Purdue has an opportunity Tuesday night to add a third signature victory to its resume when the Boilermakers host Florida State inside Mackey Arena. Nothing is guaranteed, of course. But the odds of Matt Painter's program remaining undefeated increased Monday when it was announced that FSU will be without three rotation players, among them starting point guard RayQuan Evans and starting center Tanor Ngom.
Evans' situation is the saddest.
He'll be attending the funeral of his 27-year-old brother, Tye Oldelk Lafrainier, who died of leukemia earlier this month and left behind a 6-year-old son.
"Our thoughts are with RayQuan as he goes through this period of grieving with his family," said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton.
Evans is expected back in time for Saturday's ACC opener against Syracuse — but the Seminoles will likely be without Ngom a little longer. The 7-foot-2 senior is dealing with a right knee strain that is expected to keep him sidelined for a few weeks. So Florida State won't be whole for a while. That's the bad news. But the good news is that the Seminoles are so deep and balanced — 11 players are averaging double-digits in minutes played per game, six players are averaging between 12.5 points and 7.2 points per game — that they'll likely be fine once this game at Purdue is in the rearview mirror.
Purdue fans will be rooting hard Tuesday night for both their team and Ohio State considering the Buckeyes are hosting top-ranked Duke as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. As I noted in Monday morning's Top 25 And 1, if Purdue handles Florida State, and Duke loses at Ohio State, Purdue -- which is No. 3 in Tuesday morning's updated Top 25 And 1 --- will jump both Duke and Gonzaga and move to No. 1 in Wednesday morning's Top 25 And 1 thanks to a resume that would then feature three wins over top-50 KenPom teams. If things go down that way, the Boilermakers would then be only a win over Iowa in Friday's Big Ten opener away from moving to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll next week for the first time in school history.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Paolo Banchero finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Friday's 84-81 win over Gonzaga. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Ohio State. | -- | 4-1 |
| 2 |  | Chet Holmgren finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 64-55 win over Tarleton State. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 5-0 |
| 3 |  | Zach Edey finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Friday's 97-40 win over Omaha. The Boilermakers' next game is Tuesday against Florida State. | -- | 4-1 |
| 4 |  | UCLA shot just 34.8% from the field in Tuesday's 83-63 loss to Gonzaga. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against UNLV. | -- | 5-1 |
| 5 |  | Collin Gillespie finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in Sunday's 72-46 win over La Salle. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at Penn. | -- | 3-3 |
| 6 |  | James Akinjo finished with 15 points, five assists and three steals in Friday's 75-58 win over Michigan State. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Arkansas Pine Bluff. | -- | 4-2 |
| 7 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 19 points and four assists in Monday's 73-57 win over Sam Houston State. The Longhorns' next game is Friday against UT Rio Grande Valley. | -- | 5-1 |
| 8 |  | JD Notae finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists in Sunday's 76-60 win over Penn. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against Central Arkansas. | -- | 4-1 |
| 9 |  | Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds in Monday's 85-57 win over Central Michigan. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Southern. | -- | 5-0 |
| 10 |  | Alex Barcello finished with 17 points and five assists in Saturday's 75-64 win at Utah. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday at Utah Valley. | -- | 4-0 |
| 11 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 105-59 win over Sacramento State. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Washington. | -- | 2-2 |
| 12 |  | Kennedy Chandler finished with 15 points and five steals in Friday's 80-69 win over Tennessee Tech. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Presbyterian. | -- | 6-0 |
| 13 |  | Ochai Agbaji finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 96-83 win over Iona. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against St. John's. | -- | 5-0 |
| 14 |  | Michigan State finished with nine assists and 19 turnovers in Friday's 75-58 loss to Baylor. The Spartans' next game is Wednesday against Louisville. | -- | 4-1 |
| 15 |  | Isaiah Whaley finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Friday's 70-63 win over VCU. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Maryland Eastern Shore. | -- | 4-0 |
| 16 |  | Jabari Smith finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Friday's 89-68 win over Syracuse. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against UCF. | -- | 4-0 |
| 17 |  | Drew Peterson finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Friday's 58-43 win over San Diego State. The Trojans' next game is Wednesday against Utah. | -- | 4-1 |
| 18 |  | Fabian White Jr. finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 78-48 win over Oregon. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Northwestern State. | -- | 3-1 |
| 19 |  | Colin Castleton finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 84-45 win over Troy. The Gators' next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma. | -- | 6-0 |
| 20 |  | Gabe Kalscheur finished with 30 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 78-59 win over Memphis. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against Arkansas Pine Bluff. | -- | 3-0 |
| 21 |  | Memphis finished with eight assists and 22 turnovers in Friday's 78-59 loss to Iowa State. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Georgia. | -- | 4-0 |
| 22 |  | Keon Ellis finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 96-64 win over Miami. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | -- | 4-1 |
| 23 |  | Ohio State allowed Florida to grab 16 offensive rebounds in Wednesday's 71-68 loss to the Gators. The Buckeyes' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 4-1 |
| 24 |  | Jared Rhoden finished with 18 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 84-70 win over Bethune-Cookman. The Pirates' next game is Wednesday against Wagner. | -- | 3-3 |
| 25 |  | Alex Fudge finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 75-61 win over Wake Forest. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Ohio. | -- | 4-1 |
| 26 |  | Johnny Davis finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 61-55 win over Saint Mary's. The Badgers' next game is Wednesday at Georgia Tech. | -- | 6-0 |
