WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Last week it was a toss-up between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Purdue Boilermakers for who deserved the title as the No. 1 college basketball team in America.
This week, after Alabama got beat badly by Oklahoma in the SEC-Big-12 challenge, and Purdue handily defeated Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, it’s no longer a debate.
Purdue now sits alone as the undisputed top team in college basketball, while riding an eight game winning streak and sporting a stellar 21-1 overall record.
Andy Patton and Isaac Schade broke down why Purdue is the clear No. 1 team in the country in the latest episode of the Locked on College Basketball podcast.
“When you look at the Power-6 conferences, there are not any teams that are dominating those conferences really at all. Purdue is the only team that is dominating their conference,” Patton said. “You can try to make an argument that the Big Ten isn’t as good, but the Big Ten is a good Power-5 conference, top to bottom, and Purdue is just crushing them. There’s nobody doing that in the ACC. There’s nobody doing that in the Big-12. There’s nobody doing that in the SEC.”
Following the offseason departures of Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams, Purdue began the 2022-23 season unranked. They climbed all the way to No. 1 after beginning the season on an absolute tear, winning 13 in a row over teams like Marquette, West Virginia, Gonzaga, Duke, and Minnesota.
A dud against Rutgers at home is the only blemish on an otherwise spotless resume, and in a year where basically everyone has had a few bad games it is notable that Purdue has largely avoided collapsing this season.
Behind National Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey, and excellent performances from freshmen guards Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, this team continues to prove they are a top contender for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The AP Top 25 was released Monday with the Boilermakers on top.