Records Made to be Broken . . . Maybe Not These
There’s really no such thing as an unbreakable record but some standards are more out of reach than others.
In Major League Baseball there’s Cy Young’s 511 victories and Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game hasn’t been approached by another NBA player. No NFL team has come close to the 73 points the Chicago Bears scored in the 1940 championship game against Washington.
Three long-standing Purdue men’s basketball records – ranging from 44 to 54 years – have been eclipsed in the past two seasons by two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey (career points/rebounds) and junior point guard Braden Smith (career assists). But there are plenty of others that it’s safe to say will remain unbroken in our lifetimes. Here’s 10 “unbreakable” Purdue men’s basketball records.
Rick Mount’s career scoring average
In a mere 72 games from 1967 to 1970, Mount averaged 32.2 points a game. “The Rocket” shattered Dave Schellhase’s record of 28.8 points per game from 1964-66.
No Boilermaker since has come close to Mount’s standard. Glenn Robinson averaged 27.5 points a game in his two seasons at Purdue.
Mount also owns the single-season scoring average record of 35.4, set in just 20 games during the 1969-70 season.
Minutes played in a game
Don Beck, Dennis Blind, Joe Sexson and Dan Thornburg were true iron men on the night of Jan. 29, 1955, playing all 70 minutes of Purdue’s 59-56, six-overtime loss at Minnesota.
The score was deadlocked at 47 to begin the first overtime. Beck won the tipoff and the Boilermakers held the ball against Minnesota’s zone defense the entire five-minute period. Blind missed a long jump shot in the final seconds. Rinse and repeat in the second overtime, this time with Beck missing a jumper before the buzzer.
Purdue held the ball again in the third overtime, with Thornburg missing a shot in the final seconds. Minnesota won the fourth overtime tipoff and held the ball for all but 18 seconds. Sexson stole a deflected pass but he too missed a chance to end the game.
The scoring drought ended in the fifth overtime thanks to Sexson’s layup 35 seconds into the five-minute period. Minnesota tied the game at 49 with 2:45 to play, and Purdue once again held the ball for the last shot. Journal and Courier sports editor Gordon Graham wrote that the Gophers seemed to have committed goaltending on Sexson’s final shot but the referee did not make the call.
Purdue won the tip for the sixth overtime and took a 52-49 lead on three Blind free throws. Purdue center Ted Dunn fouled out after playing 66 minutes and the Boilermakers leading 54-51. The Gophers closed the game on an 8-2 run.
Mount’s 61 vs. Iowa
The senior guard set three records on Feb. 28, 1970, reaching that point total on 27 of 47 shooting from the field. Years later, it was revealed that had the 3-point shot been available, Mount would have scored 74.
Overshadowing that memorable performance was the outcome. Iowa came away with a 108-107 victory to dethrone the Boilermakers as Big Ten champions. The Hawkeyes were aided by a technical foul called on the Purdue fans for throwing a wad of paper onto the court. Journal and Courier sports editor Bruce Ramey wrote that some Purdue people claimed the paper came from the Iowa fan section.
Only three players in Purdue history have scored 50 or more in a game: Mount did it three times, Terry Dischinger twice and Schellhase once.
Mount’s 61 points came in the midst of a hot streak that saw him score 40 against Illinois and 42 against Minnesota in the previous games before Iowa. Needless to say, Mount owns the records for points in consecutive games (103) and three consecutive games (143).
Single-game rebounding
The oldest Purdue basketball record recently celebrated its 74th birthday.
On Feb. 19, 1951, Carl McNulty played his greatest game as a Boilermaker. Not only did he set the single-game scoring record with 34 points in an 81-78 victory against Minnesota, the future Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame coach collected 27 rebounds. The 6-3 McNulty was barely outrebounded by the Gophers, who collected 29.
McNulty also set the single-season scoring record that night with 314 points over 20 games.
