Quick Thoughts on Purdue Basketball's 2024-25 Big Ten Schedule
Purdue's 2024-25 men's basketball schedule is finally complete. On Thursday, the Big Ten revealed the complete conference slate for every team, which officially finalized the Boilermakers' schedule for the upcoming season.
Matt Painter and the Boilers are hoping to win a third consecutive Big Ten regular sesaon championship and make another deep run into the NCAA Tournament. It won't be easy, with plenty of challenges on the schedule.
Here are a few brief observations from Purdue's 2024-25 Big Ten schedule (You can view the complete schedule here).
Four games in nine days with a West Coast trip
The first thing that caught my attention during Purdue's schedule release was a four-game stint in mid-January. The Boilermakers will play four games in nine days, which includes a trip to the West Coast.
That busy four-game slate begins on Sunday, Jan. 12 against Nebraska and concludes on Tuesday, Jan. 21 against Ohio State. Not to stir up bad memories, but the Boilermakers went a combined 0-2 against the Huskers and Buckeyes during the 2023-24 campaign. This time, though, Purdue gets both opponents at Mackey Arena.
Sandwiched between those two home games is a trip to the West Coast to play Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 15 and Oregon on Saturday, Jan. 18.
How will the Boilermakers handle this tricky four-game window when mid-January rolls around?
- Sunday, Jan. 12: vs. Nebraska — West Lafayette, Ind.
- Wednesday, Jan. 15: at Washington — Seattle, Wash.
- Saturday, Jan. 18: at Oregon — Eugene, Ore.
- Tuesday, Jan. 21: vs. Ohio State — West Lafayette, Ind.
Saving the best for last
Purdue has plenty of tests on the schedule, both in and out of conference play. But the Boilermakers will be tested quite a bit in the final month of the season.
Arguably the toughest six-game stretch on the schedule comes at the end of the season. Purdue will play Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana, UCLA, Rutgers and Illinois over the last three weeks of the year.
Last year, Purdue posted a 10-1 record against those opponents — although the Boilers didn't play UCLA. The lone loss came to Wisconsin in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Still, every team in the grouping will present some challenges for Purdue this season. It's going to be an incredibly tough way to close out the season for Painter and his crew.
- Saturday, Feb. 15: vs. Wisconsin — West Lafayette, Ind.
- Tuesday, Feb. 18: at Michigan State — East Lansing, Mich.
- Sunday, Feb. 23: at Indiana — Bloomington, Ind.
- Friday, Feb. 28: vs. UCLA — West Lafayette, Ind.
- Tuesday, March 4: vs. Rutgers — West Lafayette, Ind.
- Friday, March 7: at Illinois — Champaign, Ill.
Only two Saturday games
If you're a fan and enjoy have your Saturdays free, then you're in luck. Perhaps this is a strange observation, but Purdue will play just two Saturday games in conference play this season.
The first is on Saturday, Jan. 18 when the Boilermakers play Oregon as part of their West Coast trip. The second is on Feb. 15, hosting Wisconsin at Mackey Arena.
In total, Purdue plays on just five Saturdays during the 2024-25 season, which includes three nonconference matchups (Nov. 23 vs. Marshall; Dec. 14 vs. Texas A&M in Indianapolis; Dec. 21 at Auburn in Birmingham).
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