Seen and heard in San Jose: On Indianapolis, Purdue's vets and Awaka's appeal

For the Wildcats, that’s the same city where they won their only national championship 29 years ago.

For Purdue, though, it’s home. Nearly home, at least, just about an hour away from campus and a metro area full of Purdue alums.

It's the place where the Boilermakers were expected to finish this season after being ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, but fell into a sixth-place tie in the Big Ten.

“It's been a motivation all year, being able to finish our careers with a national championship in Indy,” Purdue guard Braden Smith said. “We knew it wasn't going to be easy, and people thought we'd have a different year than what we had.

"But we're still in the Elite Eight as a No. 2 seed, and for us, it's just understanding that we're playing the best team in the country tomorrow, and we've got to play to our best abilities if we want to be able to accomplish our overall goal.”

There are a few Wildcat players who have felt the Boilermakers' bond with Indianapolis: guard Jaden Bradley, center Motiejus Krivas and walk-on guard Addison Arnold were all part of the 2023-24 Arizona team that was ranked No. 1 when it walked into Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse in December 2023 ... and lost 92-84 to No. 3 Purdue before a rowdy sold-out crowd that leaned heavily toward the in-state team.

“Every bar in that city of Indianapolis must have been full for hours because those fans came in there lit. In a good way,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “It was a lot of fun and it was so loud in that place. I mean, honestly, other than playing at (Kansas') Allen Fieldhouse, it's probably one of the loudest venues I've ever been a part of, and that's saying something when you're in an NBA arena.”

Outliers

The Boilermakers still have three starters who played key roles in that 2023-24 game — and were also around the previous season.

That's correct: Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn have all played for the same school since their freshman seasons of 2022-23.

Who does that anymore?

This is college basketball, after all, where the transfer portal promises instant leverage for top players to get seven-figure deals the following season, making rosters flip all over the country every spring.

“I think you see some of the money some of the guys go get and you think, 'Man, I'm a lot better than that guy. What could I be making?'" Loyer said. “But in the end, we get treated pretty well, and we got a team and a coach and a university that believes in us. A couple million dollars more sounds nice, but I think happiness is a lot better.”

Smith indicated he views it all in a bigger picture sense, too.

“I think our values and morals are different than a lot of people, and I think we appreciate other things that people don't,” Smith said. “I just feel like we're all here for one reason, and that's to win basketball games at a high level. Obviously, with money and things, don’t get me wrong, but there's obviously temptations of, like, 'OK, I could go get more here, here or here,' but at the end of the day, is that better for us as competitors and people?

“It shows who you are as a person, too, that you're willing to leave a good situation for something where you don't even know what's going to happen because of extra money. What if you end up entirely hating basketball because of how that experience goes?

“Instead, you're at a place that you know what you're going to get, and there's great people around.

Love for Awaka

Arizona has five starters who could all be NBA Draft picks before long, but Lloyd says he’s had many people approach him to say that reserve big man Tobe Awaka is their favorite player.

A starter most of last season, Awaka moved to the bench so UA could start Krivas after his foot injury healed, then won the Big 12’s Sixth Man Award.

“I think that's so cool,” Lloyd said. “He's so thoughtful, so mature. He's about the right things. Honestly, he's been a real asset to our culture and I felt we've always had a pretty good culture. I think he's a key component for taking it to another level, on and off the court."

Blocking out

Asked what outside reception he received after making a game-winning tip-in to put Purdue past Texas on Thursday, Kaufman-Renn drew nearly a blank look.

He had no clue.

“Believe it or not, I think I watched the replay twice,” Kaufmann-Renn said. “Other than that, I called my girlfriend, called my mom and went to bed. 

“To be honest with you, I don't know. It's been crazy to see how many text messages I've gotten. But I'm also not good at responding to people. I went from 400 messages to about 800 messages overnight — unread.”’

Gold standard

The Boilermakers have a potential game scout on their playing roster: Purdue backup center Daniel Jacobsen spent the past two summers playing for Lloyd with USA Basketball teams.

Jacobsen and USA won gold in the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup and the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup last summer.

“He's a great coach, great guy,” Jacobsen said of Lloyd. “It was an amazing experience. Both years, we won every game. We had a great team. I had a lot of fun. So I have a lot of respect for him, and they've had an incredible year.”’

USA played in Argentina for the AmeriCup and Switzerland for the World Cup, adding to the experience. Jacobsen said the team explored the FIBA Hall of Fame and toured the city of Geneva, but also had fun elsewhere.

”We spent a lot of time together,” Jacobsen said. “Going out to dinner, hanging out in the hotel, the simple stuff was the most fun.”

The big number 

4: Arizona wins in 11 all-time Elite Eight games, including five losses in a row.

Quotable

“The talent in our league is very good. I think you're seeing that here in the tournament. Our league is like a corporation now with 18 teams.” — Purdue coach Matt Painter on the Big Ten, which put six teams into this season’s Sweet 16 (the 16-team Big 12 had three)