2016-17 Schedule
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Another piece of the 2016-17 Purdue men's basketball schedule was revealed Tuesday by ESPN, as it was announced that Purdue will travel to Louisville for the 17th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The contest will played Nov. 30 from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. It marks the second straight year that Purdue will play the Challenge away from Mackey Arena after having two straight home games during the 2013 and 2014 events.
Purdue's known schedule now features games against Villanova (National Champion), Louisville (ACC/Big Ten Challenge), Notre Dame (Elite Eight), Arizona State in the Jimmy V Classic and possible games against Texas Tech (NCAA Tournament), Auburn or Utah State in the Cancun Challenge.
Louisville is coming off a season in which it posted a 23-8 overall record and finished fourth in the ACC standings with a 12-6 record.
The Cardinals return return two, possibly three, starters from last year's squad depending on the NBA Draft decision of sophomore center Chinanu Onuaku. The Cardinals lost their top two scorers in Damien Lee (15.9 PPG) and Trey Lewis (11.3 PPG) and possibly a third depending on Onuaku's decision. Louisville's returning starters are junior guard Quentin Snider (9.4 PPG; 40.4 percent from 3-point range) and junior forward Jaylen Johnson (5.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG). Louisville is slated to return seven players (including Onuaku) that averaged at least 4.0 points per game.
Louisville is ranked high in the "way-too-early" top-25 polls, including No. 5 in ESPN's poll, No. 9 in Bleacher Report and No. 10 in Sports Illustrated's poll.
Purdue leads the series with Louisville by an 11-5 margin, but this will mark the first meeting since a 67-59 Purdue win on Dec. 15, 2007, in Indianapolis. It will be the first appearance on Louisville's home court since an 87-69 Purdue victory on Dec. 6, 1997. The Boilermakers are 4-3 against the Cardinals in Louisville and own a 4-4 mark against ranked Louisville squads.
Purdue owns a 9-6 all-time record in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, having won seven games in a row. The seven-game streak is the second-longest streak in Challenge history, and the longest streak by a Big Ten team, surpassed only by Duke's run of 10 straight wins from 1999 to 2008.
Purdue is coming off a 26-9 season and was one of 10 teams nationally to be ranked in the nation's top 25 all season. The Boilermakers finished tied for third in the Big Ten Conference with a 12-6 record.
