Heading into the final week of the regular season, we will see how Purdue’s resume looks based on opponents.
Purdue Basketball Opponent Tracker 3-3
For Purdue, there are two games remaining in the regular season and at least one game remaining in the Big Ten Tournament. That is 3 more opportunities to continue to build its resume as it gears up for the NCAA Tournament in two and a half weeks. Let’s see how the other 29 games have looked on their resume thus far.
As per usual, we have a nifty chart to show you how the Quadrant system works with the NET Rankings.
There are 3 results that are anywhere close to changing quadrants. If Texas A&M-CC or Marshall can somehow work their NET ranking down to 160 or lower, they would become Q3 wins for Purdue. The Yale game, on the other hand, currently sits at a Q2 win but being ranked at 73 gives the Bulldogs very little breathing room as any drop above 75 turns into a Q3 win instead. It’s obviously splitting hairs here but a Q2 win is still better on a resume.
Conference play has had some changes since last time. The home loss to Ohio State has dropped down to a Q2 loss (Purdue’s only Q2 loss this season) and the home win against USC has dropped to a Q3 win. On the flip side, Penn State has moved to 66 in the NET, so the road loss to the Nittany Lions seems safer at Q1 than in previous weeks. What is tricky is that Penn State will miss the Big Ten Tournament this season, so they do not have many opportunities to change their NET ranking for better or for worse. Remaining on the schedule for Purdue is Rutgers at home and Illinois on the road. Rutgers at home currently represents a Q2 opportunity and should the Boilermakers take care of business on Senior Night, it is safe to say they will have gone through the regular season without a Q3 or Q4 loss.
So, as it stands, Purdue is ranked 17th in the NET rankings with a 20-9 overall record. The Boilermakers are 8-8 in Q1 games, 6-1 in Q2, 2-0 in Q3, and 4-0 in Q4. Only 5 teams in the nation have more Q1 wins than Purdue: Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Kentucky. Purdue still has room to improve its resume as well with a Q1 and Q2 game coming up and at least 1 neutral site game in the Big Ten Tournament. Currently projected as a 3/4-seed in most brackets, it is not outside the realm of possibility for Purdue to jump up to a 2-seed if it runs the table. All Purdue can do is just keep winning and let the rest fall into place.