In an effort to talk about something college basketball-related other than scandals in the summer, let's talk best current coaches. We'll attempt to order the top 25 current coaches in the nation. This is about the present and the future, not the distant past. What a guy did in the mid-90s doesn't matter near as much as the direction his program is currently headed. Past pedigree also matters, to an extent. For the perfect mix of past accomplishments with present achievement and a paved road for future success, look no further than the man atop the list.
In 2008, the Big Ten sent only four teams to the NCAA tournament. None reached the Elite Eight The Big Ten toiled down with mid-majors in conference RPI and were nationally maligned as the "Average 11." This past season, however, the league enjoyed a resurgence. It ranked only behind the ACC in conference RPI. Seven schools earned a berth into the NCAA tournament, and Penn State won the NIT. Michigan State toppled the defending national champions and two number one seeds en route to a national runner-up finish.
For much of the season, the Purdue Boilermakers have failed to meet lofty preseason expectations. Of course, they've had to deal with the constant injury issues in the back of Robbie Hummel -- the preseason Big Ten player of the year. Even when Hummel played, there were stretches where he was noticeably hampered by the back woes and wasn't playing up to par.
If the past two games in the Big Ten Tournament are any indication, though, Hummel and the Boilers are back. They will be a very dangerous out in the NCAA Tournament if this carries over, because they currently look like the team who was in most preseason top 10 lists.
The disappointing 2009 Big Ten campaign for the Wisconsin Badgers continues, as they dropped their fifth straight game Tuesday night. This time, Purdue was the culprit. The Badgers now fall to 12-8 overall, and a terrible -- by Badgers' standards under Bo Ryan -- 3-5 mark in conference play.
Most disturbing to Wisconsin has to be the fact that they've lost two of these games at home. Followers of the Big Ten will remember that, heading into this season, you just don't go into the Kohl Center and win. It's now happened in two consecutive games.
Purdue was expected to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten this year. Illinois was not.
But after the two teams played 45 minutes of hard-fought basketball Tuesday night, with the Illini finally pulling out a 71-67 overtime win, it's clear that Illinois coach Bruce Weber has the kind of team that is going to be tough for everyone in the Big Ten to beat.
The Illini, who led most of the way at Purdue, looked like they were going to fade when they fell behind by four points early in the overtime period. But Purdue coach Matt Painter had a good description of what the Illini did in the final minutes.
It'll be hard for Keno Davis to top his first year on the bench as a head coach. Drake improved from 17-15 to 28-5 and swept the regular season and tournament titles in the Missouri Valley Conference. That meant the Bulldogs made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1971 and won a school-record 21 straight games at one point in the season. And, to top it all off, he was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year today.
His father Tom won the award in 1987 with Iowa and the Davises are the first father-son duo to win the honor. He's just the second first-year coach to win the award. Bill Hodges, who took Larry Bird and Indiana State to the finals in 1979, was the first and, interestingly, he's also the only other MVC coach to take home the honor.
Given Drake's extended history of mediocrity, it's hard to argue with the choice. Bo Ryan of Wisconsin finished second with Bruce Pearl, John Calipari and Purdue's Matt Painter close behind. All definitely deserved consideration but I'm surprised that Sean Miller of Xavier isn't higher up the list. Xavier's been successful for years but they dominated the A-10 this season and Miller got production out of every player in his rotation.
I know that I'm rather surprised by the fact that the Purdue Boilermakers are sitting atop the Big Ten standings, and I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Even Purdue coach Matt Painter would be hard pressed to say he expected the performance he's seen from his team all season.
You know who isn't surprised? Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. During his weekly teleconference Izzo called the Boilers the most physical team in the conference, though it's not the same kind of physical Purdue team he's used to facing.
"That's strange to say with freshmen (playing a large role)," Izzo said. "It's not the old Purdue teams that Jud (Heathcote) used to battle – when a lot of the players looked like the Boilermaker himself. This is more of an athletic, skinnier version, but with the same competitiveness. I think they all play off (sophmore guard Chris) Kramer, and I'm not sure there's a tougher kid in the league than Kramer."
