In the era of NIL and transfers, the Sweet 16 is filled with veteran teams that have stuck together

The antithesis of college basketball in the age of free transfers and name, image and likeness money, the Boilermakers are two wins away from a second Final Four appearance in the last three years by keeping things decidedly old-school: They recruit players that fit their program, develop them over time, and then they lean on them when it matters the most. “It comes down to culture,” Smith said. “Having what we have here in the last four years is really special.

I think we've had maybe four transfers in my four years that we have had, and I think that’s pretty special, and not a lot of teams ever have that. ” It’s unique in college basketball, to be sure, but not necessarily unique in the Sweet 16. In fact, the NCAA Tournament this year has underscored the value of continuity within a program, and that simply restocking with a new wave of transfers each offseason is not necessarily the best way to build a championship roster.

Five teams still alive have at least four starters who have played multiple seasons for their current coaches, according to a roster survey from The Associated Press, and nine of the 16 have at least three. Duke and Michigan State have starting lineups that consist entirely of guys who have played nowhere else in college, and 11 of the 16 teams have at least three such starters. Those numbers exist despite the fact that Iowa (Ben McCollum) and Texas (Sean Miller) have new coaches, and both were forced to mine the transfer portal after the typical and unavoidable outflow of players from the previous regime.

At Purdue, Smith — now the NCAA career assists leader — and Loyer have been starters the last four years. Kaufman-Renn, also a senior, has been in the starting lineup the last three. Together, they are tied for the winningest class in school history.