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Back in January we thought we were still going to be playing tonight. Hell, as recently as 3 weeks ago we thought that. We knew it would be a tough road and I don’t think we were beating Villanova with the way they have played in this tournament, but before Isaac Haas was injured had a legitimate shot. Had everything else played out it would have meant a fourth meeting with Michigan as well. If the Wolverines win Purdue will have a two wins each over the NCAA champ (Michigan) and the NIT champ (Penn State) If Villanova wins we were a top 3 team with them for much of the season and missed playing them twice because of the Tennessee and Texas Tech losses.
It should be a fun matchup as a neutral basketball fan. As a Purdue fan, it closes the book on a frustrating season where we won more games than any other season in our history, yet won nothing because of 2nd place in the WUG, 2nd place in the Big Ten, 2nd place in the Big Ten Tournament, and the 2nd weekend of the NCAA only.
To NExt Year in Minneapolis!
Matchup: #1 Villanova Wildcats vs. #3 Michigan Wolverines
Venue: The Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)
Time: 9:20pm ET
Television: TBS
TeamCast: TruTV
Streaming: Hulu (subject to regional availability) | CBS All-Access | Fubo