By KEITH CARRELL
@BoilerColts
ISL Purdue Writer

On senior night, in the post-game interview (after defeating Minnesota), it was noted that this crop of seniors had not been given a nickname. Much has been the case for standout classes of the past such as the Three Amigos (Troy Lewis, Todd Mitchell and Everette Stephens) the Baby Boilers (Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore, and Scott Martin) even player favorites like The Custodian (Brian Cardinal) or Bobby Buckets (Bobby Riddell) earned monikers, but this class hasn’t. Greg Doyel, of the IndyStar, wrote a nice piece on this and put forward his suggestion as the Final Four (truly a terrific read, you should check it out here), but sophomore Carsen Edwards plays such a vital role, if a name were to be given, it really should encompass the entire 2017-2018 team and not just the senior class.

…so with that, I present to you, the Best Men.

The old saying goes, always a Brides Maid (err, Best Man), never a Bride (ahem, Groom). Not only does the name suit the perpetual runner-up status the team has earned throughout the year, but it also speaks to the character of the team from top to bottom. This season has been chock full of best men performances by the team from the very start: Silver Medal representing the United States in the World University Games (Lithuania), runner-up Big Ten regular season title (Michigan State), and runner-up Big Ten Tournament (Michigan). The season has also presented a plethora of stories surrounding the team and the good that they have done for their community.

The season wasn’t all about finishing second, though. This team has accomplished a lot and still has the potential to accomplish more. Here’s a look at some of the key accomplishments this team has earned throughout the season:

• Matt Painter earned his 300^th win as a Head Coach in the NCAA
• Mackey Arena set an average attendance record (14,344 fans per game) and had ten sellouts
• The senior class has won at every current Big Ten arena (having picked up wins at Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois this season)
• 5,025 combined points by the seniors class
• Four Players earned Big Ten Honors: Edwards, Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas, and Dakota Mathias
• Carsen Edwards has already earned his number to hang in the rafters by earning a spot on All American teams
• Purdue finished with a 28-6 record (one win shy of the most ever by a Purdue team, 29 won three times before)
• Set a team record for threes made (326)
• Matt Haarms sits second on the Purdue All-Time freshman list with 73 blocked shots (Joe Barry Carroll – 82)
• Dakota Mathias has made a record number of three point attempts for Purdue and will probably add a few more before the season concludes
• Earned a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament – the highest for Matt Painter ever and best for Purdue since 1998

But not all of the accomplishments were on the court and not all that this team represents revolves around a ball, some hardwood, and a hoop. This team excelled in community service and caring this season in a number of ways. Some of the highlights:

• Worked with fans on a GoFundMe to get a service dog for Erin Haas (Isaac’s sister) who suffers from epilepsy and took donations for the Epilepsy foundation on senior night
• Held multiple canned food drives throughout the season
• Matt Painter raised $19,500 for Niemann Pick Type C Research as part of the Coaches Charity Challenge
• Hosted a number of fans through BoilerMakerWish, like Nolan Paschal, and allowed those fans to interact with players
• Countless other stories of players, coaches, and everyone involved doing things the right way

Honored to have @BoilerMakerWish’s Nolan Paschal visit us after the game.

Nolan is a 9-year old with William’s Syndrome.

It was a blast hanging with you tonight! pic.twitter.com/wnSElkUs7c

— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 19, 2018

I have generally attempted to remain unbiased, but I want to preface the rest of this as just being my thoughts and musings, I don’t expect everyone to like them or agree with them.

But what does it all mean and how far can this team go in the tournament? More so than any recent year, there are a number of quality programs that have a legitimate chance to reach the final four and a solid grouping of teams that have a decent shot at winning the NCAA Tournament. While Virginia is arguably head and shoulders above everyone else, they were slotted in a region with some perennial heavyweights (Kentucky and Arizona) and received some bad news when they learned that ACC sixth man of the year (De’Andre Hunter) had broken his wrist and won’t be able to compete in the tournament. Nearly every team seeded fifth or higher has a decent chance to make the Final Four, with that amount of parity, it could be Purdue’s year to make some noise.

