Is the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers Not Going To Keep It Up in the March Madness? Who Is Their Biggest Threat?

Published 03/13/2024, 10:09 AM EDT

Follow Us

Zach Edey and his Purdue Boilermakers have displayed some impressive skills on the court. While the team has the No. 1 seed to their name, many believe that they will have to keep up the right mindset to go ahead to the March Madness. Some analysts believe that they may lose early in the Big 10 tournament itself. But who is their toughest competition that may hand them a sour loss?

Talking about the almost-fixed Big-10 tournament bracket, two panelists from Peacock share their perspectives on Purdue’s future. Asking Tyler about his views on Purdue, he said, “I think Michigan State’s going to beat them. I think Michigan State’s going to beat Minnesota and I think they are going to go on and beat Purdue. They’ve only played once. They played Purdue at Purdue and lost by six points. I think Michigan State has a lot to prove. They don’t have a lot of quad-one wins. I think Izzo is going to have his team prepared. I’ve got Purdue losing their first game actually.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Apparently, the Boilermakers will take the court in Game 7 on Friday, March 15. This quarterfinal clash will feature Zach Edey and Co. taking on the winner of Game 3 which will be between No. 8 Michigan State and Minnesota. Following this, if they manage to win their quarterfinal bout, they will advance to the first semi-finals on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, John Martin’s other guest doesn’t seem to agree with Tyler.

Matt McCall’s belief in Purdue

Earlier, When Martin asked Matt McCall about Purdue’s chances, he showed his faith in their abilities and said, “Can anyone take them down? No. Do I think that Illinois can push them? Yes.” Continuing his thought, he said, “I really believe that the only one in this league that can give them a run for their money when Illinois is playing at a high clip.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

However, he then brought up a valid point later on. McCall further added, “The bigger question is Purdue, do they show up and stay focused? Are they locked in on this tournament? Like they were last year after they won the regular season and not focused on the first round of the NCAA tournaments. I don’t think there’s any reason to think that they won’t be. Because of their mentality all season long. So, I think this is Purdue’s tournament to win.”

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Undeniably, Zach Edey and Co. will have a tough road ahead if they want to win the back-to-back Big 10 championships. A lot will depend on whether their key players are able to rise up to the occasion and perform. We will have to wait and see if they live up to their hype and expectations.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Whose side are you on? Let us know in the comments section.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Shahryar Fazal

653Articles

One take at a time

Shahryar Fazal is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports. His specialisation lies in his scrupulous Live Coverage of the events like NCAA and WNBA tournaments. A former sportsman himself, Shahryar used to contribute stories for publishing houses like TOI before taking up American sports as his field of interest.
Show More>

Edited by:

Caroline Joseph