Where Each of Purdue's Seven Remaining Opponents Ranks in NCAA NET, KenPom
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There are only seven games remaining on Purdue's regular-season schedule, but the Boilermakers have one of the toughest roads ahead in the Big Ten. There are still two top-10 teams on the docket, as well as mutiple opponents that will make an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Purdue will travel to Iowa on Saturday before returning home for three straight games at Mackey Arena. Those matchups won't be easy, hosting No. 2 Michigan, archrival Indiana, and No. 10 Michigan State. The Boilermakers then close out the season with back-to-back road games against Ohio State and Northwestern and return to West Lafayette to end the year against Wisconsin.
Following Purdue's win over No. 7 Nebraska on Tuesday, Matt Painter's team sits at No. 10 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 9 in KenPom. Where do each of the Boilers' remaining seven opponents rank? Here's the rundown.
NCAA NET rankings for Purdue's remaining opponents
Entering Saturday's game against Iowa, Purdue owns a 7-4 record against Quad 1 opponents and is a perfect 13-0 against teams in Quads 2, 3 and 4. There are still six Quad 1 opportunities (currently) on the schedule for the Boilermakers to really bolster their NCAA Tournament resumé.
- Feb. 14 — at Iowa — No. 26 (Quad 1)
- Feb. 17 — vs. Michigan — No. 1 (Quad 1)
- Feb. 20 — vs. Indiana — No. 30 (Quad 1)
- Feb. 26 — vs. Michigan State — No. 11 (Quad 1)
- March 1 — at Ohio State — No. 42 (Quad 1)
- March 4 — at Northwestern — No. 73 (Quad 1)
- March 7 — vs. Wisconsin — No. 37 (Quad 2)
This final seven-game stretch presents plenty of challenges, but it still paves a path for Purdue to potentially earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, though it would need some help along the way.
KenPom rankings for Purdue's remaining opponents
Usually, you can get a pretty good idea of where teams rank in KenPom based on their NCAA NET standings. There is still some variation, though. Not only does Purdue play some extremely skilled offensive teams, it will also face off against three of the league's better defensive squads (Michigan, Michigan State an
- Feb. 14 — at Iowa — No. 23
- Feb. 17 — vs. Michigan — No. 1
- Feb. 20 — vs. Indiana — No. 34
- Feb. 26 — vs. Michigan State — No. 10
- March 1 — at Ohio State — No. 42
- March 4 — at Northwestern — No. 66
- March 7 — vs. Wisconsin — No. 36
All of Purdue's remaining opponents are currently within the top 75 of the NCAA NET rankings and in the top 70 of the KenPom.
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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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