Purdue Basketball Holds Big Ten Lead as Northwestern Begins Tough Road Stretch

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue basketball controls its own destiny in the race for a Big Ten title, holding a slight lead over Northwestern with just three games left on its schedule.

The No. 5-ranked Boilermakers, fresh off a dominant 82-55 win over Ohio State at Mackey Arena on Sunday, will be back in action this Saturday when the team welcomes No. 17 Indiana for a rematch in West Lafayette. It marks the second of three home contests in a four-game stretch to end the regular season.

That home-court advantage looms large as the Wildcats hit the road for three of their last four games, beginning on Thursday night with a matchup against Illinois.

Here's a look at the Big Ten Conference standings before Thursday's games:

The Wildcats enter Thursday's matchup on a five-game win streak that brought the team to 20-7 overall and 11-5 in Big Ten play. Northwestern will also play at Maryland and at Rutgers, with a home game against Penn State sandwiched in between.

The Fighting Illini have won their last four games at home and are coming off a nine-point win over Minnesota. They are 13-2 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

The Terrapins have also been outstanding at home, where they boast a 15-1 record and have yet to lose against a conference opponent. The Boilermakers suffered their biggest loss of the season at the Xfinity Center, falling apart in a 68-54 defeat in College Park, Md., that marked a three-game losing streak on the road.

The Nittany Lions are struggling on the road, winning just two of their nine games this season, and the Scarlet Knights are a respectable 14-3 when playing on their home court inside Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, NJ.

Northwestern can't afford to lose any of its last four games if it wants to catch Purdue, which is looking more and more unlikely. Here's the remaining schedule:

Thursday, Feb. 23 — at Illinois, 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 26 — at Maryland, noon ET
Wednesday, March 1 — Penn State, 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, March 5 — at Rutgers, 7:30 p.m. ET

A tough road stretch bodes well for the first-place Boilermakers. Following their rivalry game with the Hoosiers, they hit the road to play Wisconsin at the Kohl Center before ending the season at home against Illinois.

The easiest road to a conference championship for Purdue is to win their remaining three games, which is firmly in the realm of possibility. Here's a look:

Saturday, Feb. 25 — Indiana, 7:30 p.m. ET
Thursday, March 2 — at Wisconsin, 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, March 5 — Illinois, 12:30 p.m. ET

The team will be itching to get back at its bitter rival come Saturday after losing 79-74 back on Feb. 4 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. Veteran guard David Jenkins Jr., a newcomer to the series, said during the postgame press conference that Purdue will be ready when Indiana comes to Mackey Arena.

The Badgers — who took down the Boilermakers at home last year to secure a share of the Big Ten title — weren't able to repeat their success in 2022-23, but that won't stop them from playing the role of spoiler in Madison, Wis.

The regular-season finale will be against the Fighting Illini, who also shared a spot atop the conference last year. They've lost three of their last five entering a game against the Wildcats.

Purdue is in the driver's seat for the home stretch, and it kickstarted what could turn into a strong run entering the postseason with a blowout win over Ohio State. Keeping that momentum and feeding off the Mackey Arena crowd in two of its last three games will be imperative in order to clinch a conference championship.

Things didn't go according to plan last year, and coach Matt Painter admitted that the team let things slip away, but it's poised to close out the season on the right foot.

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