The Big Ten has gone through a lot of changes in the last 15 years. It has gone from the Big Tenleven, to 12 Big 12 Ten (including a really confusing time where the Big Ten had 12 teams and the Big 12 had 10 teams), to the Bigger Ten, and now to the B1GGEST TENTEEN. Yes, all of this was for football, but since Purdue football is now dead and serves only as a vehicle to funnel those sweet media rights checks to the rest of the university for the price of never winning a game in the 18-game era, we only care
about basketball here at Hammer & Rails.
Through this wave of conference bloat expansion I have become the sacred keeper of two things: The Traveling THE and the Delaney Dozen.
Think of the Delaney Dozen as a baker’s dozen (as in yes, it is more than 12). Named after former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney, who started so much of this conference expansion nonsense, The Delaney Dozen is an honor given to Big Ten men’s basketball players who, over the course of their careers, manage to collect at least one victory in each conference arena.
It is an honor that lies mostly with Purdue players because the Boilermakers have defended Mackey Arena so fiercely that many of the league’s greats on other teams simply do not win there. It is sustained excellence (with some luck) over the course of a career. In the 14 team team era only Iowa’s Peter Jok and the following players from Michigan got a win in Mackey and in every other arena: CJ Baird, Eli Brooks, Austin Davis, Isaiah Livers & Luke Wilson.
We’re now in the 18-team era and you can already eliminate most of the conference, as Purdue has only lost at home to Wisconsin and Ohio State since the West Coast schools joined the league. Ohio State lost at UCLA last season and does not go back this year, so any freshmen or sophomores from last year will only get one more shot at that one. Wisconsin is in the same boat.
Also, as an added note, Caleb Furst is in his own strange category. He played just one season in the 18-team era and never had a chance to play at USC or UCLA since both came to West Lafayette last season. He did, however, collect wins in all 16 arenas that he played in during his career. Furst also collected a neutral court win over USC last year in the Big Ten Tournament and a bonus road win over Penn State at the Palestra.
Through all that, to my knowledge, Trey Kaufman-Renn can become the first player in league history to be part of a team that earns a win in all 18 Big Ten basketball arenas.
Now there are a few caveats to this, but I am willing to count them. Here are all of his most recent wins in each as he prepares for his lone shot at Pauley Pavillion:
Purdue Boilermakers – Mackey Arena – This is an easy one, as TKR has dozens of wins here. The most recent was last week’s 79-72 win over Iowa.
USC Trojans – Galen Center – Purdue’s 69-64 win on Sunday was the program’s first in 53 years at USC, and the program is now 1-0 all-time at the 20-year old arena.
Wisconsin Badgers – Kohl Center – Purdue’s 89-73 win in Madison a few weeks ago was not his only win, as the Boilers also won there on March 2, 2023. In fact, we have won three in a row now at the Kohl Center.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights – Jersey Mike’s Arena – Purdue’s 81-65 win in Piscataway back in December was Purdue’s third straight win there, so he easily has this one.
Iowa Hawkeyes – Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Purdue rolled to a 90-81 win in Iowa City last year on February 4, it’s third straight win there. The Boilers’ longest active win streaks in opposing arenas are now at Rutgers, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Oregon Ducks – Matthew Knight Arena – Purdue grabbed a 65-58 win in Eugene last season on January 18th in its first visit to Oregon as part of the conference.
Washington Huskies – Alaskan Airlines Arena – Purdue started last year’s west coast swing on January 15th in Seattle with a 69-58 win.
Minnesota Golden Gophers – The Barn – The place that ruined the 2010 season has seen three straight Purdue wins, including 81-61 on January 2 of last year.
Illinois Fighting Illini – State Farm Center – After going 5-5 away from Mackey last season in conference play we have to start reaching back a bit. Purdue’s 77-71 win on March 5, 2024 clinched an outright Big Ten title and gave our senior trio a win there.
Michigan Wolverines – Crisler Center – An 84-76 win on February 25, 2024 saw a 35 point game from Zach Edey against a dismal Wolverine team.
Indiana Hoosiers – Simon Skojdt Assembly Hall – You can’t expect a football school to compete at basketball, and Purdue’s 87-66 win on January 16, 2024 in Bloomington was its largest ever victory in the House that Tommy Luce (who went 4-0 there) Built.
Maryland Terrapins – Xfinity Center – On January 2, 2024 Purdue won comfortably at Maryland 67-53. Trey had just three points, but he did connect on a three-pointer.
Michigan State Spartans – Breslin Center – Now we are back in our senior trio’s freshman year, where they grabbed a 64-63 win at Michigan State on Jnauary 16, 2023 on Edey’s basket with three seconds left. TKR played just four minutes.
Penn State Nittany Lions – SPECIAL DEFINITION – This is where we have to get very, very technical. Purdue lost at Penn State last season. That is the only time that this senior trio has played, or will play, together at the Bryce Jordan Mausoleum. On January 8, 2023 Purdue beat Penn State 76-63 in what counted as a true road game. The caveat? It was Penn State’s annual game at the Palestra in Philadelphia. It is counted as a home game for Penn State, as they controlled all ticket sales, and they regularly play one home game there per season, including this season. Given that it provides a more significant home court advantage than the Mausoleum (i.e., there are actual fans there), this can count for TKR, Braden Smith, and Fletcher Loyer. If you want to get REALLY technical TKR was part of a team that did win in the Mausoleum a 74-67 win on January 8, 2022 when he was redshirting. You can argue how much a redshirting player gets credit, as they are there, but don’t play despite helping the entire team prepare in practice, but on this technicality Matt Haarms and Sasha Stefanovic have a Delaney Dozen based on the number of teams in the conference at the time of their careers.
Ohio State Buckeyes – Schottenstein Center – Loyer’s three with 12 seconds left gave Purdue an excellent 71-69 road win in Columbus on January 5, 2023.
Nebraska Cornhuskers – Pinnacle Bank Arena – Another Fletcher Loyer game. He had 22 points including hte go-ahead basket in overtime in a 65-62 win on December 10, 2022.
Northwestern Wildcats – Welsh-Ryan Arena – Once again, we have to go to “technically correct”, and if Purdue wins there on March 4 of this year the point will be moot, but Purdue’s last win in Evanston came on February 16, 2022 by a score of 70-64. Since then the Boilers have lost in Welsh-Ryan in 2022-23 and 2023-24, both while Purdue was ranked No. 1. Smith and Loyer were still in high school then, so they need that win later this season to complete their own list (assuming a win tonight).
So, depending on how you define Penn State’s “home” games (remember, they also play a game or two a year at Rec Hall, where they should have never left if they truly cared about basketball there), TKR only needs Pauley Pavilion, home of the UCLA Bruins, tonight. If Purdue pairs that with a win at Northwestern later this season it eliminates the Welsh-Ryan technicality AND it adds Smith and Loyer to the Dozen.
