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Every year Purdue takes part in an exempt tournament, where it gets to face some solid non-conference competition on a neutral floor. This season it was the Hall of Fame Tipoff, where games against North Carolina and Villanova formed the backbone of our non-conference strength of schedule. Today Purdue basketball announced the destination for the 2022-23 season, and it is a doozy.
Elite Teams. Elite Tournament.
— Purdue Mens Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 15, 2022
✔️: Phil Knight Legacy
: Portland, Oregon
: November 24-27, 2022
: @nikebasketball pic.twitter.com/7iLkiv20uI
That is quite the tournament, to be honest. Purdue will play three games and it is guaranteed to play at least two against NCAA level competition, with host Portland State being the outlier.
We’re going to be a very different Purdue team, too. Isaiah Thompson is the one projected senior, and Jaden Ivey will very likely be off to the NBA. Purdue should still be good with the likes of Zach Edey, Caleb Furst, Mason Gillis, Brandon Newman, and and Ethan Morton returning along with Thompson, but it will be a different look.
This takes care of three of the 11 non-conference games next season. Purdue will very likely be on the road for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge after hosting Florida State this year, and we are still due one more Gavitt Games home game as part of that contract. There is also no more Crossroads Classic, so Purdue might have a mid-December neutral site game somewhere. We could also see a true home-and-home pop on to the schedule.