NCAA rule allowed third exhibition. How Purdue basketball utilized it
SPORTS
FORT WAYNE — In a lot of ways, Purdue basketball needed to learn about itself during the exhibition season.
Thankfully for the Boilermakers, a new NCAA rule allows for three exhibition contests, compared to the two permitted previously.
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The way Purdue scheduled couldn’t have laid out any nicer as the Boilers progress towards their Nov. 2 regular season opener against Gonzaga.
Get your feet wet at home. Go on the road against a mid-major. Go on the road against one of the country’s best programs.
Purdue’s next evolution up that ladder resulted in Thursday’s 92-62 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne at Memorial Coliseum.
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue freshman guard Luke Ertel attempts to guard Lance Jones during a halfcourt 5-on-5 session at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue freshman guard Luke Ertel attempts to guard Lance Jones during a halfcourt 5-on-5 session at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
C.J. Cox defends with his hands held high at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Sinan Huan, left, Daniel Jacobsen, center and Jacob Webber wait on the sideline for their turn in a drill at Purdue’s practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Sinan Huan, right, hands off a pass to Luke Ertel during a live drill at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue guard Antione West Jr. drives to the lane at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Gicarri Harris fights through contact to finish a layup at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Antione West Jr. battles down the lane as he heads toward the basket at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Raleigh Burgess flushes a dunk during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Rivers Knight bodies against a scout team defender during a drill at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Antione West Jr. shoots over a scout team player at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Enzo Shahvrin throws a pass mid-air during a scrimmage at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue senior forward Enzo Shahvrin eyes a pass during a drill at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Gicarri Harris drives past Jace Rayl on his way to the basket during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Omer Mayer looks for a teammate to pass to during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue guard Luke Ertel fights through the hand of Lance Jones while moving cross-court during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Enzo Shahrvin flushes a reverse dunk during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue center Daniel Jacobsen shoots a turnaround jumper over Sam King during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue freshman forward Rivers Knight looks to pass to a teammate during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Daniel Jacobsen eyes down a dunk during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Caden Pierce chats with Purdue assistant coach Paul Lusk before practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Where does Purdue basketball rank in preseason coaches poll?
Purdue men’s head basketball coach Matt Painter exits the huddle to lead off practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue guard Jacob Webber puts up a shot during a drill in practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Caden Pierce shoots a jump shot at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue freshman guard Luke Ertel finishes his section of a drill with a jumpshot at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Purdue freshman center Sinan Huan drive to the lane during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Rivers Knight shoots a corner three during a drill at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Enzo Shahrvin puts up a jumper during practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Rivers Knight defends the post against a drive during a drill at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Jacob Webber gets instruction from Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
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Photos from last Tuesday’s Purdue basketball open practice.
Gicarri Harris stops the drive of Jace Rayl at practice on July 21, 2026, in West Lafayette, IN.
(Photos/Elijah Greene)
But it didn’t come as easy as the final score indicates.
In Sunday’s 32-point win over Ball State at Mackey Arena, few things deterred Purdue on its way to a comfortable margin throughout.
The Mastodons, playing in front of an uncharacteristic home crowd of 10,141 thanks to the Purdue exhibition road trip, made the Boilermakers sweat throughout much of the first half.
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It wasn’t until an 11-3 run to close the first half that Purdue gained some separation.
“The first half, definitely a little bit slow, some miscommunications and allowing dribble penetration,” guard CJ Cox said. “In the second half after talking in the locker room, we definitely cleaned that up, did a lot more talking, executing on offense, communicating more on defense.”
Purdue does not scout opponents for its exhibition games, which Cox said has Purdue “going in blind.”
The coaches also divvy up minutes as equally as they can while also experimenting with different lineups.
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That had nothing to do with Purdue’s early struggles on Thursday, however.
When the Boilermakers made their first substitutions, they’d just allowed a 7-0 run. At the second media timeout, Purdue had three turnovers and 13 points.
“Their aggressiveness, their pressure bothered a couple guys,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We had a couple careless turnovers.”
Painter has mentioned more than once the “best thing” for his teams the past three seasons was going on the road and losing an exhibition game.
The Boilermakers were never going to lose on Thursday, but that first half can have the same effect.
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Purdue relied too much on its outside shooting and too little on taking care of the basketball, communication and defense.
If it does that this Tuesday, Oct. 27 against UConn, it’ll get humbling real quick, which is why the trip to Fort Wayne may end up being a valuable schedule addition. Any year prior and Purdue doesn’t make this trip.
But it did.
And what we learned through now two games is this.
Purdue might shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but the Boilermakers don’t have to live and die by outside shooting.
The Boilermakers might end up being a good rebounding team, especially with their ability to crash and get tap outs for long offensive rebounds.
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Learning how to guard without fouling is still a work in progress.
Perhaps Purdue’s best weapon is its depth and its ability to diversify its lineups with that depth.
On Thursday, we found out a nugget that perhaps wasn’t known based on the Ball State exhibition result.
How would Purdue respond to some adversity? Purdue Fort Wayne saw an opportunity against a major conference program that’s made deep NCAA Tournament runs routine in recent seasons.
And the Mastodons brought it. They just didn’t have the horses to hold up.
Mastodons coach Jon Coffman said the Mastodons learned a lot about themselves by facing Purdue.
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The visiting Boilermakers learned a lot about themselves, too.
The ability to play a third exhibition game not only did a solid for Purdue Fort Wayne’s program, as Coffman said with gratitude after, but it allowed the Boilers to strategically build a team with a lot of new faces in new places up more meticulously for the regular season.
“Games get real tight, now all the sudden you’re going to go to the guys. You’re going to play CJ Cox 35 minutes,” Painter said. “That’s not the purpose here. The purpose is for all of us to play. The purpose is for us to get some experience. We return one starter and so everything is a little bit new to us.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
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