Former Washington State center Oscar Cluff found 'perfect fit' with Purdue team eyeing Final Four run
Mar. 25—SAN JOSE, Calif. — Matt Painter straddles the halfcourt line at SAP Center, monitoring what's happening at both ends of the floor during an open practice session one day before Purdue's Sweet 16 matchup against Texas.
As he begins to fixate his eyes on a 3-on-3 drill taking place at one end, Painter delivers a set of instructions to the Boilermakers' 6-foot-11, 255-pound center. "Strong chest, OC! Strong chest, OC!
" Painter shouts. "OC" being Oscar Cluff, the well-traveled senior center who had a stop-in at Washington State before transferring to South Dakota and then Purdue, where he's been a 37-game starter for a second-seeded Boilermakers team that's making its return to the Sweet 16 against 11th-seeded Texas on Thursday (4:10 p. m.
, CBS). When Purdue lost two-time national player of the year Zach Edey in 2024, the Boilermakers didn't address the 7-foot hole in their starting lineup immediately. Instead they elected to go small, deploying 6-foot-9 forward Trey Kaufman-Renn as a starting "5" last season, finding varying levels of success during a 2024-25 campaign that ended in the Sweet 16 with a narrow 62-60 loss to Houston.
Deciding he needed another 7-foot-something space-eater underneath the basket, Painter turned to the transfer portal where Cluff was one of the best bigs available coming off a standout season at South Dakota State where he earned All-Summit League First Team honors after averaging a double-double of 17. 6 points and 12. 3 rebounds.
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