Purdue Women's Basketball's Path to the Big Ten Tournament Becomes Pretty Simple

Win or go home.

That's the scenario for Purdue women's basketball following Saturday's results in the Big Ten. If the Boilermakers defeat Nortwestern on Sunday afternoon, their season will continue with a trip to Indianapolis for the 2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament. Lose, and the program will miss out on the event for a second consecutive season.

On Saturday, Indiana clobbered Penn State 93-59, with the Nittany Lions ending the year 4-14. Purdue currently sits 4-13, needing one more win to make the Big Ten Tournament field. If the Boilers lose, they also finish 4-14, but Penn State owns the tiebreaker.

Following Purdue's 71-65 loss to Oregon on Wednesday, coach Katie Gearlds said that her team's postseason essentially begins on Sunday.

"The season isn't over," Gearlds said. "We have an opportunity on Sunday, win and you keep playing. Sunday starts our postseason play. Once you lose, you're done. We've gotta find a way Sunday to come in ready to go from the get-go. Can't give Northwestern any sort of daylight, can't let their crowd get into it.

"If you're any sort of competitor, it's win or go home. Our tournament starts Sunday."

Northwestern is 2-15 on the season and is already out of the hunt for a Big Ten Tournament hunt. However, it will be Senior Day for the Wildcats and the final time Joe McKeown will coach after a 40-year career.

Purdue's seeding situation

Purdue Junior Kiki Smith (23) shoots a 3. | Chad Krockover / Special to the Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Most importantly, Purdue must win on Sunday. If the Boilermakers lose, they will finish 16th in the Big Ten standings and will be on the outside looking in of the conference tournament.

With a win over Northwestern, Purdue would either be the No. 15 or No. 14 seed in the event. Here's how each scenario plays out:

No. 14 seed — A Purdue win over Northwestern and a Wisconsin loss to Iowa. The Boilermakers own the tiebreaker with the Badgers if both teams finish the conference season with a 5-13 record.
No. 15 seed — A Purdue win over Northwestern and a Wisconsin win over Iowa. If the Boilermakers and Badgers both win, Wisconsin would be the No. 14 seed with a 6-12 Big Ten record.
Miss tournament — A Purdue loss to Northwestern. The Boilermakers would finish the season tied with Penn State at 4-14, but the Nittany Lions own the tiebreaker.

Sunday's game between Purdue and Nortwestern is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. The game will air on Big Ten-Plus.

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