Purdue Basketball: Breaking down Boilermakers 2024-25 non-conference schedule
Regular Season Games
November 4 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Although the Boilermakers do play an exhibition the night before Halloween against Grand Valley State, it will be the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders who kick off their 2024-25 campaign. The Islanders won't be a complete pushover - they won 21 games and likely would have gone dancing last year if they didn't have to deal with Will Wade and McNeese in the Southland Conference. With that being said, they did play three power conference foes last season, all defeats to in-state Texas schools. They were able to give Texas Tech a game, losing by nine on the road, but Purdue is a whole different animal.
November 8 vs. Northern Kentucky
The Norse of Northern Kentucky fell down to 18-15 a season ago, but this remains one of the most consistently strong programs in the Horizon League. Guards Trey Robinson and Sam Vinson are the type of high-scoring, fearless playmakers who could give a team like Purdue troubles early on in the season. Yet, they'll still be facing quite the stiff challenge attempting to go into Mackey and come away with a shocking victory on the first weekend of the college basketball season.
November 11 vs. Yale
Another one in the friendly confines of Mackey Arena for the Boilermakers, they'll have to contend with a Yale team that shocked the country by upsetting Auburn in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Whether that momentum happens to carry over into the new season after so much personnel turnover this summer remains to be seen, but this could be an interesting one.
November 15 vs. Alabama
With all due respect to the first three of Purdue's non-conference opponents, their season really begins when they welcome Alabama to town on November 15. Both reigning Final Four teams, there's a good chance both will be ranked in the Top 10 come mid-November, with both looking to make an early impression. The guard matchups will be fun, but it's the battle in the paint I'm most looking forward to. Without Edey, do Trey Kaufman-Renn and the rest of the Boilermaker bigs have an answer for Grant Nelson?
November 19 at Marquette
Although Purdue and Marquette have met just eight times in their history, the two have become very familiar with each other as of late. They've met four times since the 2017-18 season, and the Boilermakers outlasted the Golden Eagles in a thriller during last year's Maui Invitational. This has the looks of another fun one that could go down-to-the-wire - even without Tyler Kolek, Marquette has more than enough offensive firepower to overtake Purdue, particularly at home.
November 23 vs. Marshall
It's back to Mackey for Purdue as they look to gain some momentum with a win here before they embark on the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego. It's hard to know what to expect from Marshall this upcoming winter, as head coach Cornelius Jackson has brought in a slew of transfers after a 13-20 2023-24 season, but how quickly they gel will determine if they have any hopes of competing with Purdue in this one.
December 21 vs. Auburn (Birmingham, AL)
Following the Rady Children's Invitational and the Indy Classic matchup with Texas A&M, the Boilermakers wrap up their non-conference slate with a pair of late December games. The first, against Auburn at a neutral site, should be a great opportunity for Matt Painter's team to see where they stand before jumping into the bulk of their Big Ten schedule. With Johni Broome back and J.P. Pegues now on the roster, Bruce Pearl has a team capable of winning the SEC, and they'll have a bit of a homecourt advantage playing in Birmingham. Purdue will benefit from having a week to prepare, but this will be a notable test. How will Painter and the methodical Purdue guards handle an Auburn team that will look to play at a breakneck pace?
December 29 vs. Toledo
With three SEC teams on the non-conference schedule, it's easy to overlook Toledo on the back-end. But, the Rockets are never an easy out, even if they are without their floor general, Tyler Cochran, who transferred out. Javan Simmons will have to step up for the Rockets, and it's the newcomers from fellow MAC schools, Buffalo transfer Isaiah Adams and Western Michigan's Seth Hubbard, who the team may look to for a spark on the road in this one.