See how Purdue opponents are currently rated and how that affects Purdue’s resume.
Purdue Basketball Opponent Tracker 2-11
We are nearly halfway through February and Purdue only has 24 games in the regular season to build its current resume. Obviously, as more games are played, more will be tracked but by then end of the season, there will be at least 32 data points for the NCAA Tournament Committee to decide where to place the Boilermakers. As of now, it very well could be among the top 4 teams in country on the 1 line but if Purdue should slip up, they could fall. Take a look at how Purdue looks at the moment:
As per usual, we have a nifty chart to show you how the Quadrant system works with the NET Rankings.
After this week, we have two changes to Purdue’s non-con opponents in terms of the Quadrants. Texas A&M – CC moved down to 165 in the NET and is now a Q4 win for the Boilermakers. On the flip side, Yale moved to 71 and is now a Q2 win. As a result, Purdue is now 12-5 in Q1 and Q2 games and 5-0 in Q3 and Q4 games. Purdue is one of 4 teams nationally to have 12+ Q1/Q2 wins alongside Auburn (14-1), Alabama (14-3), and Texas A&M (12-5). In fact, of the 7 non-Purdue teams to have 10+ Q1/Q2 wins, Purdue has or will play 5 (Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M, Marquette, and Wisconsin). It clearly shows that Purdue is continuing on its plan to schedule monster schedules year in and year out for non-conference play.
There have been no changes to Purdue’s quadrant victories in the non-conference. Purdue currently sits at 2-3 in non-con Q1 games, 1-0 in Q2, 1-0 in Q3 and 4-0 in Q4. Overall, the Boilermakers are 8-3 outside of Big Ten play with the 3 losses all being to ranked teams away from Mackey arena. While not on the same level as the 11-0 record of the previous two seasons, it is still an excellent resume in non-conference play.
In conference, Purdue notched a Q1 and Q2 win against Iowa on the road and USC at home, respectively. This brings Purdue’s overall record in Q1 and Q2 games to 14-5 which represents a tie for the second most victories of that kind in the nation. Auburn has 15 Q1/Q2 wins while Alabama also has 14 alongside Purdue. Moving forward, Purdue will have 6 more Q1 opportunities in 7 games. The only game not in Q1 is against Rutgers in Mackey, but it still represents a Q2 game.
As the same as the last few years, Purdue has a great resume for the tournament, but it has the opportunity to turn that into an elite resume and lock into a 1-seed for the tournament. The first step of that process begins tonight against Michigan and continues this weekend against Wisconsin in West Lafayette. Overall, for Purdue, the slogan needs to be ‘Just Keep Winning’.