When Purdue has struggled this season, it has been to teams with strong man defenses or teams with versatile power forwards. Looking at teams in the tournament that fit that profile, Michigan, Virginia, and West Virginia represent the largest potential hurdles. West Virginia is in the East region with Purdue, but those teams wouldn’t face each other until the Elite 8, meaning the Mountaineers likely already had to fight through Wichita State and Villanova. Virginia and Michigan are each on the opposite side of the bracket so Purdue wouldn’t have to face either until the Championship game. That starts to look like a favorable bracket for Purdue, but those are just the teams that present the largest hurdle and doesn’t mean Purdue has a cakewalk otherwise.

To reach a Final Four, the Boilermakers path likely means earning victories over Cal State Fullerton, Butler or Arkansas, Texas Tech, and Villanova. To get to the championship game, Purdue would face the team coming from the Midwest, with likely candidates being Kansas, Duke, or Michigan State.

Wedding season is fast approaching. What better way to celebrate the couple than with a personal touch of a handmade, crocheted name? That and more available at my Etsy shop: https://t.co/Giiukbazxz pic.twitter.com/zyOx8i2Ngq

— Betty’s Heritage (@BettysHeritage) February 19, 2018

In order to make that run, Purdue will need to take advantage of the extra rest received from the earlier Big Ten Tournament to return to their dominant ways in the thick of winter where they reeled off a program best 19 consecutive victories. Purdue is a balanced team near the top of the nation in nearly every statistical category (save for rebounding), but may need to develop something you won’t see in the box scores, a killer instinct. During the season, seemingly only Carsen Edwards has possessed this trait and the rest of the team will need to embrace that instinct if they want to survive and advance. Purdue has given up so many leads that it’s become a joke on social media at times during games (just take a stroll down Jerry Palm’s feed). The magic number for Purdue seems to be the 20 point mark. If they earn a 20 point lead on a team, they typically continue to push and maintain a sizeable lead throughout, but if they don’t hit that magic number, then even a lead in the teens has often vanished for this squad. Many of those games, Purdue was able to go onto win, but it’s a disconcerting and recurring trend that will be enhanced against quality opponents found in the tourney.

We could get into a ton of advanced statistics and odds about this team that look promising for the Boilers advancing through the tournament, but there’s plenty of that out there, so let’s look at what would be a memorable, poetic story for these Best Men. Purdue was the runner up so often this season, why not make a final four and championship game and add one more notch on that belt? The bracket stars have aligned, the team is strong enough, the coach is good enough, this team is set up to be a champion, but losing in the championship game is the storyline that would cement this team as a true group of Best Men. I’ve thought of this poetic justice so much that I put my proverbial money where my mouth is and have Purdue losing to Virginia in the title game of this year’s tournament when I filled out my bracket. If that proves to be true it will be bittersweet for a storied program that has gone without a final four for so long (not since 1980) and would be the best showing by Matt Painter, but that cloud of never having earned an NCAA Tournament title would remain. However they finish, because of who these players are, who this team is, what this university represents, they will forever be the Best Men.

Next up (assuming wins in each game):

• At Detroit v Cal State Fullerton, Friday 3/16 (12:40 TruTV)
• At Detroit v Butler/Arkansas winner, Sunday 3/18
• At Boston v Sweet 16 opponent, Friday 3/23
• At Boston v Elite8 opponent, Sunday 3/25
• At San Antonio v Final Four opponent, Saturday 3/31
• At San Antonio v Championship opponent, Monday 4/2

Related Posts

• Purdue Seniors Shine in Final Home Game
• Without Edwards, Purdue Ends Losing Streak
• Purdue’s Winning Streak Snapped at 19
• Mahlmann’s Photo Gallery: Purdue Sweet 16 Win Over Tennessee
• Purdue Finishes Season Undefeated at Home with Thrashing of Ohio State
• Haarms Perfect in Purdue Win, Boilers Keep Pace Atop the Big Ten
• Purdue Holds Off Penn State in Sloppy Affair
• Purdue Rallies Against Minnesota, Sits Atop the Big Ten
• Purdue Ends Michigan State Run with B1G Win at Mackey
• Purdue Returns Home to Run Rutgers Out of the Building