Purdue earns NCAA tournament No. 1 seed for first time since 1996
CHICAGO – The Big Ten regular season title.
The Big Ten tournament championship.
And a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Package all of those accomplishments together and the Boilermakers earned their highest seed since 1996 and begin their quest for a Final Four on Friday in Columbus, Ohio at Nationwide Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. (TNT).
It’s the program’s fourth No. 1 seed in its history.
“To be able to reach our goals and to be 29-5 going into the tournament, but obviously, you get judged on what you do in the tournament,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We’ve been able – we’ve had a lot of success getting to that second weekend. We haven’t had a lot of success getting past that, and that’s what we want to do.”
Purdue, which defeated Penn State to win Sunday’s Big Ten tournament at the United Center, will face either Texas Southern or Fairleigh Dickinson in Friday’s first round. Those two teams play Wednesday in Dayton.
Possibly awaiting the Boilermakers in the second round is a matchup against Memphis or Florida Atlantic on Sunday.
Purdue has been in contention for a No. 1 seed since returning from Portland, Oregon with victories over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke over Thanksgiving weekend. The Boilermakers were in consideration for the overall No. 1 seed but dropping four of six games during February pushed them down the list.
However, Purdue has won five straight after a second loss to Indiana in late February.
Alabama, Houston and Kansas are the other No. 1 seeds. UCLA was under consideration but lost in the Pac-12 championship game on Saturday night.
But earning a top seed put a cap on a thrilling three-day run to win the conference tournament and wrapped up a special regular season. Purdue started the season unranked but vaulted to the top of the polls where it has remained.
“It’s great,” said Zach Edey, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. “I think this is Paint’s first 1 seed, so it’s an honor to be a part of that. It’s great. He’s one of the best coaches in the country. He deserves it.”
Marquette, which won the Big East regular season and tournament championships, is the No. 2 seed in the East followed by Kansas State and Tennessee. Duke, winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, is the No. 5 seed.
The Boilermakers beat both Marquette and Duke during the regular season and knocked out Tennessee in 2019 in the Sweet 16 in Louisville. But those potential games are a long way off.
Painter is worried about his own team and trying to fix the issues that plagued the Boilermakers, not only in the Big Ten tournament, but throughout the season.
The only focus is on who Purdue will play in the first round.
“We just need to work on ourselves,” Painter said. “Then watch that game. I don’t think there’s a lot that they’re going to change in two days. So just watch that game and evaluate it and get ourselves ready before that. But the most important team in the tournament is your team.
“You’ve still got to be able to execute and know what you’re doing out on the court.”
Related: PDF: Purdue-Penn State stats | Stat Blast | Purdue hangs on to defeat Penn State to win Big Ten Tournament.
