WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s basketball team will open its Big Ten Tournament action on Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago.
The Boilermakers, which received the No. 7 seed with a 13-7 Big Ten record, will face either 10th-seeded Indiana, 15th-seeded Northwestern or 18th-seeded Penn State. Northwestern and Penn State will play in Tuesday night’s first round with the winner facing Indiana in Wednesday’s second round. The winner of the second-round game will then face the Boilermakers in the first game of the evening session on Thursday.
Purdue enters the tournament with a 23-8 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the Big Ten. Purdue has lost its seven Big Ten games by a combined 38 points with five of the losses coming by six or fewer points.
The Boilermakers have played well away from Mackey Arena, posting an 11-3 record, including a 3-0 record in neutral-site games with wins over nationally-ranked Texas Tech and Auburn. Purdue’s seven Big Ten wins away from Mackey Arena are tied for the most in a season in school history.
All four of Purdue’s wins against nationally-ranked teams have come away from Mackey Arena.
Purdue and Indiana have split the season series this year with each team winning on their home court. Indiana edged the Boilermakers 72-67 in Bloomington in late January, while Purdue toppled the Hoosiers 93-64 in Mackey Arena in mid-February.
Purdue and Indiana have met just once in Big Ten Tournament history – a 76-71 Purdue victory in the Boilermakers’ very first Big Ten Tournament game on March 6, 1998, in Chicago.
Purdue defeated Northwestern just two games ago on March 4, rallying for a 70-66 road win over the Wildcats. Purdue defeated Penn State 93-85 in Mackey Arena on Jan. 10, in the only meeting between the two squads.
Purdue owns a 1-0 record against Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament, defeating the Wildcats 69-61 in the 2010 quarterfinals. Purdue is 5-0 all-time against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, including a 67-65 win in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament title game in Chicago.
The bottom half of the bracket includes No. 2 seed Nebraska, No. 3 seed Michigan State and No. 6 seed UCLA. Should Purdue advance to Friday’s quarterfinals, it would face Nebraska on Friday evening in Chicago.