Tuesday night will be a good barometer for how good this Purdue team really is, as they host the Spartans at Mackey Arena tonight. Win or lose, Purdue's success this season is good for the Big Ten conference because it will help the conference get five teams in the tournament, rather than the four most people expected to make it.
After beating the Wisconsin Badgers 72-67 in Madison on Saturday night, the Purdue Boilermakers have now won nine in a row, and find themselves alone atop the Big Ten standings. That's right, they're ahead of Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Indiana, yet they're the only team of those four not ranked this week.
Purdue's record currently sits at 19-5, and at 10-1 in the Big Ten, with the team's only loss coming on the road against Michigan State back in January. It's quite the accomplishment for a team that most people, including myself, didn't have finishing in the top half of the conference before the season started.
There were all sorts of reasons for this, they're too young (There's only one senior on the team, while there are nine freshman and sophomores.), they aren't big enough (JuJuan Johnson is the team's tallest player at 6'10, but he checks in at only 210 pounds), and they have no big scoring threat.
None of that's mattered so far, as Matt Painter has this team playing like a well-oiled machine at the moment. Purdue's wins truly are a team effort, as nobody on the team averages more than 11.2 points per game (E'Twuan Moore). They play solid defense, score enough points, and they hit their free throws, all of which is generally a winning formula in the Big Ten.
Can Purdue stay on top of the conference for the rest of the season though?
Last month I wrote about the growing sentiment in West Lafayette that it may be time for Joe Tiller to go. At the time Purdue Athletic Director Morgan Burke didn't come out and say he was looking for a new coach, but he also didn't deny that he was considering it either, which couldn't have been very comforting for Tiller.
Purdue University has talked to at least one potential eventual replacement for football coach Joe Tiller, though Purdue's athletic director said there is no immediate plan for a change.
"Joe Tiller is my coach next year," Morgan Burke told the Lafayette Journal and Courier.
Okay, that just makes a ton of sense. I'm not going to fire my head coach yet, I just want to get in some practice interviews with new candidates in case I do!
Obviously this isn't sitting well with Tiller, nor would you expect it to, and now there's a possibility that Burke won't be able to fire Tiller either this year or next. No, Joe may just tell Burke to take this job and shove it.
However, conversations about an eventual replacement have angered Tiller and prompted him to consider leaving the Boilermakers immediately, according to several reports.
All things considered, Purdue's 5-1 start to their season is pretty good. Still, with a very young team that lost it's top two scorers from last season in Carl Landry and David Teague, pretty good isn't going to get the job done in West Lafayette.
The Boilers beat Ball State 70-57 on Wednesday night at Mackey Arena, but the game was a lot closer for a while than it should have been. The Boilers trailed Ball State by two points midway through the second half before going on a 23-4 run that buried the Cardinals late.
It's become a theme with Purdue this season. Somewhat sloppy first halves followed up by strong second halves. I don't know what Matt Painter says to his team at halftime, but maybe he should start giving the same speech before the games start.
Painter can't explain what it is, and although he thinks Ball State had something to do with it, he would still like to see his team play a little harder.
"Ball State is playing hard, they're battling. That's what I told our kids at halftime and again after the game," Painter said. "I don't feel right now that we have a team at Purdue that's playing hard."
With a game scheduled against Louisville next week, something tells me the Boilers better start playing harder right away. Sleepwalking through the first half against Louisville will do nothing but kill any chance Purdue has at pulling off the upset.
In 2008, the 
For much of the season, the Purdue Boilermakers have failed to meet lofty preseason expectations. Of course, they've had to deal with the constant injury issues in the back of 
The disappointing 2009 Big Ten campaign for the Wisconsin Badgers continues, as they dropped their fifth straight game Tuesday night. This time, Purdue was the culprit. The Badgers now fall to 12-8 overall, and a terrible -- by Badgers' standards under 
Purdue was expected to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten this year. Illinois was not.
It'll be hard for 
I know that 
After beating the Wisconsin Badgers 
Last month I wrote about the 
All things considered, Purdue's 5-1 start to their season is pretty good. Still, with a very young team that lost it's top two scorers from last season in 
