Purdue Coach Matt Painter Responds to Mid-Major Scheduling Concerns

Purdue’s head coach, Matt Painter, recently expressed his discontent with the notion that Power Five programs lack schedules involving mid-major schools. His comments came after the Boilermakers’ resounding 108-74 win against Queen’s University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Painter took aim at coaches from mid-major institutions, namely Travis Steele of Ohio State and Flynn Kleiman of High Point, who argue that smaller programs are increasingly struggling to secure competitive non-conference games. He asserted, “All the high majors play the middle majors… They’re just saying we don’t play them.” He further emphasized that claiming a lack of competition is almost a backhanded compliment. “We proved ourselves,” he noted, mentioning that programs like Miami (Ohio) often lament that they can’t find opponents, despite facing strong teams like Akron and Kent State in the past.

Additionally, he highlighted the competitiveness of recent mid-major teams, stating that Toledo was also a formidable opponent in their conference. “We’ve shown what we’re capable of,” he asserted, explaining that these matchups are beneficial from a NET ranking perspective.

Painter pointed out that overloading on mid-major programs might hurt Power Five teams in the long run. He suggested that if Steele and Kleiman were in his shoes, they would likely make similar scheduling decisions. “You have to keep things in perspective. If he were in my position, we’d be playing 11 non-conference games next year, it’ll be 12,” he commented. He stressed the necessity of adapting to the NET rankings and devising a schedule that optimally benefits a program’s chances in the NCAA Tournament.

His remarks followed a spirited victory over No. 5 seed Wisconsin, during which Kleiman criticized bigger programs and claimed they were not scheduling competitive matches. “It’s clear to me that the high majors need to play mid-major early in the season,” Kleiman stated during an on-court interview, expressing the belief that his program was finally getting better matchups.

Miami (Ohio), which entered the conference tournament undefeated, faced challenges due to a weak schedule. Steele mentioned the pressure on his team: “We basically had to be perfect the entire regular season to get at-large, but we’re still going to go out there and win tonight’s game.” He echoed the sentiment that March Madness is often celebrated for its unpredictability and surprise upsets, even if he didn’t see his team’s performance that night as an upset. “Tonight wasn’t an upset. Not at all. But people will say it was an upset,” he reflected.