Purdue annihilated Iowa on Saturday by 23 points, just the latest of the third-ranked Boilermakers’ dominance over Big Ten foes — having beaten Wisconsin by 28 and Minnesota by 34 in the previous two games. Had coach Matt Painter left his starters in against the Hawkeyes, it might’ve been a 40-point shellacking. 

This team hasn’t lost in two months, and continues to make an interesting case as a national title contender. But assessing the Boilermakers’ NCAA tournament ceiling requires a closer look at the Big Ten as a whole. There’s no denying Purdue is legit, of course, but these type of blowouts beg the question: Is Purdue one of — if not the (hi, Villanova) — best teams in the country? Or is the Big Ten just that bad? 

The answer is probably a mix of both.

The Big Ten’s RPI ranks sixth among power conferences, just one of many signs that it’s a down year for the league. Preseason title favorite Michigan State has underachieved and previously ranked teams Minnesota and Northwestern have tailed off, to hurt the conference’s strength as a whole. Purdue’s biggest challenger right now is an Ohio State team that was expected to be in rebuild mode under new coach Chris Holtmann and has surprised as much as any team in the country. 

Regardless of how the league is graded, there’s little doubt that Purdue isn’t on the fast track to claim another Big Ten title. But does a seemingly down year mean the Boilermakers shouldn’t be taken seriously come March? Or that their ceiling is similar to last year’s respectable Sweet 16 finish? 

The difference between this year’s Purdue team and last year’s is the lack of an NBA talent, which it had in the departed Caleb Swanigan. And that talent void would appear to be a glaring weakness compared to the title chances of a Duke, Arizona or Oklahoma (ahem, Trae Young) this year. That’s all on paper, though.

Purdue’s actually much, much better this year thanks to four senior starters and the emergence of explosive sophomore guard Carsen Edwards (17 ppg) and the continued prowess of Vincent Edwards (14.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg).

The toughness factor that teams such as Wichita State or Kansas get credit for, yeah, Purdue’s much tougher than both of those teams. You don’t need any stat to tell that story, even if the Big Ten is a major step down from the strength of the Big 12. The point is Purdue is not dominating teams with talent, it’s dominating with grit. Which matters in a round of 32 matchup against a giant killer or a Sweet 16 showdown with a surging No. 5 seed. 

While guard-centric teams usually often pull off colossal upsets in the NCAA tourney, it’s the Boilermakers’ size (7-foot-2 Isaac Haas and 7-foot-3 Matt Haarms protecting the rim) and perimeter defense (ranking in the top-5 in field goal percentage defense and three-point FG percentage defense) that make them a uniquely strong team now and — unless there is a slew of injuries or shot confidence — the same goes for March. 

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