Today is the day. Purdue starts their 2026 NCAA Tournament journey. After seeing Duke struggle with Siena and Wisconsin lose to High Point in the early games on Thursday it should be more clear than ever that Purdue cannot take anyone for granted. It was fascinating to see a Duke player actually say that they thought this game was gonna be a cakewalk as they came out for the second half. That mentality almost cost them. It should be a wakeup call to all the better seeded teams. With the game less than 12 hours away I thought it was a good time to check in with the staff on a prediction thread.
Ledman:
Queens has some shooters and wants to run run run run run on offense. Purdue cannot allow them to control the game like they allowed FDU three years ago. Purdue is the better team and has better plays at every position. Purdue has to exert their will on the smaller and less experienced Royals. I expect Braden Smith to get the assist record before the under 16 timeout and then Purdue to battle back and forth for about the first 15 or so minutes before finally exerting control. I don’t know that I’d give the 25.5 points but I expect Purdue to score a bunch and win this one.
Purdue 93
Queens 77
Drew:
Purdue:101
Queens: 67
Queens comes out gunning from the opening tip and has some momentum early before Purdue breaks out the guillotine and ends things with one devastating, yet quick and efficient, run midway through the half.
Braden moved on from the NCAA assist record to focus on the interplanetary assist record, Omer plays big minutes and shows the Big 10 what he has in store for them next season. Oscar Cluff leads the team in scoring, picking up a pure offensive rebounds double/double.
The walk-ons crack 100 with a Jayce 3-pointer from Steph Curry, excuse me, Carsen Edwards, range.
Ryan:
This is one of those games where Purdue simply should not lose. The Boilermakers have the top ranked KenPom offense (and a top-40 defense) while Queens ranks 78th on offense and 319th on defense. To put it in perspective, the Queens offense is somewhere between Washington and Minnesota in terms of offensive efficiency. On defense, Queens is far and away the worst rated in the tournament field (next worst is Prairie View A&M at 214th rank). If Purdue’s offense has anywhere close to their usual level of efficiency, this game will be over before halftime. I think the Boilermakers get out to a big lead and hold it for the game
Purdue 104 – Queens 76
Travis:
Gotta go with Purdue in this one. The Boilers have been tremendous outside of the Big Ten and the last two years they have been extremely focused in March. The FDU loss might have been a blessing in disguise for this program because since then Purdue has dominated lesser opponents in the tournament. I think we roll to a comfortable 20 point win.
Kyle:
Queens… in New York, right? Will keep things spicy early before Purdue pulls away early 2H with superior everything play.
Purdue appears to be re-peaking(?) At the right time. Similar to the 2023 Uconn team.
Boilers 85 Queens (NY) 67
Jed:
Purdue seems to have figured their issues out and the loss on Senior Sunday may have been cathartic to release that negative energy. Queens is a solid program but this is a game closer to Akron than anything in the B1G. 84-62 Boilers.
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