Assistant coach After graduation from Purdue in 1993, Painter moved on to coaching basketball. His first year as a coach was an assistant coach position at
Washington & Jefferson College. as an assistant to former Purdue assistant coach Tom Reiter. With Painter's help, the team finished the season with a 22–3 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the
NCAA Division III tournament. The next season, he became an assistant coach at
Barton College. In the 1994–95 season, Barton finished with 13 wins and 13 losses. Painter then moved to
Division I as an assistant coach at
Eastern Illinois of the
Ohio Valley Conference, where he also received his master's degree.
Southern Illinois After three years at Eastern Illinois, he moved to
Southern Illinois in 1998 as an assistant to head coach
Bruce Weber. Painter was previously acquainted with him while Weber was an assistant coach at Purdue during Painter's playing days. Weber and Painter quickly turned a team that had a losing record the previous season into a successful team. Painter helped lead the Salukis to the
NIT in 2000 and twice to the NCAA tournament the following seasons while an assistant coach. In the 2001–02 season, they qualified for the
NCAA tournament and ended their season in the Sweet Sixteen with a loss to
UConn. That year, SIU beat well-established programs such as
Georgia and
Texas Tech. In 2003, Weber's and Painter's Salukis were featured on
MTV's special
True Life: I Am a College Baller. After serving as an assistant coach for five seasons at SIU, Painter stepped into his first
NCAA Division I head coaching position after Bruce Weber took the head coaching job at
Illinois for the 2003–04 season. Leading the Salukis to a 25–5 record and a berth in the
2004 NCAA tournament, the team was ranked as high as #15 in the nation by the
AP poll during the season. Painter was named the 2003–2004
Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
Purdue 2004–05 season In 2004, Painter was recruited by Purdue as the replacement for retiring head coach
Gene Keady. He signed a six-year contract as the new
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coach. As part of a planned transition, Painter was named the associate head coach for the 2004–05 season. He joined former teammate
Cuonzo Martin (former head coach at the
University of Missouri) on the coaching staff. With key players out with injuries, suspensions and transfers, Purdue finished the season with a 7–21 record, the most losses in the program's history in a season.
2005–06 season At the start of the 2005–06 season, Painter took over for Keady as the head coach at his
alma mater and became the second former Purdue player to become the head coach since Ray Eddy (1950–1965). In his first season in that role, despite the absences of injured starters,
David Teague and
Carl Landry, and only playing with seven scholarship players, they finished with a 9–19 record. Painter's first Purdue squad as a head coach came up with wins against eventual NCAA Tournament qualifier
Wisconsin and #23
Michigan.
2006–07 season In his second season as head coach, the team had high hopes for an NCAA berth. Both
power forward Carl Landry and
shooting guard David Teague returned to the lineup after injuries, combining an average of about 34 points and 15 rebounds per game. Painter's Boilermakers finished the non-conference season with an 11–3 record, which included wins over previously unbeaten and top 25 schools
Virginia and
Missouri. They headed deep into the regular season without a road win. The team had also not won a road game in the two prior seasons during which Painter was part of the Boilermaker's bench. That 29 road-game losing streak ended on February 3, 2007, when Purdue beat
Penn State at the
Bryce Jordan Center. After winning seven of their last ten conference games during the regular season and setting a single-season school record for most home wins at 16 in
Mackey Arena, Painter and his Boilermakers finished the regular season with a 9–7 conference record. They received a 5th seed in the Big Ten tournament and were knocked out in the semifinals when they lost to a
Greg Oden-led
Ohio State team. Purdue was invited to the
2007 NCAA tournament, Painter's second appearance as a head coach, and received a 9 seed. The team's opening round opponent was
Lute Olson's
Arizona. After beating the Wildcats, Purdue fell to
Billy Donovan's number one seeded and defending/eventual national champions,
Florida. With +13 wins from the previous season, it was the biggest win-margin turnaround in the program's history.
