| 9 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 88-54 win over Washington. The Spartans' next game is Sunday at Northwestern. | -- | 13-2 |
| 10 |  | Otega Oweh was 3-of-13 from the field in Tuesday's 82-69 loss at Georgia. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | -- | 12-3 |
| 11 |  | Ben Humrichous finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 91-52 win over Penn State. The Illini's next game is Saturday against USC. | -- | 12-3 |
| 12 |  | Zhuric Phelps finished with 34 points and three steals in Wednesday's 80-78 win at Oklahoma. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 13-2 |
| 13 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 74-55 win over Arizona State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Cincinnati. | -- | 11-3 |
| 14 |  | Jackson Shelstad finished with 24 points and three assists in Thursday's 73-71 win at Ohio State. The Ducks' next game is Sunday at Penn State. | -- | 14-2 |
| 15 |  | Braden Smith finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds in Thursday's 68-50 win at Rutgers. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Nebraska. | -- | 12-4 |
| 16 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with 27 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 68-64 win over North Texas. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against East Carolina. | -- | 12-3 |
| 17 |  | Malik Dia finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 72-64 win at Arkansas. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against LSU. | -- | 13-2 |
| 18 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 36 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 94-75 win at UCLA. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Washington. | -- | 12-3 |
| 19 |  | Alex Karaban missed two free throws in the final seconds of Wednesday's 68-66 loss at Villanova. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Georgetown. | -- | 12-4 |
| 20 |  | Dylan Andrews was 1-of-7 from the field in Tuesday's 94-75 loss to Michigan. The Bruins' next game is Friday at Maryland. | -- | 11-4 |
| 21 |  | Ben Gregg finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 93-80 win over San Diego. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Washington State. | -- | 13-4 |
| 22 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 14 points and three steals in Monday's 65-46 win over TCU. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 11-3 |
| 23 |  | Mason Falslev finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 85-78 win at San Jose State. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Boise State. | -- | 15-1 |
| 24 |  | Asa Newell finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 82-69 win over Kentucky. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | -- | 13-2 |
| 25 |  | John Blackwell finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Monday's 75-63 win at Rutgers. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Minnesota. | -- | 12-3 |
| 26 |  | Kobe Elvis was 0-of-3 from the field in Wednesday's 80-78 loss to Texas A&M. The Sooners' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 13-2 |
