MINNEAPOLIS — For as powerful of a program Purdue has built, the Boilermakers have had a rather tenuous relationship with the postseason.
Their last date was as painful as it gets, an ignominious defeat by undersized Farleigh Dickinson that went down as just the second time in NCAA Tournament history a No. 1 seed lost in the first round in 152 games against 16th seeds.
Every year brings a fresh opportunity, though.
This team still has Zach Edey, the 7-foot-4 picture of dominance in the paint, and the bulk of the same core that led the Boilermakers to that lofty perch they were knocked from by FDU.
After repeating as the Big Ten regular season champion, third-ranked Purdue begins the conference tournament this week with plenty to prove, starting in the quarterfinals Friday.
“I just want to win championships. Championships convey something. That’s the biggest thing,” said Edey, who returned for a fourth year of college to do just that. “I think whenever you have the opportunity to win a championship, you want to capitalize on it.”
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Michigan State (1999 and 2000) is the only team since the Big Ten Tournament began in 1998 to win outright regular season and tournament titles in consecutive years. Ohio State won back-to-back conference tournaments as the No. 1 seed in 2010 and 2011, but the Buckeyes finished in a three-way tie for first place in the 2009-10 regular season.
The Boilermakers are eager to match that feat by the Spartans, who went on to win the national championship in 2000.
Cutting down the nets at Target Center in Minneapolis, a first-time host for the Big Ten Tournament, would not only put Purdue in position for the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament but give the Boilermakers a boost entering the Big Dance.
"It’s new to me, but it’s like routine for them,” said guard Lance Jones, who transferred from Southern Illinois this season. “We’re going to go out there with the right mindset, playing to the best of our abilities and trying to win the championship.”
BRACKET RACKET
Like Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska and Northwestern earned double byes and will enter the bracket in Friday's quarterfinals.
No. 5 seed Wisconsin is the only other team that appears safely in the NCAA Tournament regardless of results this week, even though the Badgers — who were ranked as high as sixth in The Associated Press Top 25 for the week of Jan. 29 — have lost eight of 11 games.
The second-round game Thursday between No. 7 seed Iowa and 10th-seeded seed Ohio State provides an opportunity for one of those teams to play their way into the field of 68 with a win or two or three.
ANOTHER MILESTONE
No. 8 seed Michigan State, which has lost four of five games, sure could use a win over ninth-seeded Minnesota to stay on the safe side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. That would set up a meeting in the quarterfinals with Purdue, and allow Tom Izzo to coach his 1,000th career game.
Izzo is in his 29th season, all at Michigan State. The five current Division I coaches with longer tenures all have been at three or more schools.
STAYING HOME
Minnesota went 9-11 for its most conference wins in five years, avoiding a bottom-four finish and a game in the first round for the first time since 2019 in a season of progress under third-year coach Ben Johnson. The improvement was well-timed for the Gophers, who get the Big Ten Tournament in their backyard for the first time.
Minnesota is the No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 seed Michigan State in the second round on Thursday. The Gophers are 3-1 against the Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament. The teams split their regular-season matchups.
“Hopefully we get a great turnout,” Johnson said. “We want to play our best basketball and stay in this thing as long as we can.”
Indianapolis has hosted the Big Ten Tournament 13 times, and Chicago has had 11. The other sites were New York (2018) and Washington (2017).
RECORD WATCH
Edey, the AP Player of the Year in 2023 and now a two-time AP Big Ten Player of the Year, needs 42 points to become Purdue’s all-time leading scorer. He would pass Rick Mount (2,323 points from 1967-70). Edey already owns the school record for rebounds in a career (1,211).