2007–08 season Coming off one of the program's biggest single season improvements, Painter returned only one senior on the roster with 6 newcomers. Painter achieved notable recruiting success, signing one of the top five recruiting classes in the nation for 2007, all coming from the state of Indiana. Painter started at least three freshmen in every game at the start of the 2007–08 season, making it the youngest starting line-up in the nation. His "
baby boilers" finished the non-conference season with a 9–4 record, which included a win against
Rick Pitino's #22 ranked
Louisville, as well as a loss to
Wofford, their only home loss of the season. During an eleven-game winning streak in conference play, they swept the season series with the conference champion #8 Wisconsin and had a home win against #9
Michigan State. It was the first back-to-back wins versus top ten teams in school history. Their winning streak was ended when they lost to in-state rival, #14
Indiana. Painter and his Boilers finished the regular season in 2nd place with a 15–3 record. During the regular season and into the conference tournament, Purdue was ranked as high as #15 in both polls. Painter's team entered the Big Ten tournament with the #2 seed. They lost in the quarterfinals to the 10th seeded Illinois. They were invited to the
2008 NCAA tournament and given a #6 seed. They beat
Baylor in the first round, giving Purdue its 10th straight first round win in the tournament. They lost in the second round to a senior-led
Xavier team. He was eventually named the
Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year. The Boilers finished the season with a 25–9 record.
2008–09 season Painter's Boilermakers began the
2008–2009 season with an
ESPN/
USA Today Poll rank at #10 and an
AP Top 25 #11 ranking. They had five returning starters from the prior season, including
Chris Kramer, the conference's defensive player of the year and two all-conference selections in
E'Twaun Moore and
Robbie Hummel. Painter's Boilers opened the season with a 5–0 record. In the first game of the season, his team set the school record for fewest turnovers in a game, only committing three, against
Detroit on November 14, 2008. With a #9 ranking, Purdue had their first losses of the season back-to-back in overtime to #13 ranked
Oklahoma in the
NIT Season Tip-Off championship game and a 16-point home loss against #4
Duke. They finished the pre-season with an 11–2 record, which included a win against #22
Davidson. Purdue finished third in conference play, including a season-sweep by Illinois and splitting the season meetings with conference title winners, Michigan State. Near the end of the regular season, he was selected as one of ten candidates for the
Henry Iba Award, which goes to the nation's best coach of the year. With a much healthier Robbie Hummel in the lineup, they entered the
Big Ten tournament with the #3 seed, beating Ohio State in the finals, giving Purdue its first conference tournament championship in school history. Throughout the tournament, Painter's team averaged 16 assists and less than six turnovers in three games. Painter led his team to a third straight
NCAA tournament appearance with a #5 seed, the team's highest seed in 10 years. They beat
Northern Iowa from the
MVC in the first round, becoming the program's 11th straight first round win dating back to 1994. After beating
Washington in the second round, Purdue reached their first
Sweet Sixteen in 9 years, eventually losing to
Jim Calhoun's
Hasheem Thabeet-led
UConn. Painter's team finished the season with a 27–10 record, the most games played in a season in its program's history. Despite beginning his Purdue head coaching position coming off a prior 7-win season, he surpassed
Gene Keady's first four season's (1981–1985) win total of 82 in his first four (2005–2009) with 83 victories.
U19 USA Championships Team On May 12, 2009, Painter accepted an assistant coach position for the 2009 USA Basketball U19 World Championships team. Along with current head coach and former fellow assistant
Chris Lowery at
Southern Illinois, he served under
Pittsburgh head coach
Jamie Dixon. Painter helped lead the team to a 9–0 record with a 22.2 point win margin, while winning the gold after beating
Greece.