To put McNulty’s record in perspective, the career bests of two of Purdue’s greatest rebounders – Zach Edey and Caleb Swanigan – was 22. The longtime career rebounding record-holder, Joe Barry Carroll, never had a 20-rebound game. Terry Dischinger came close twice with 26 against Wisconsin in 1960 and 24 against Illinois in 1962.
Consecutive made field goals
I could give Purdue fans young and old 20 guesses and most likely they would not come up with the answer.
George Faerber, better known to a generation of TV viewers as Mr. Bee Window, was successful on 15 consecutive shots over three games from March 9-21, 1971. Faerber was 12 of 12 against Iowa on March 13, another record which stands to this day.
Usually the fourth offensive option after Bob Ford, Larry Weatherford and William Franklin, Faerber scored a game-high 26 points in a 110-84 romp that closed the regular season.
Free throws made in a game
Zach Edey wasn’t the first Purdue big man who could draw fouls in bunches.
On the night of Feb. 27, 1961, Terry Dischinger single-handedly fouled out four Iowa players in a 73-62 victory at Iowa City. The 6-7 Dischinger sank a record 21 of his 24 free throws and finished with a game-high 35 points.
Officials called 59 fouls, 31 on the Hawkeyes, which resulted in 84 free throw attempts. Purdue was 30 of 43 to offset 27 percent field goal shooting.
Blocked shots in a game
Joe Barry Carroll completed the first and most unusual triple-double in Boilermaker history during his sophomore season with 11 blocked shots.
Carroll added 16 points and 16 rebounds to help Purdue hold off host Arizona 80-78.
No other Boilermaker has reached double-digit blocked shots in a game.
Career rebounding average
The three best single-season rebounding averages belong to Dischinger, including his 14.3 total as a sophomore in 1960. The Terre Haute native collected 348 rebounds in 23 games.
Dischinger averaged 13.4 rebounds a game as a junior and a senior to conclude a career that saw him record 54 double-doubles.
Season free throw percentage
No radio announcer could jinx Henry Ebershoff at the free throw line during the 1965-66 season.
The former standout from Lafayette Central Catholic shot 90.7 percent at the line during George King’s first season as Purdue coach. Ebershoff was 88 of 97 to become the first of only two Boilermakers to shoot 90 percent from the free throw line for a season.
Consecutive free throws made
The other is Robbie Hummel, who shot 90.2 percent during the 2009-10 season.
The foundation of that success rate was a school record 36 consecutive made free throws. The Purdue media guide does not list any other players in that category.
Honorable mention
Other noteworthy records that just miss falling into the unbreakable designation: Bruce Parkinson’s 18 assists vs. Minnesota in 1975; Ricky Hall’s eight steals in 1983 against Louisville; Glenn Robinson’s 1,030 points during the 1993-94 season; Stephen Scheffler’s single-season (.708) and career field goal percentage (.685); Brian Walker’s 88 steals in 1979; Joe Barry Carroll’s season (105 in 1978) and career (349) blocked shots; Terry Dischinger’s 13.7 career rebounding average and 713 free throws made in 70 games; Jerry Sichting’s .867 free throw percentage (273 of 315) from 1976-79; Chris Kramer’s 274 career steals from 2007-10 and Bruce Parkinson’s 112 consecutive games started from 1973-77. Parkinson, by the way, started every game of his Purdue career.
Footnote
In a recent column I recalled the story of baseball commissioner Ford Frick’s unofficial ruling in 1961 that the record book should list Roger Maris as the 162-game home run champion and Babe Ruth as the 154-game record-holder.
The 2024-25 Purdue men’s basketball media guide breaks down the Boilermaker career scoring records by one-, two-, three- and four-year players.
Kyle Macy scored 373 points during the 1975-76 season before transferring to Kentucky. Glenn Robinson’s 1,706 points is the two-year standard. Rick Mount’s 2,323 points is unchallenged as the three-year record, and Zach Edey is the overall scoring champion with 2,516.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.