Purdue Among Five Big Ten Teams Considered NCAA Tournament Locks
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Simply making the NCAA Tournament wasn't the goal Purdue set out to accomplish this season. So, hearing that the Boilermakers are a "lock" for March Madness probably doesn't move the needle in West Lafayette much.
Having essentially secured a spot in the field with eight Big Ten games to play has to feel pretty good, though.
According to ESPN, Purdue is one of five teams in the Big Ten considered a "lock" for this year's NCAA Tournament. The other four teams are Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska. Those teams currently occupy the top five spots in the conference standings.
ESPN defines its NCAA Tournament locks as "Teams that would need a significant change in momentum to miss the cut (which some inevitably still will)."
There are currently 28 teams in college basketball that are considered March Madness locks.
Purdue is currently 19-4 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have an opportunity to pick up their 20th win of the season on Tuesday night, traveling to Lincoln to play No. 7 Nebraska.
The Boilermakers also still have No. 2 Michigan and No. 10 Michigan State remaining on the schedule. They have already lost to No. 4 Illinois and do not get a rematch with the Fighting Illini this season.
Before the season started, Purdue had aspirations of reaching another Final Four and competing for a national championship. Over the next month, the Boilers will have several chances to improve their seed line and put themselves in position to make a deep run.
Purdue's projected NCAA Tournament seed
Seed lines are hardly set with a month left to play in the college basketball. Plus, Purdue still has plenty of meat left on its schedule, giving it an opportunity to improve its NCAA Tournament resume.
Right now, though, many outlets have the Boilermakers projected as a No. 3 or No. 4 seed for March Madness. ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently has Purdue listed as the No. 3 seed in the South Region.
Last week, FOX Sports' Michael DeCourcy had Purdue as a No. 4 seed in the East Region. NCAA.com's Andy Katz listed the Boilers as a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region.
How much can Purdue help itself over the final month of the season? Here's a look at the remaining schedule for the Boilermakers:
- Feb. 10 — at #7 Nebraska (21-2)
- Feb. 14 — at Iowa (18-5)
- Feb. 17 — vs. #2 Michigan (22-1)
- Feb. 20 — vs. Indiana (17-8)
- Feb. 26 — vs. #10 Michigan State (20-4)
- March 1 — at Ohio State (15-8)
- March 4 — at Northwestern (10-14)
- March 7 — vs. Wisconsin (16-7)
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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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