WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's basketball team earned the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament and will open play in Thursday's second round at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Purdue will play the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between 11th-seeded Rutgers and No. 14-seed USC, at 9 p.m. ET, on Thursday night.
The winner of Thursday's second-round game will face No. 3 seed Michigan in Friday's quarterfinals, also tipping at 9 p.m. ET.
The Boilermakers actually finished tied for fourth with UCLA and Wisconsin, but lost out on the second tiebreaker after UCLA earned the No. 4 seed via a win over league champion Michigan State and then the next tiebreaker via head-to-head with Wisconsin. It marks the fifth straight year that Purdue has finished in the top four of the league standings, and Purdue has finished in the top four in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
Purdue is the only Big Ten team to finish in the top four of the Big Ten standings in each of the last five seasons. No other team has more than three top-four Big Ten finishes in that span.
This will mark the first time since the Big Ten went to a double-bye format for the 2014-15 tournament that Purdue has not earned a double-bye. The Boilermakers had earned a double-bye in every tournament that had been contested.
Purdue is looking for its third Big Ten Tournament championship in school history, having won tournament titles in 2009 and 2023.
Led by All-America candidates Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, the Boilermakers enter the tournament with a 21-10 overall record, having played 25 games against quad-1 and quad-2 competition and ranking 14th in the NCAA NET rankings. Purdue's 15 quad-1 and quad-2 victories are the seventh most in the country.
NCAA Tournament announcements will be made next Sunday after the completion of the Big Ten Tournament. The Boilermakers will likely be selected for their 10th straight NCAA Tournament.
Purdue will play the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between 11th-seeded Rutgers and No. 14-seed USC, at 9 p.m. ET, on Thursday night.
The winner of Thursday's second-round game will face No. 3 seed Michigan in Friday's quarterfinals, also tipping at 9 p.m. ET.
The Boilermakers actually finished tied for fourth with UCLA and Wisconsin, but lost out on the second tiebreaker after UCLA earned the No. 4 seed via a win over league champion Michigan State and then the next tiebreaker via head-to-head with Wisconsin. It marks the fifth straight year that Purdue has finished in the top four of the league standings, and Purdue has finished in the top four in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
Purdue is the only Big Ten team to finish in the top four of the Big Ten standings in each of the last five seasons. No other team has more than three top-four Big Ten finishes in that span.
This will mark the first time since the Big Ten went to a double-bye format for the 2014-15 tournament that Purdue has not earned a double-bye. The Boilermakers had earned a double-bye in every tournament that had been contested.
Purdue is looking for its third Big Ten Tournament championship in school history, having won tournament titles in 2009 and 2023.
Led by All-America candidates Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, the Boilermakers enter the tournament with a 21-10 overall record, having played 25 games against quad-1 and quad-2 competition and ranking 14th in the NCAA NET rankings. Purdue's 15 quad-1 and quad-2 victories are the seventh most in the country.
NCAA Tournament announcements will be made next Sunday after the completion of the Big Ten Tournament. The Boilermakers will likely be selected for their 10th straight NCAA Tournament.