Bracketology 2021: BYU, Purdue and Saint Louis among biggest winners
By Joey Loose
Purdue
Last season, the Big Ten was looking like they’d potentially get as many as ten teams in the NCAA Tournament. The conference might not be quite as deep this season (or maybe it is) but these Boilermakers are showing that they want a ticket to the dance again this year.
Purdue struggled in earlier losses to Clemson and Miami, blowing a large late lead to the Hurricanes in particular. This week, however, they’ve brushed off some of those skeletons. First, the Boilermakers knocked off 20th ranked Ohio State behind a solid offensive effort, while Trevion Williams (16 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) played fantastically. On Saturday, they took care of a talented Notre Dame squad during the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis, getting 18 points from both Eric Hunter Jr. and Sasha Stefanovic and hitting half of their 3-pointers.
Every win helps for a Boilermakers team that will find themselves on the bubble this season, but the Ohio State win in particular certainly helps Purdue. In a tough Big Ten, the Boilermakers are going to need to stockpile victories, especially in winnable games like that one. They can survive those poor performances against ACC schools by continuing to play this way as the meat of their schedule begins.
Purdue heads to Iowa early next week for what is clearly their toughest test of the season. For now, however, they’re a definite winner this week for two solid wins that definitely boost them up the seedlines and more comfortably into the NCAA Tournament (though we’re clearly very early in these kinds of discussions).