Welcome to the new world of the Big Ten. For the first time, the West Coast will become a Big Ten country, with Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten Conference.
This means that in the coming years new clashes in new locations will occur. The shock value will make for must-see viewing.
With that entertainment in mind, the Big Ten released the schedule in teasers and it was announced where all of Purdue’s Big Ten games will be and who will play.
With the four extra teams, the schedules are not as clean as they once were. Purdue will play seven teams at home only, three home and one road series and seven road only games.
Purdue is the back-to-back champion of the Big Ten, where it has won each of the last two seasons by three games, but Zach Edey is gone and Purdue’s next phase begins, led by junior guard Braden Smith.
But not all games are created equal, so let’s take a look at some of the highlights from Purdue’s conference play.
Well this is new
Purdue’s trip west will miss both California schools and instead head north to Oregon and Washington.
While none of these programs have the same historical clout, it is the first time Purdue will make the conference trip. This is remarkable. More exciting still, Oregon’s stain-infested court appears to have been through previous conferences.
Oregon had a good season last year, reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but as with most teams with portal madness this year, they will be relatively unknown in their first season in the Big Ten. Added Stanford to lead Brandão Anjo and returned the former McDonald’s All-American Kwame Evans Jr...
The Washington Huskies weren’t as successful last season, finishing with a 17-15 record on a roster that will see a lot of turnover this season.
Good thing they brought in a coach who knows how to turn a squad around. Washington signed Danny Sprinkle shortly after Sprinkle’s Utah State team lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Sprinkle was able to turn around Utah State’s roster with transfers and built a program quickly. He is expected to do the same in Washington. Purdue’s Matt Painter was very complimentary of Sprinkle’s work last season in preparing his team so well.
Now the young coach will host Purdue and see how well he will do at a powerhouse school.
Easy road?
The Big Ten will be reduced to schedules more than ever, with teams playing less and less at home and away. Instead, teams will receive big perks in certain years based on their schedule and who they put on the road. That’s just the state of things right now.
Purdue can’t be too unhappy with its tie with its first expanded Big Ten west.
Their long road trips are Oregon and Washington, but the two main games are against Illinois and Michigan State. Purdue’s win against Illinois on the road last season was a performance that helped close out the Big Ten and assert itself as the singularly dominant force in the Big Ten.
Purdue didn’t have that chance against one of the conference’s other powers. Michigan State made the trip to West Lafayette, but Purdue avoided Izzo and the Spartans on the road. That won’t be the case this year, as Purdue will head to East Lansing, where it won two seasons ago on Zach Edey’s last second.
The Spartans will look very different this season, with the departure of Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard in the portal. Added Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler to add a scorer to the roster, and there is always talent on Izzo’s roster, but Izzo has struggled to deal with the new portal world of college basketball.
How many Painter vs. Izzo matchups remain?
Homemade food
With Washington and Oregon on the schedule, that means Purdue will play host to USC and blue-blood college basketball UCLA.
That’s quite nice.
Purdue went undefeated at home last season and there is a chance, even with the loss of Edey, to go undefeated again. But it’s hard to really know what’s coming for Mackey Arena this season, but the home-only schedule seems generous with rebuilding teams like Nebraska, Northwestern and Maryland.
Usual Big Ten favorite Wisconsin has been leaking talent without replacing it, Boo Buie left Northwestern and Maryland was a dysfunctional team on the court last year. Could Purdue go undefeated again?
The new and the old
Dusty May took over the Michigan program just in time. Last season, Purdue’s trip to Ann Arbor was a disturbing image of what had happened to Wolverines basketball. Purdue fans took over the Crisler Center, bringing Mackey Magic to Ann Arbor and outnumbering the Michigan fans in attendance.
This off-season saw Michigan move on from Juwan Howard and May immediately began working to replenish the Wolverine roster. He just got some big news about former FAU big man Vladislav Goldin following him to the Wolverines, fueling his one-year NBA ambitions.
May also went to rival Ohio State and signed Roddy Gayle Jr., an experienced and talented guard who has real Big Ten experience.
Purdue will host and travel to Ann Arbor again. Will the new regime mean more energy from the fan base?
There will be no issues with ticket sales when Purdue and IU play their two games. It’s no surprise that intrastate rivalry is protected.
Mike Woodson went to the portal and added a lot of talent, but there are still questions about how the pieces fit together. IU was the last team to win at Mackey Arena. Will try to make a statement and recover the state against Purdue.
And while it won’t have the same top-25 implications, Purdue will return to Rutgers and host the Scarlet Knights — two things that have been difficult for Purdue in recent years, even though Purdue beat Rutgers last year. Rutgers has beaten Purdue twice, while Purdue has ranked No. 1 in the country the past three seasons.
