Purdue to Play in 2021 Hall of Fame Classic

We now know Purdue’s exempt event for 2021:

This is two seasons from now, and that is one heck of a field for what should be a pretty good team. Purdue won this event in 2015, beating Old Dominion and Florida. It would also be a lot like this year’s exempt event in that Purdue would host two smaller schools in on campus games at Mackey Arena as part of it.

Historically, Purdue has struggled against this field, but it did beat Villanova and Tennessee in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Purdue is 3-2 all-time against the Volunteers, but could player them again in a few weeks down in Florida. After beating Villanova in March Purdue is now 1-3 against the Wildcats, but it would potentially be our third game against them since the start of the 2016-17 season.

Finally, North Carolina has owned Purdue over the years. Purdue is 2-8 against the Tar Heels, with the last win coming in 1974. The Boilers have lost 8 in a row, last playing in November 1999 when they beat us in the Maui Invitational Championship game. That was the third straight season we lost to North Carolina in an early season tournament (1997 Great Alaska Shootout, 1998 Preseason NIT, 1999 Maui Invitational).