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Purdue Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Boilermakers

By Adam Childs

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a dunk against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a dunk against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 30: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers drives to the basket against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at KFC YUM! Center on March 30, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 30: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers drives to the basket against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at KFC YUM! Center on March 30, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov 9 –  vs Texas
Nov 13 – @ Marquette
Nov 29 – VCU (Emerald Coast Classic)
Nov 30 – Florida State or Tennessee (Emerald Coast Classic)
Dec 4 – vs Virginia (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
Dec 21 – Butler (Crossroads Classic – Indianapolis, IN)

The Boilermakers’ non-conference schedule includes 11 games, but only five of them are “cupcake” games. Purdue’s schedule is one of the tougher ones in the country and we will get to see just how good they are early in the year.

They get a warm-up game against Green Bay before they have back-to-back games against Texas and Marquette. The Longhorns are in a make or break year for Shaka Smart and look to have a lot of talent. The Golden Eagles lost a lot in Ja Morant leaving for the NBA and the Hauser brothers transferring out, but they still will be a tough game in Milwaukee.

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Boilermakers travel down to Florida to play in the Emerald Coast Classic. First, they have a pesky VCU team before taking on either Florida State or Tennessee. Both of those teams are down some from last year, but have had very good runs of good play and will be a tough matchup. The Boilermakers could be favored to win the tournament and it will be a good indicator of just how well they are playing without Carsen Edwards this year.

Early December brings a revenge game for Purdue. They host Virginia in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It’s a rematch of their crazy Elite EIght games last year where the Cavaliers hit a last-second shot to send the game into overtime which they eventually won. Edwards went off for the Boilermakers that game but they came up just short of their first since 1980. Virginia lost a lot but again should be very good. The Boilermakers will no doubt be looking to get a least a little taste of revenge if they can beat the Cavs.

The last test the Boilermakers have in non-conference is when they play in-state rival Butler in the Crossroads Classic. Butler is looking to make it back to the tournament after missing out last year and a win against Purdue would be good for their resume. Purdue is the better team, but playing Butler is never easy.

Overall, the Boilermakers are really going to be tested out of conference but if they can get out of it with two losses or less they should be in great shape.

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