Let's be real, Purdue is at a level of Kentucky in football and a bit below Illinois in basketball. Someone on here did a side by side comparison of UK/PU football, and they are nearly identical historically speaking. Since 1970, Purdue has averaged 5.5 wins per season in football....think about that for a few minutes, that's going back nearly 50 years....
Basketball wise, they are more competent. They've actually been successful in conference, winning their share of titles since 1970. Where they have stumbled and I would certainly argue it greatly diminishes any of their regular season accomplishments, is their poor showings in the NCAA tournaments. They've certainly made their share of them, but wow, what a lousy showing they typically exhibit.
Purdue is a decent athletic department, they're certainly not what Louisville, Indiana, MSU, Michigan or Kentucky people would ever consider a championship department, though. That has always been their knock, going back decades and decades.
My grandfather told me 30 plus years ago and I quote regarding basketball, "Purdue is a pain in the ass in the Big Ten, but they fold in the tournament". That came from a WW2 vet that couldn't care less about Purdue, he was calling a spade a spade.