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Matt Painter earns major honor after leading Purdue to B1G title, Elite Eight
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Matt Painter has earned another major honor after leading Purdue to a B1G regular season title and a trip to the Elite Eight.
On Wednesday, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named Painter the 2018-19 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year. He was also named the B1G Coach of the Year in March.
Purdue finished the season with a 26-10 record, won a share of the B1G regular season title and earned a trip to the Elite Eight, despite losing four senior starters from last year’s team.
https://twitter.com/NABC1927/status/1113441023559131137
The Boilermakers started the season slow and were 6-5 at one point on the year. But Purdue went on to win 20 of its next 25 games to claim a second conference title in three years and earn a trip to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000.
It marked the first time under Painter that the Boilers had advanced past the Sweet Sixteen.
The 2018-19 season marked the fifth-straight year Purdue has won 20 games or more in a season. It was also the third-straight year the Boilermakers have reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
Painter is a four-time B1G Coach of the Year winner. This is the first time he’s been named the NABC Coach of the Year.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB