How ready are you to forgive and forget that last Purdue game you saw and go all in with the KenPom No. 1 Boilermakers? Which team(s) can deny Matt Painter a second straight outright Big Ten title?
Medcalf: The NCAA tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world. It's also the worst way to determine a champion. Purdue had a terrible night against Fairleigh Dickinson in March. But the last time a team brought back a reigning Wooden Award winner -- former North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough in 2008-09 -- it won the national title. I'm going to assume that a team with Zach Edey can do what Virginia did in 2019 and regroup to compete for a national title after suffering a stunning upset.Lunardi: The Boilermakers won an eight-bid league by three full games a year ago. They also collected a conference tournament title. Those accomplishments say much more about Purdue's prospects than a 40-minute anomaly in March. For what it's worth, Virginia won the ACC by four games (and the conference tourney) when it lost to UMBC in 2018. The Cavs weren't as reliable the following year until it really mattered. We may be saying the same thing about Purdue in April.
Gasaway: Purdue outscored the Big Ten by 0.10 points per possession last year and Zach Edey's still here. So, yes, I anticipate taking the Boilermakers all the way in my 2024 bracket. Unless of course Matt Painter's team is paired against Princeton, NJIT, Monmouth, Rider or the Hackensack School of Interpretive Dance. Over the past two seasons, Purdue has gone 58-14, but is 2-4 against teams from New Jersey. If the Boilers were in the MAAC they'd be a bubble team.
Borzello: Upsets happen in March. But the Boilermakers played 34 other games last season and were undoubtedly one of the four or five best teams in the country in those games. And they still have Zach Edey. Purdue will have stiffer competition for the Big Ten title this season, though. Michigan State is one spot behind them in my preseason rankings; the Spartans bring back four starters and have a top-five recruiting class.