2009–10 season Painter and his team began the
2009–10 season with a 14–0 record, which tied the
1993–94 team for the best start in the program's history. He returned his entire regular starting five, including three all-conference selections in
JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, and Robbie Hummel. Painter started his fifth season at Purdue with his team receiving a preseason 7th overall ranking by both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls, the program's highest in 22 years. Coach Painter led his top ten ranked team to the 2009
Paradise Jam tournament championship against
Bruce Pearl's #10
Tennessee, followed by the preseason close with a home win over #6
West Virginia and a 12–0 record against non-conference opponents. On January 28, 2010, he won his 100th game as Purdue's head coach against
Wisconsin, becoming the fourth fastest to reach the mark behind former Purdue coaches
Ward Lambert,
George King, and
Gene Keady. Deep into the regular conference season, Painter got his first career road wins against #10
Michigan State in
East Lansing and #9
Ohio State in
Columbus, leaving Purdue as the only team in the nation to go 4–0 against top ten teams. With a ten-game winning streak in conference play, Purdue received a #3 ranking in both polls, giving Painter his highest ranking as both a player and head coach, while being the program's highest in sixteen years. After losing All-Conference starter Robbie Hummel to an
ACL injury, Painter pushed his junior/senior-led team in the last three conference games (2–1), culminating with a 14–4 conference record and a share of the Big Ten title, the program's first in fourteen years. At the end of the regular season, he was named the coaches' pick for
Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, his second time being honored with the title since arriving at Purdue. After beating
Siena in the first round of the
NCAA tournament and
Texas A&M in the second round with a 4 seed, Painter has led Purdue to consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances and currently has an overall 6–4 record in NCAA Tournament games after losing to Duke. Finishing with a 29–6 record, it tied for most wins in a season in school history.
2010–11 season Coming off the most wins in a four-year span in school history with 102 (2007–2010), Painter and his Boiler squad returned two All-American candidates (JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore), its primary point guard (
Lewis Jackson), and an All-Conference freshman (Kelsey Barlow). ESPN's
Andy Katz selected Purdue as the preseason No. 1-ranked team for the
2011 season, while
Fox Sports selected them as the No. 4 favorite. These predictions came premature as fellow All-American candidate, Robbie Hummel, re-tore his ACL during practice, preventing him from playing his senior season. Joining the sidelines was Painter's latest addition to his bench staff, Mike Jackson, a former
Michigan assistant coach. In preseason play, Painter's team began the season ranked as high as eighth in the nation and fell as low as 22nd following a loss to
Richmond in the
Chicago Invitational finals. Painter's Boilers went undefeated at home on the season for the first time in 42 years (16–0). They tied series with ranked
Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and the top-ranked team in the nation,
Ohio State. No. 6 Purdue finished second in the
Big Ten Conference with a 14–4 record, while finishing the regular season 26–8 overall. At the conclusion of the regular season, Painter was named
Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in four seasons. Painter received his highest
NCAA tournament seeding as a coach, with No. 13-ranked Purdue being named a No. 3 seed in the Tournament. They defeated
Saint Peter's in the first round, but were upset by Final Four-bound No. 11 seed
VCU the second round.
Connection to Missouri vacancy On March 30, 2011, it was reported that Painter might accept the
University of Missouri head coaching position. However, after the initial reports surfaced, Purdue announced that Painter had accepted a new eight-year deal to remain with the school.
2011–12 season After losing All-American seniors in JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore to graduation and the
NBA, Painter returned a handful of experienced role players and Preseason First Team All-Big Ten forward Robbie Hummel, who returned from a second ACL injury. His Boiler squad began the
2012 season unranked for the first time in four seasons. Joining him on the bench were two new assistant coaches in
Micah Shrewsberry, who was part of the coaching staff that guided
Butler to consecutive NCAA Finals, and
Greg Gary, who previously assisted at
Duquesne,
South Florida,
Miami, and
Tulane. On November 11, Painter's squad opened the season beating
Northern Illinois by 62 points, the program's highest win margin since 1911. Painter's team received its first loss of the season against No. 15-ranked
Alabama in the
Puerto Rico Tip-Off title game. Their second loss of the season came on the road against No. 11-ranked
Xavier, a game where Painter's squad forced a season-high 22 turnovers and was up by 19 points in the second half. On December 17 at
Conseco Fieldhouse, his team was upset by
Butler after losing a 15-point lead, losing by two. Closing the preseason with a 10–3 record and a 3–2 start in conference play, Purdue owned the fifth longest home winning streak in the nation at 27 before losing to
Wisconsin. Against
Illinois on New Year's Eve, Painter received his 150th win at Purdue and his 175th career win as a head coach. Three times in conference play, Painter's squad committed a school-record three turnovers in a game, losing all three, which included a three-point loss in a road game against No. 3
Ohio State. Painter got his first win against a ranked team on the season beating No. 11
Michigan on the road by 14 points, giving Michigan their only home loss on the season. His squad led the nation in fewest turnovers, committing just 8.9 per game (7.6 in conference play) while averaging a −4.6 turnover margin against opponents. With the 20th win on the season against
Penn State on February 29, Painter gave Purdue its sixth consecutive 20-win season, tying a program record with Gene Keady's mid-1980s mark. Purdue ended the
Big Ten season at 10–8 in conference play (sixth) and stood at 21–12 overall after the
Big Ten tournament. On March 11, the Boilermakers received an at-large bid as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region of the
NCAA tournament. In the first round of the Tournament, Purdue beat No. 7 seed
Saint Mary's 72–69, their 14th straight First Round victory, the longest current streak at that time. In the second round, Purdue lost to No. 2
Kansas 63–60. Purdue ended the season 22–13, their sixth straight year with 22 or more wins.
