Saturday's Results Could Benefit Purdue's Potential Tournament Seeding
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Purdue found itself in a good position when the NCAA selection committee revealed its current top 16 teams for the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The Boilermakers are currently ranked eighth and are listed as a No. 2 seed for March Madness.
The Boilermakers posted an impressive 93-64 victory over Indiana on Friday, a nice bounce-back win after a 91-80 loss to No. 1 Michigan earlier in the week. That certainly helped Purdue's situation, and the Boilers received a little more help from teams ranked ahead of them on Saturday.
Four teams ranked ahead of Purdue lost on Saturday — No. 1 Michigan, No. 4 Iowa State, No. 6 Houston and No. 7 Illinois — The Wolverines seem locked into a No. 1 seed at this stage in the year, but the other three teams suffering losses could help the Boilermakers move up.
Before diving into some of Purdue's potential situations moving forward, here's a quick recap of those four games from Saturday:
- Arizona def. Houston 73-66
- Duke def. Michigan 68-63
- UCLA def. Illinois 95-94 (OT)
- BYU def. Iowa State 79-69
How could losses help Purdue's seeding?
Let's start with this: losses from Houston, Illinois and Iowa State may not help Purdue immediately, especially since both the Fighting Illini and Cyclones have head-to-head victories over the Boilermakers in Mackey Arena.
What it does do, though, is leave the door cracked open for Purdue to improve its seeding for the NCAA Tournament if those teams drop another game or two, especially if the Boilers can win their remaining four games.
If Purdue is able to end its season with wins over No. 15 Michigan State, Ohio State, Northwestern and No. 24 Wisconsin, it would almost guarantee the Boilermakers solidify their spot as a No. 2 seed for March Madness. If Iowa State, Houston, Illinois and No. 5 UConn drop another game or two, it could potentially open the door for the Boilermakers to challenge for a No. 1 seed.
It could also allow Purdue to improve from the No. 8 overall spot into a higher spot on the 2-seed line.
Why does it matter for Purdue?
Why does moving up to a higher No. 2 seed matter for Purdue? It could help in terms of its first-round location for the NCAA Tournament. Right now, the Boilermakers are likely headed to Buffalo or Philadelphia to play their first two games of March Madness.
However, if they can bypass Iowa State and Illinois in the rankings, they're much more likely to get a spot in St. Louis, which is a four-hour drive from Mackey Arena. That would be an ideal location for Matt Painter and Co.
If Purdue somehow moved itself into No. 1 seed territory, it would mean the Boilermakers would avoid having to play Michigan, Duke and (probably) Arizona until the Final Four. Obviously, there are plenty of skilled teams taht could give the Boilers trouble in other rounds, but those have been the three best teams in college basketball all season long.
First and foremost, Purdue must take care of business. Going 4-0 will provide itself with the best opportunity to move up in the NCAA selection committee's rankings. But the Boilers aren't going to complain about getting a little help from those in front of them on Saturday afternoon.
NCAA selection committee's top 16 teams
Here's where the NCAA selection committee has each of the top 16 teams ranked, as of Saturday, Feb. 21:
- Michigan
- Duke
- Arizona
- Iowa State
- UConn
- Houston
- Illinois
- Purdue
- Florida
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Gonzaga
- Texas Tech
- Michigan State
- Vanderbilt
- Virginia
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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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