Purdue had every reason to lose Tuesday night.

The Boilermakers had already earned a share of the Big Ten title with a win Saturday over Michigan State, leaving them to make confetti angels on the floor of Keady Court in Mackey Arena. So a hangover would have been understandable. And Purdue still has a home date with Wisconsin looming on Sunday, which would have given them another chance at an outright championship on Senior Day before trying to add more honors at the Big Ten Tournament.

No. 12 Illinois was favored, too, with the Fighting Illini hungry to prove that at full strength — they were without Terrence Shannon Jr. when they lost at Purdue in early January — they are equals to the Boilermakers. Had Illinois won as expected (Vegas had the Illini as a 2.5-point favorite on their own court), then the storylines a day after would be about their chances as a dark horse Final Four candidate, given the matchup headaches the Illini can create and their ability to score in bunches.

A problem, however: Purdue didn’t follow the script.

Instead, the 3rd-ranked Boilermakers hope they’ve started to quiet critics who feel like impending doom is headed their way this month. The sentiment is understandable, given the recent NCAA Tournament failures to double-digit seeds Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Peter’s and North Texas over the past 3 seasons. But this team this season feels different, and all of it was on display on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill.

The Boilermakers are mentally tougher than they’ve been. On Tuesday, Purdue faced a raucous crowd in the State Farm Center and a 6-point halftime deficit yet never wilted to the pressure en route to repeating as Big Ten regular-season champions. It had players willing to step up to take — and hit — big shots, like Braden Smith, whose pull-up dagger with 18 seconds left was the dagger in the 77-71 win, to Fletcher Loyer, Mason Gillis and Lance Jones.

A year ago, when then top-seeded Purdue was struggling to find any solid foundation in its NCAA opening-round loss to No. 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson, the Boilermakers not only couldn’t hit shots, they were reluctant to even attempt them. It was an ugly display.

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But Purdue’s improved mental fortitude might be simply be a result of having improved personnel. There’s little question that Braden Smith is a better point guard now, considering he’s turned himself into one of the best in the country. The sophomore plays a great 2-man pick-and-roll game with big man Zach Edey, either finding the National Player-of-the-Year near the hoop or settling for his own jumper. He’s got savvy too, like he showed on the game-sealer, when he motioned for a screener to come toward him, perhaps distracting his defender if only for a moment, then buried the triple before his teammate arrived.

Classmate Fletcher Loyer seems to have gotten over his late-season slump, with back-to-back games in double-figure scoring, after he’d gone much of February missing in action. But Loyer’s long-range ability helps create space for Edey to operate in the paint and the angles he creates allow him to get to the hoop at times, as well. He did both against the Illini, giving Purdue a 3rd scorer that they’ll need to make a long Final Four run.

Transfer Lance Jones has slumped a bit the past 2 games, yet the senior came up big late, with his 3-pointer off a loose ball rebound by Edey proving the Boilermakers with a bit of a cushion in a then back-and-forth game.

Purdue will still have to show it can do it in the NCAA Tournament. The doubters will be loud and warranted, considering the Boilermakers failures of recent past, with double-digit seed losses to FDU, Saint Peter’s and North Texas in the past 3 seasons. And Purdue might still have to overcome its own demons too, although the signs are there, like Tuesday night vs. the Illini, that very little of the self-doubt lingers.

But what the Boilermakers have done already this season should be celebrated. Purdue is back-to-back outright champions in the Big Ten, something that had not been accomplished since Ohio State did so in 2006 and ’07. But as unfortunate as it is, Purdue will be judged now by what happens going forward.

Can what the Boilermakers did Tuesday translate to the NCAA Tournament? That’s the big question. If so, then the Boilermakers could enjoy a run to the Final Four, which is perhaps the only result that can finally quiet the naysayers.