2012–13 season Painter began the
2013 season after losing three senior starters from the previous season including All-American
Robbie Hummel and point guard
Lewis Jackson. Also leaving the program were would-be seniors in shooting guard John Hart (transferred to
IUPUI) and suspended guard/forward Kelsey Barlow (transferred to
UIC). Painter's raw and young squad began the season with a 2–3 record, losing their season opener for the first time during the Painter-era. Purdue went on to lose games to
Villanova and
Oregon State at
Madison Square Garden in the
2K Sports Classic. The Boilers finished 7–6 in non-conference play. In
Big Ten play, Painter consistently started at least three freshmen, which included a B1G-All Freshman
A. J. Hammons and Ronnie Johnson. Painter's squad made improvement towards the end of the season, after going through much inconsistency, getting wins at No. 7
Wisconsin, a near upset against of No. 7
Michigan, and a blowout win against Minnesota, Painter's 200th career win. Finishing seventh in conference play with an 8–10 record, Purdue lost to
Nebraska in the first round of the
Big Ten tournament. Purdue accepted a bid to the
CBI, where they defeated
Western Illinois before losing to
Santa Clara and finishing with a 16–18 overall record.
2013–14 season In his
ninth season at Purdue, the Boilermakers started well, finishing the non-conference slate at 10–3. However, the Boilers struggled in
Big Ten play despite winning three of their first five games in conference. The Boilers would lose 11 of their last 13 regular season games to finish last in the league with a 5–13 record. A loss in the first round of the
Big Ten tournament to No. 24
Ohio State left Purdue with a 15–17 overall record and without a postseason.
2014–15 season In his 10th season as Purdue's head coach, Painter brought in three contributing freshman, including the tallest player in the program's history, 7'2" Isaac Haas. With an 8–5 non-conference record that included a blowout loss to a ranked
Notre Dame and home losses to
North Florida and
Gardner Webb, Painter was viewed by many as being on the hot seat. With the play of juniors A. J. Hammons and Rapheal Davis and the additional lift of transfer senior point guard John Octeus,
Painter's squad turned things around in conference play. They finished third in conference with a 12–6 record after being predicted to finish near the bottom of the league. They defeated three ranked teams in a four-game stretch with home wins against No. 25
Iowa, No. 20
Ohio State, and No. 21
Indiana. During this time, Painter received his 100th Big Ten win and reached a personal 9–8 winning record against in-state rivals Indiana with a season sweep. A loss in the semifinals of the
Big Ten tournament to No. 6
Wisconsin preceded an at-large bid to the
NCAA tournament. The trip marked Painter's eighth appearance as a head coach. The No. 9-seeded Boilers would fall in overtime to the No. 8-seeded
Cincinnati in the first round. They finished with a 21–13 overall record on the season.
2015–16 season Painter accomplished a first in his coaching career by landing a five-star recruit in 2015
Indiana Mr. Basketball Caleb Swanigan, who switched his commitment from Michigan State to Purdue. Painter led the
team to a 26–9 overall record. The team maintained an AP Top 25 ranking throughout their entire season, but showed inconsistency. The team boasted victories over conference heavyweights
Michigan State,
Maryland, and
Wisconsin. In the Big Ten tournament, they fell four points shy of the championship losing to Michigan State. The team's inconsistency continued as they fell to 12-seeded
Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round of the
NCAA tournament. Senior center
A. J. Hammons was selected as a finalist for the
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for best center, and was selected as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, succeeding Purdue teammate and 2015 recipient Raphael Davis.
