Purdue Provides Major Update on 2026-27 College Basketball Schedule

Purdue is playing a big-time opponent to open up the 2026-27 college basketball season. The team made an announcement on Wednesday afternoon.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter looks on from the bench. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue is prepared to open the 2026-27 college basketball season against one of the premier programs in the sport. On Wednesday, the Boilermakers announced that they will be headed to Las Vegas for a showdown with Gonzaga to begin the year.

The matchup between Purdue and Gonzaga is part of the Hall of Fame Series Opening Night. UCLA will also play Arizona in the event, with games scheduled for Nov. 2, 2026. Tipoff times have not been announced, but games will air across TNT's networks. The event will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Wednesday's announcement is nothing new for Purdue, which regularly schedules difficult non-conference opponents to prepare for the Big Ten season and the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga is the third major foe the Boilermakers will face during the 2026-27 season, also playing Iowa State and scheduling a home-and-home with Tennessee.

Purdue and Gonzaga have played five times with the Boilermakers owning a perfect 5-0 record. The most recent meeting came in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, with the Boilers posting an 80-68 victory to advance to the Elite Eight.

The Boilermakers also secured wins over Gonzaga in the Phil Knight Legacy in 2022 (84-66) and the 2023 Maui Invitational (73-63).

Purdue sees benefits of scheduling tough games

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter answers questions from the media. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

In recent years, Purdue has really beefed up its non-conference schedule to include some of the nation's top programs. Head coach Matt Painter has discussed his philosophy frequently, explaining how it benefits his teams each year.

"It makes sense, right? I think it makes you better," Painter said before the Iowa State game this year. "I always call it picking your losses. Obviously, you're not trying to lose, you're trying to win, but if you get beat by Iowa State or if Iowa State gets beat by Purdue, you're not getting beat up when it comes to seeding. They're actually going to look at it as a positive."

Purdue lost this year's home game against Iowa State, the only non-conference game it dropped this year. Despite an 81-58 loss to the Cyclones, the Boilermakers still find themselves in the hunt for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

This season, the Boilermakers also played games against Alabama, Marquette, Auburn, Memphis and Texas Tech. Purdue went 5-0 in those games.

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