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The initial early look at the NCAA bracket was released early this afternoon. Purdue found themselves as the top #3 seed. Fellow Big Ten teams Michigan and Michigan State were both two seeds indicating, to me at least, that it’s possible that Purdue continues to climb up in the NET rankings and ultimately could catch up to their fellow conference compatriots.
Purdue of course still has work to do with plenty of games left to play in the regular season along with the conference tournament. At this point though Purdue doesn’t have many additional chances for “bad” losses and may only have one real opportunity left for a “good” win when they travel to Maryland next week. You might be able to argue that a win at Indiana is a good win but that all depends on how the rest of their season shakes out.
For now though Purdue is in solid shape as it looks to take care of business the rest of the season and perhaps grab a share of the conference title. After losing four starting seniors last year it’s quite a shock that Purdue is even in this situation to begin with.
In case you are curious and just hate clicking links, or you’re vehemently opposed to the NCAA as an institution and don’t want to give them a click, the top 16 seeds are below in order for your viewing pleasure.
- Duke
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Gonzaga
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Michigan State
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Houston
- Marquette
- Iowa State
- Nevada
- Louisville
- Wisconsin
Pretty incredible that four of the top 16 are B1G teams. It really shows you the strength of the conference. Or, if you want to be a jerk about it, it shows you how top heavy the conference currently is. Either way a great showing for the conference and lots of positive news for our beloved Boilermakers.
Purdue continues their run to the NCAA Tournament today as they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 8:30 PM in the feared Mackey Arena.