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Hammer and Rails

https://www.hammerandrails.com/ | 420 entries published

Purdue's Okayest Blog

Latest Entries

FanDuel odds for the Big Ten Tourney – Can Purdue surprise?

If I had told you during the first month of the season you’d get +700 odds on Purdue winning the Big Ten Tournament, you probably couldn’t throw your money at me fast enough. But those are Purdue’s odds going into the Big Ten Tournament after a disappointing end to the regular season. You can check […]

about 15 hours ago | 0 reads

2026 Big Ten Tournament Predictions

I missed writing so many columns for H&R during my three year hiatus. One was the SB Nation All-Big Ten teams one (which, sadly, I did not get to organize this year). Another was this one, where I picked every game of the Big Ten Tournament. And boy, do we get some Big Ten Tournament […]

about 23 hours ago | 0 reads

One Week Down, Purdue Football is Ahead of Schedule

Purdue fans abroad lamented the coaching decision to bring back the Quarterback, Ryan Browne for another season to start. Coach Odom doubled down in the off-season, essentially naming him the starter before a down of Spring Ball, something that has become uncommon in the era of the transfer portal. While the incumbent at QB did […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Purdue 93 Wisconsin 97: By the Numbers

Purdue finished the season in as disappointing of a manner as they have in the last decade with a 97-93 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers. That loss finalized an abysmal stretch for the Boilers who have now gone just 6-7 since January 20th, a stretch that nearly parallels the one last year when they finished […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

Purdue Men’s Basketball Big Ten Tournament Seed Locked In

With the loss to Wisconsin yesterday and UCLA’s win over USC Purdue’s seeding for the Big Ten Tournament is finalized. In a season where Purdue was picked as the favorite to win the conference and grab that one seed there’s a lot of disappointment around these parts as Purdue will settle for the 7th seed […]

2 days ago | 2 reads

Wisconsin 97, Purdue 93: Postgame Video

What a disappointing finish to a season that had so much promise. And I don’t say that because Purdue begane the season as the preseason No. 1 team in America. For a good portion of the season it played like it. It had one bad game agaisnt Iowa State, but in mid January the Boilers […]

3 days ago | 1 read

Purdue Men’s Basketball Falls on Senior Day: Wisconsin 97 – Purdue 93

This game wrap is sponsored by our friends at Section 103. They just launched their new Purdue collection in time for March Madness. They’ve got high quality shirts and hats with some different designs you won’t see elsewhere. I’m thinking especially about the Mackey Arena shirt and the World’s Largest Drum shirt. They’ll also be giving […]

3 days ago | 1 read

Purdue Basketball: Wisconsin Preview: Stats, Analytics, Analysis

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Season Overall Record: 21-9 Big 10 Record: 13-6 Previous 3 Games 3/4: W – 78 – 45 vs Maryland @ Home 2/28: W – 90 – 73 vs Washington @ Away 2/25: L – 71 – 85 vs Oregon @ Away Personnel Starters Bench Injury Report Nolan Winter went down with an ankle injury in Wisconsin’s 78-45 demolition of […]

3 days ago | 3 reads

Purdue Fans React Survey: Predicting Purdue’s NCAA Tournament Finish

We’ve made it to another weekend folks. Congrats to everyone for making it. I always believed in us. With the weekend upon us it means it’s time for our weekly survey results. This week I asked about Purdue’s record in their final two regular season games and your predictions on how far Purdue will go […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Purdue 70 Northwestern 66: By The Numbers

Purdue wanted to try and get itself right against a Northwestern team that was, by all accounts, struggling to do much of anything of consequence this season. The Wildkats have struggled all season as their best victory is against Indiana (rathed #41 on Kenpom) and only hold four Kenpom top-100 victories all season but seemed […]

4 days ago | 2 reads

Purdue 70, Northwestern 66: Postgame Video

It was the worst of halves. It was the best of halves. Folks, I can’t figure this out. For most of the first half Purdue was terrible. It looked like the 15th best team in the Missouri Valley instead of hte 15th best in the country. We’ve seen bad Purdue this eyar. We saw it […]

5 days ago | 2 reads

Purdue Saved by Cox: Purdue 70, Northwestern 66

This game wrap is sponsored by our friends at Section 103. They just launched their new Purdue collection in time for March Madness. They’ve got high quality shirts and hats with some different designs you won’t see elsewhere. I’m thinking especially about the Mackey Arena shirt and the World’s Largest Drum shirt. They’ll also be giving […]

5 days ago | 2 reads

Staff Roundtable: What’s Going on With Purdue Basketball?

There’s clearly something going on with Purdue men’s basketball. We can’t be sure what it is, but I reached out to the staff to see what they think the issue is. Ledman: I can’t give you a 100% definitive issue, but I can give you my opinion. I think it was Jalen Rose who talked […]

6 days ago | 2 reads

Non-Conference Opponents’ Update: March 4

Can we all calm down for just a moment? Yes, the season has not gone as expected. In fact, I called a 28-3 year early on. None of us expected four home losses. Yes, Purdue has underachieved, but can much of the fanbase please stop acting like Matt Painter has no idea what he is […]

6 days ago | 2 reads

Bracketology & Bubble Watch

As the calendar flips to March, the margin for error has officially evaporated for teams clinging to the NCAA Tournament’s ever-shrinking bubble. While the heavyweights at the top like Duke, UConn, Arizona, Michigan, and possibly Florida have largely turned the race for No. 1 seeds into a private invitational, the real drama is unfolding in […]

6 days ago | 4 reads

Purdue Basketball: Northwestern Preview: Stats, Analytics, Analysis

Northwestern 2025-2026 Season Overall Record: 13 – 16 Big 10 Record: 5 – 13 Previous 3 Games 2/28: W – 63 – 62 vs Oregon @ Home 2/24: W – 72 – 68 vs Indiana @ Away 2/17: W – 78 – 74 vs Maryland @ Home Personnel Starters Bench Key Analytics (Per KenPom.com – National Rank / Big 10 Rank […]

7 days ago | 3 reads

College Basketball Rankings March 2: Purdue Falls

It is safe to call last week a bad one for Purdue. The Boilermakers lost to Michigan State at home for the first time in 12 years. They then went on the road and lost at Ohio State in another frustrating game. The Big Ten is now lost, and the NCAA Tournament looms without hte […]

8 days ago | 2 reads