How Purdue Women's Basketball Can Secure a Spot in Big Ten Tournament Wednesday Night
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue has an opportunity to do something it didn't accomplish last season. With just two games remaining, the Boilermakers have a chance to secure a spot in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, scheduled to begin next week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Katie Gearlds' team has an opportunity to secure its spot in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night, as Purdue hosts Oregon on Senior Night at Mackey Arena. It's not entirely within the Boilermakers' control, but a win gets the team one step closer to Indianapolis.
If Purdue defeats Oregon and USC defeats Penn State, the Boilermakers would be guaranteed a top-15 finish in the Big Ten standings. The top-15 teams in the conference will play in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament next week.
So, while cheering on the Boilermakers on Wednesday night, Purdue fans will also be pulling for USC.
Purdue is currently 4-12 in the Big Ten standings, one game ahead of Penn State, which is 3-13. However, the Nittany Lions own the tiebreaker with the Boilermakers after an 85-82 overtime win earlier this month.
If Purdue and Penn State finished tied in the league standings, the Nittany Lions would head to the Big Ten Tournament while the Boilermakers would be left at home.
A loss to Oregon would also keep Northwestern (2-14) alive. Although the Wildcats would need to pull off an upset win over No. 14 Maryland on the road to remain in the hunt after Wednesday night.
With a Purdue win over Oregon and a Penn State loss to USC, the Boilermakers would have a two-game lead on the Nittany Lions with just one game left on the schedule.
The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament is scheduled to begin Wednesday, March 4. It will run through Sunday, March 8, which will be the Championship Game.
Current Big Ten women's basketball standings
The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament begins next week. Most teams already know whether they're in the field or not; it's just a matter of seed positioning at this point. Here's a look at how the standings look as of Wednesday, Feb. 25:
1. UCLA Bruins (17-0)
T-2. Iowa Hawkeyes (13-3)
T-2. Michigan Wolverines (13-3)
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-4)
5. Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-5)
6. Michigan State Spartans (11-6)
7. Maryland Terrapins (10-6)
T-8. USC Trojans (9-7)
T-8. Illinois Fighting Illini (9-7)
10. Washington Huskies (9-8)
11. Oregon Ducks (7-9)
12. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-11)
13. Wisconsin Badgers (5-12)
T-14. Indiana Hoosiers (4-12)
T-14. Purdue Boilermakers (4-12)
16. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-13)
17. Northwestern Wildcats (2-14)
18. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-15)
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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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