Can Purdue make it three years in a row of homecourt advantage in March Madness?
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Can Purdue make it three years in a row of homecourt advantage in March Madness? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Purdue is set to tip off their Sweet 16 matchup against Texas on Thursday, putting them two wins away from “homecourt advantage” in the Final Four in Indianapolis. However, history is not on the Boilermakers' side ahead of their tilt with the Longhorns.
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Sure, Matt Painter has led them to 17 March Madness appearances in his 21 years with the program, however, Purdue has made it out of the Sweet 16 just twice. The 2019 tournament was their first time, which led to a loss in the Elite 8. Their second came in the 2024 National Championship, where they lost to UConn.
Getting to homecourt advantage in Indy is no easy task, though, as they’ll have to go through a Texas team that took down 6-seeded BYU and 3-seeded Gonzaga to get here. Texas also has Purdue beat in points per game, rebounds per game, steals and blocks.
They’ll then await the winner of 1-seed Arizona and 4-seed Arkansas, who both matchup well with them according to KenPom metrics.
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Recent history of Purdue playing in Indianapolis
Since the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament, Purdue has played four games in Indianapolis and have gone 2-2 in those matchups. Their last time playing in Indianapolis was last season, when they lost their Sweet 16 matchup against Houston.
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