Matt Painter earns major honor after leading Purdue to B1G title, Elite Eight
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.
The profession's top honor!
Matt Painter of @BoilerBall is the NABC Division I Coach of the Year! https://t.co/maSJgF1oKD
(Presented by @WilsonSportingG) pic.twitter.com/EhY7UqCkAd
— NABC (@NABC1927) April 3, 2019
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.