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Purdue Basketball’s Big Ten Away Games Set Path to Championship

Vaseline September 21, 2024

Purdue opens Big Ten play on December 5 against Penn State and concludes on March 7 against Illinois.
The Boilermakers play Indiana on January 31 at Mackey Arena and on February 23 at Assembly Hall.
Purdue will make its first trip to the Big Ten’s West Coast from January 15-18, playing Washington and Oregon.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Purdue men’s basketball team’s road to a third straight Big Ten regular-season championship begins and ends on the road.

The conference announced the game dates Thursday. The Boilermakers’ Big Ten series begins Dec. 5 at Penn State, resumes in earnest Jan. 2 at Minnesota and concludes March 7 at Illinois.

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Purdue went 7-3 away from Mackey Arena in each of the past two seasons while extending its record number of Big Ten regular-season championships to 27. The presence of two-time national player of the year Zach Edey in the post was clearly a good thing. Now that he’s headed to the NBA, the Boilermakers will have to find new ways to win in hostile environments as they seek the first three-peat of outright conference champions since Purdue’s 1994-96 run.

The final two weeks of the regular season feature five games — three away — against Michigan State, Indiana, UCLA, Rutgers and Illinois. Any one of those five could pose the biggest challenge to the Boilermakers’ control of the conference.

Hold on a minute with Hoosiers

While many dynamics surrounding Purdue will change following Zach Edey’s departure, others will remain constant. That includes the push to extend IU’s series lead after winning 12 of the last 15 — including eight of the last nine at home.

The Hoosiers come to Mackey Arena on January 31. The Boilermakers visit Assembly Hall on February 23.

Indiana has won two competitive games in the rivalry series in 2022-23. Purdue won twice last season. It’s too early to tell who benefits more from having both games against Indiana in the second half of the schedule.

Indiana is relying heavily on transfer portal additions in an effort to turn the tide in Mike Woodson’s fourth season. Whatever help the Boilermakers get from their five-man freshman class should be apparent by the end of January.

West Coast Swing

The Big Ten has planned tandem West Coast trips. Purdue will play at Washington on Jan. 15 and Oregon three days later. The team will spend five days together between Seattle and Eugene — a better solution than separate trips further apart in the season.

Any disruptions to routine and body clock, if any, can be compensated for by an extended home stretch. Three straight games in Mackey — against Ohio State, Michigan and IU — follow the Pacific Northwest trip. The team doesn’t return to the air until Feb. 4, when it travels to Iowa.

USC (Feb. 7) and UCLA (Feb. 28) will make their first Big Ten visits to Mackey Arena. The Bruins, of course, have a significant history with the building. They defeated Purdue 73-71 on Dec. 2, 1967, in the building’s first game — also Rick Mount’s debut.

Other important dates

Before last season’s win at Rutgers, Purdue hadn’t won in Piscataway since 2018. The Scarlet Knights are a potential top-25 team in the preseason, in part because of the expectations for five-star prospects Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. The Boilermakers travel to the RAC on Jan. 9, with Rutgers returning for the home finale on March 4.

The only matchup with Maryland is in the Big Ten home opener on December 8. This could be a battle of talented freshmen big men, with Daniel Jacobsen taking on top-15 Terrapin prospect Derik Queen.

On the other hand, two one-and-done opponents look crucial for the late-season games. Purdue travels to Michigan State on Feb. 18. The last three games there have been decided by five points. The regular season ends March 7 at Illinois. That roster has changed considerably after its Elite Eight run, but that could be a tough finish if the Big Ten championship race comes down to the final game.

Follow IndyStar Purdue Insider Nathan Baird on X at @nwbaird.