See how Purdue opponents are currently rated and how that affects Purdue’s resume.
Purdue Basketball Opponent Tracker
We are at the halfway mark of conference play and the jockeying for postseason positioning is in full swing. Purdue looks close to locking down a virtual bid to the NCAA Tournament (if it hasn’t already) but there could be a big difference between a 2-seed and a 4-seed. Only 4 teams separate the last 2-seed and the first 4-seed, so a strong resume has to come into the mix. We will review Purdue’s resume so far this season in both non-conference play and Big Ten play.
As per any discussion of resumes, quadrant wins and losses must be discussed. Quad 1 wins are the top tier wins while Quad 4 losses are absolute upsets for teams like Purdue. Below is a chart to track how the Quadrant games are tracked based on NET Ranking:
So, let’s first dive into non-conference play. As it stands, Purdue has 5 of 11 non-con games as Q1 and the Boilermakers went 2-3 in those games. In the remaining 6 games, all Purdue wins, 3 were Q3 and 3 were Q4 victories.
Now, onto conference play where the Boilermakers have played half of their 20-game slate. In those games, Purdue is 8-2 overall, 3-2 in Q1 and 5-0 in Q2. A couple NET rankings to watch are Rutgers and Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights being ranked at 83 means the road win in Piscataway could jump to a Q1 win if Rutgers can move up to 75th or better in the NET. On the flip side, Ohio State winning in Mackey is dangerously close to moving down to a Q2 loss for Purdue. In the 10 games remaining, Purdue currently has 6 Q1. 3 Q2, and 1 Q3 opportunities to bolster its resume.
Overall, Purdue’s resume for March is that of a ranked team. The Boilermakers are 5-5 in Q1 games and 11-0 in all other quadrants. Obviously, a lot goes into where a team gets seeded in the NCAA Tournament, so Purdue needs to continue to win to maximize its chances.