2011-12 Purdue Men's Basketball Full Schedule Released

Finally, it is here:

11/01/11	vs. Northern State #	West Lafayette, Ind.	7:00 p.m. ET
11/06/11	vs. Southern Indiana #	West Lafayette, Ind.	5:00 p.m. ET
11/11/11	vs. Northern Illinois	West Lafayette, Ind.	TBA
11/14/11	vs. High Point	West Lafayette, Ind.	7:30 p.m. ET
Puerto Rico Tip-Off
11/17/11	vs. Iona	San Juan, P.R.	1:00 p.m. ET
11/18/11	Temple/Western Michigan	San Juan, P.R.	TBA
11/20/11	TBD	San Juan, P.R.	TBA
11/26/11	vs. Coppin State	West Lafayette, Ind.	2:00 p.m. ET
Big Ten/ACC Challenge
11/29/11	vs. Miami	West Lafayette, Ind.	9:00 p.m. ET
12/03/11	at Xavier	Cincinnati, Ohio	3:00 p.m. ET
12/07/11	vs. Western Carolina	West Lafayette, Ind.	7:30 p.m. ET
12/10/11	vs. Eastern Michigan	West Lafayette, Ind.	4:00 p.m. ET
Crossroads Classic
12/17/11	vs. Butler	Indianapolis, Ind.	TBA
12/20/11	vs. IPFW	West Lafayette, Ind.	6:30 p.m. ET
12/28/11	at Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	9:30 p.m. ET
12/31/11	vs. Illinois	West Lafayette, Ind.	4:00 p.m. ET
01/05/12	at Penn State	University Park, Pa.	8:00 p.m. ET
01/08/12	at Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minn.	6:00 p.m. ET
01/12/12	vs. Wisconsin	West Lafayette, Ind.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/17/12	vs. Iowa	West Lafayette, Ind.	8:00 p.m. ET
01/21/12	at Michigan State	East Lansing, Mich.	12:00 p.m. ET
01/24/12	vs. Michigan	West Lafayette, Ind.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/28/12	at Northwestern	Evanston, Ill.	2:00 p.m. ET
02/04/12	vs. Indiana	West Lafayette, Ind.	7:00 p.m. ET
02/07/12	at Ohio State	Columbus, Ohio	9:00 p.m. ET
02/12/12	vs. Northwestern	West Lafayette, Ind.	6:00 p.m. ET
02/15/12	at Illinois	Champaign, Ill.	8:30 p.m. ET
02/19/12	vs. Michigan State	West Lafayette, Ind.	TBA
02/22/12	vs. Nebraska	West Lafayette, Ind.	6:30 p.m. ET
02/25/12	at Michigan	Ann Arbor, Mich.	TBA
02/26/12	at Michigan	Ann Arbor, Mich.	TBA
02/29/12	vs. Penn State	West Lafayette, Ind.	6:30 p.m. ET
03/04/12	at Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	6:00 p.m. ET

There it is, in all of its beauty, the full schedule for men's basketball. After the jump, let's delve into some of the key points:

Toughest Stretch:

I would have to say early on on January 8 through January 24. We start that stretch on the Demon Wood of the Barn where we have to protect poor Robbie Hummel. Thenw e get always tough Wisconsin and an improved Iowa team at home. Going to Michigan State and coming home for Michigan is tricky too.

Easiest Conference stretch:

If we're in the race at all I like our finishing kick of Penn State (possibly the worst team in the conference), and Indiana sending off the losingest group of seniors in their program's history.

Benefits:

We only have to play Wisconsin and Ohio State once. That is huge, especially since it means no trip to Madison. Unfortunately, we aren't so lucky as to get the Buckeyes at home too.

Cons:

We only get Nebraska once and no MInnesota home game. Nebraska is a lower division team and now Minny game at home means the home crowd doesn't get to see Rob go Kali Ma on them after February 24, 2009.

Realistic Expectations:

I've said this many times before, but I think Rob replaces half of the scoring we lost and others like Terone Johnson, Lewis Jackson, D.J. Byrd, and Ryne Smith pick up the other half. We're still going to have a solid team that will have to rely on team basketball to win. that just so happens to be when we play our best. There isn't a single non-conference game that looks impossible to win (with Xavier and a Puerto Rico game being the toughest) and I like our chances at a solid Big Ten finish in the 13-5 range. heading to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tourney with 6-7 overall losses is what I think happens, and that gets us in prime position for a respectable seed.

As for the conference, I think Ohio State and Michigan State will be your usual suspects contending for the title, with Purdue, Michigan, and Wisconsin as the next tier that can contend if they get a few breaks.