2016–17 season Purdue was ranked in the top-25 throughout the entire season, the second consecutive season to boast that accomplishment. They won their 23rd
Big Ten Conference regular season championship and first outright title in 21 years (1996) by finishing the season with a 25–6 record, 14–4 in conference. This was the Boilermakers best record and first conference championship since
2010. They ended the year by winning 10 out of their last 12 games. Sophomore forward
Caleb Swanigan was named
Big Ten Player of the Year in a unanimous vote, the first Purdue player to win that award since
JaJuan Johnson. They lost in their first game in the
Big Ten tournament by the streaking
Michigan who went on to win the championship. They received an at-large bid to the
NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed in where they defeated
Vermont and
Iowa State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they were defeated, 98–66, by the #1 seed
Kansas.
2017–18 season Purdue came into the season off of a
Sweet Sixteen appearance, accompanied by being the reigning
Big Ten Conference men's basketball regular season champions, making expectations for the season. However, with the departure of
Caleb Swanigan, the future was left uncertain. In the 2017–2018 season, Purdue, led by seniors Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias and sophomore Carsen Edwards, spent several weeks at #3 while being on a program record and nation-leading 19-game winning streak. During that time, the Boilers led the nation in scoring margin, points per game, three-point shooting, and was one of only two teams with a top 3 ranking in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Purdue missed out on a consecutive B1G title after losing to Wisconsin, finishing 2nd in the conference at 15–3. The Boilers were seeded 3rd in the Big Ten tournament, where they beat Rutgers and Penn State to reach the Big Ten tournament Championship for the second time in three years. They faced a familiar opponent in Michigan, whom they had already faced two other times throughout that season, Purdue winning both meetings. However, Michigan beat Purdue 75–66 to become Big Ten tournament Champions for the second straight season. Purdue was seeded 2nd in the East Region of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, their highest seed in recent history. In the first round, they faced Cal State Fullerton Titans, winning 74–48. However, many Purdue fan's hearts broke in the second half of the game, as senior Center Isaac Haas fell on his elbow as he fought for a rebound, and broke his elbow as he hit the ground, ending his Purdue Basketball career. Purdue's second-round game was against Butler Bulldogs, whom Purdue had already played earlier in the season. The Boilers would win the game on a last second shot by Dakota Mathias, winning 76–73 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue faced the third seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Boilers would go on to lose in disappointing fashion 78–65, ending their season with 30 wins, the most wins in program history.
2018–19 season In 2019, Purdue was seeded 3rd in the South Region of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, after another strong season. In the first round, they defeated a 26–8 Old Dominion team that was coming off a Conference USA championship for a 61–48 win. In the second round, they handedly defeated #6 seed Villanova, sending the defending champs home early after an 87–61 victory, and advancing to their third straight Sweet Sixteen in his tenure. The Boilermakers ran into their first real test with the #2 Tennessee Volunteers. After a back and forth contest that included 17 lead changes and needed overtime to be decided, Purdue came out victorious, beating the Vols 99–94 to reach their first Elite Eight in nearly 20 years. In the Elite Eight, Purdue faced the #1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers in what would be another back and forth thriller. After several lead changes throughout the game, Purdue led 70–67 with 5.9 seconds left and looked to be headed to their first Final Four since 1980 when Virginia's Ty Jerome missed the second free throw of two. Virginia was able to come up with the offensive rebound however, and after chasing down the loose ball, Mamadi Diakite nailed a last second jumpshot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. The Boilers were once again looking towards the big dance, leading 75–74 with 43 seconds to go, but Virginia was able to hold Purdue scoreless the rest of overtime and prevailed 80–75, ending the Boilermakers' season with 26 wins and their first Elite Eight appearance since 2000.
2019–20 season In 2020, Purdue went 16–15 overall and 9–11 in Big Ten play, and the Boilers finished tied 10th in the Big Ten final standings. Postseason play was canceled due to COVID-19.
