How Braden Smith, Purdue Prepare for Late-Night Tipoff vs. Houston in Sweet 16
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INDIANAPOLIS — Caffeine could be consumed at unhealthy levels within the state of Indiana on Friday night, as the Sweet 16 matchup between No. 4 seed Purdue and No. 1 seed Houston isn't scheduled to start until at least 10:09 p.m. ET. It's an ideal tipoff time if you're a basketball-loving vampire.
Friday night's tipoff time is drastically different from what the Boilermakers experienced in Providence last week. Purdue got early starts in its first- and second-round games against High Point and McNeese, tipping off at 12:40 p.m. ET and 12:15 p.m. ET, respectively.
So, how is Purdue handling this change?
"Honestly, it's different. You wake up, you eat breakfast and you get ready to go. Now we'll have time -- I think we get to come in here, have a shoot-around, stuff like that. I think it will benefit (us)," said junior guard Braden Smith said.
Regardless of what time the game starts, Purdue will be ready to play. Despite a tough end to the regular season, the Boilermakers enter Friday's contest just two wins away from reaching the Final Four for a second consecutive year.
But Smith admits that it can be hard to sit around and wait all day for tipoff, especially for a game of this magnitude.
"It kind of sucks because, for a competitor, you've got to wait all day to go compete late at night. So I think that part sucks," he said. "But at the end of the day, you've got to be ready. I think playing in a game like this, the Sweet 16, that will get you amped up enough where you're ready by game time."
Perhaps the tipoff time is advantageous for Houston, a team accustomed to the Central Time Zone. But this will also serve as somewhat of a home game for Purdue, playing at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Maybe that evens out the advantages for both teams.
Either way, fans would be wise to spark an extra pot of coffee and schedule a post-work nap on Friday evening. It's going to be a late one in Indy.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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