How to Watch Purdue's First Game in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament
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Purdue punched its ticket into the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament this week with a 67-62 win over Northwestern on Sunday. At 5-13 in conference play, the Boilermakers earned the No. 14 seed and will take on No. 11 Oregon to begin the postseason.
The Boilermakers will play the Ducks on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Here's what you need to know for Purdue's first-round game of the Big Ten Tournament.
Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament first round
- Who: No. 14 Purdue (13-15, 5-13) vs. No. 11 Oregon (20-11, 8-10)
- What: Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament (first round)
- When: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
- Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. (18,000)
- Time: Approximately 8:30 p.m. ET (25 minutes after Game 2)
- TV/Stream: Peacock
- Announcers: TBD
- ESPN Matchup Predictor: Oregon has 89.2% chance to beat Purdue
- Regular season result: Oregon defeated Purdue 71-65 on Feb. 25 at Mackey Arena
The bracket is set 👀
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 2, 2026
Grab your tickets ➡️ https://t.co/JhPaf32GAJ pic.twitter.com/p8oI2zackB
Team stats
Stats (per game) | #14 Purdue | #11 Oregon |
|---|---|---|
Scoring | 69.6 | 75.1 |
Points allowed | 71.9 | 63.9 |
FG% | 43.1% | 45.6% |
3FG% | 33.3% | 34.8% |
Rebounds | 34.7 | 36.0 |
Assists | 15.1 | 17.2 |
Steals | 8.0 | 10.7 |
Blocks | 2.7 | 3.6 |
Turnovers | 15.8 | 15.1 |
First meeting between Purdue and Oregon
It wasn't that long ago that Purdue and Oregon met on the hardwood. On Feb. 25, the Ducks traveled to Mackey Arena to play the Boilermakers, leaving with a 71-65 victory on Senior Night.
Oregon stole the second quarter 22-11, which ended up being the difference in the game. The Ducks amped up the defensive pressure for those 10 minutes, and it resulted in a victory. The Boilermakers ended the game with 21 turnovers, which resulted in 31 Oregon points.
That was the difference for the Ducks.
Oregon was led by Katie Fiso, who scored 19 points, dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds. Ehis Etute also had a big day, scoring 17 points and collecting eight boards.
Nya Smith and Lana McCarthy filled up the stat sheet for Purdue on that February evening. Smith totaled 20 points, four assists and four steals, while McCarty had 18 points and seven rebounds.
How Purdue can beat Oregon
In the regular-season matchup, Purdue was actually the better team in the second half and played Oregon even in the first quarter. Things just got skewed because of the second period in West Lafayette.
The biggest key for Purdue is to take care of the basketball. Oregon's pressure defense creates a lot of problems, but when the Boilermakers were able to get into halfcourt offense, they found plenty of success.
McCarthy's play in the post was huge, something Purdue should be able to take advantage of again. If the Boilers can stay patient offensively, they'll give themselves an opportunity to advance to the next round of the Big Ten Tournament.
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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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