2020–21 season In 2021, Purdue finished with a record of 18–10 overall and 13–6 in the Big Ten. The Boilers finished 4th in the Big Ten final standings and received a 4 seed for the NCAA tournament. However, the Boilers suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of 13th seed North Texas 78–69 in OT in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
2021–22 season Painter won his 372nd game as Purdue's head coach on January 8, over Penn State. This vaulted him past Hall of Famer
Ward "Piggy" Lambert to become the second-winningest coach in Purdue history. Earlier, a victory in their conference opener over Iowa propelled the Boilermakers to No. 1 in both major polls for the first time in school history. Purdue finished the season by losing to 15 seed Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, which is the first time in NCAA history that a 15 seed has won in the Sweet 16.
2022–23 season On January 13, 2023, Painter became only the fifth coach in Big Ten history to win 400 games (his overall record at the milestone being 400–193). Purdue finished the regular season 26–5 and 15–5 in conference play to win the regular season Big Ten title. They then won the
Big Ten tournament, the first time in school history that Purdue won both the regular season and tournament titles in the same season. However, after receiving a #1 seed, Purdue finished the season by losing to #16 seed FDU in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. FDU was only the second #16 seed in NCAA tournament history to win a game. The FDU loss marked the third consecutive year that Purdue had lost to a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament.
2023–24 season Despite their first round exit in the 2023 tournament, Purdue came into the season with high expectations. They returned reigning National Player of the Year
Zach Edey and were number 3 in the preseason AP poll, their highest preseason ranking since the
1987–88 season. On November 27, after winning the
Maui Invitational, they made Big Ten history as the first team to be ranked number 1 in the AP Poll 3 consecutive seasons. The Boilermakers finished with 17 wins in conference play, the most in program history and most in Big Ten history since Indiana's 18 in 1976. Purdue went undefeated at home (16–0) for the fourth time in Mackey Arena history. The senior class ended with 59 victories in Big Ten play, tied for the most for any class in Big Ten History (Indiana, 1977). Purdue was awarded a #1 seed for the second consecutive year in the
2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, this time in the Midwest Region. They cruised into the Sweet Sixteen with routs against 16 seed
Grambling State, 78–50, and 8 seed
Utah State, 106–67. With the victory against Utah State, they achieved their 31st win of the season, breaking the program record of most wins in a season. They then defeated 5 seed
Gonzaga in Detroit 80–68, following a second-half surge, and moved on to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019. There the Boilermakers met a familiar opponent in the tournament on Easter Sunday, the 2 seeded
Tennessee Volunteers, led by
Dalton Knecht. Zach Edey scored 40 points to go along with 16 rebounds, leading the Boilermakers to a 72–66 victory and a trip to the Final Four in Phoenix, the first under Matt Painter's tenure and the first since
1980. The victory was a monumental day in the history of Purdue Men's basketball, with many in and around the team signifying the win as a watershed moment for the program by getting back to the Final Four after years of underachieving in the NCAA tournament. Former All-American Robbie Hummel was on the sideline for the radio broadcast of the game, and was moved to tears when embracing members of the Purdue coaching staff post game, including his former head coach Matt Painter. Following the long-awaited trip to the Final Four in Phoenix, the Boilermakers faced off against surprise tournament Cinderella
NC State led in part by tournament darling big man
D. J. Burns. The Boilermakers controlled the game throughout and pulled away in the second half to win their first Final Four game since 1969 by a score of 63–50, advancing to the National Championship game for the first time in 55 years. There Purdue would eventually find the defending national champion UConn Huskies after their victory over
Alabama in the later of the 2 Final Four games. The 2024 NCAA Tournament would come down to a match up of two All-American level 7 footers, as UConn came into the
championship game led in part by 7 foot 2
Donovan Clingan, leading to the game being billed as a matchup of 2 twin towers at the center position. Purdue kept the game close for most of the first half after entering the game a 6-point underdog, but was unable to rely on their usual three point shooting prowess (Going 1 for 7 from three point range) as UConn's elite perimeter defense made it difficult to convert their usual amount of three point shots. Zach Edey scored 37 points to go along with 10 rebounds in his final game at Purdue, but UConn pulled away in the second half to win their second consecutive national title 75–60.
2024–25 season 2025–26 season On November 17, 2025, Painter achieved his 500th career win (his overall record at the milestone was 500–220) becoming one of only 21 active coaches with as many wins. On March 22, 2026, in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Painter notched his 500th win at Purdue. ==Head coaching record==