Purdue Basketball Preseason Primer
9/27/2021 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's basketball team will open its 124th season of collegiate basketball with its first official practice on Tuesday, Sept. 28. The team will participate in 30 practices leading up to the season opener against Bellarmine on Nov. 9, in Mackey Arena.
Purdue returns all five starters and 13 letterwinners from last year's team that posted an 18-10 overall record, a 13-6 Big Ten record and received a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
DATES TO KNOW
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
WHAT LEFT AND WHAT CAME BACK
• With all five starters back and 135 of a possible 140 starts returning from a year ago, Purdue returns almost all of its production from last year.
IT STAYS THE SAME
• Purdue will return all five starters from last season and over 90.0 percent of minutes played. It marks the first time since the 2009-10 season that all five starters return. That team went 29-6 and reached as high as No. 3 in the national polls in February.
• Purdue returns 90.9 minutes played, the second most of any power-conference team in America. Purdue returns the most minutes of any power-conference team that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
POLL POSITION
• Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Purdue has been ranked in 75 of 115 of the Associated Press Top 25 polls. The total is the 10th most in the country.
• Purdue has been ranked in one poll in every season for six consecutive years, the second-longest streak in school history (eight; 1968-75).
IN THE RANKINGS
HALF A DOZEN... STRAIGHT
• Purdue has earned six straight NCAA Tournament berths. The streak is the second-longest among Big Ten teams (Michigan State - 23; Purdue - 6) and the seventh longest nationally.
HOME SWEET HOME
• Purdue boasts one of the best homecourt advantages in not only the Big Ten, but nationally as well.
Purdue returns all five starters and 13 letterwinners from last year's team that posted an 18-10 overall record, a 13-6 Big Ten record and received a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
DATES TO KNOW
- Sept. 28 – First official practice
- Oct. 8 – Big Ten Media Day (Indianapolis / Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
- Oct. 12 – Single-game tickets on sale, beginning with higher levels of John Purdue Club
- Oct. 15 – Single-game tickets on sale to the general public
- Oct. 16 – Fan Day (details coming soon)
- Nov. 4 – Exhibition game vs. UIndy (Mackey Arena)
- Nov. 9 – Season opener vs. Bellarmine (Mackey Arena)
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
- Website: PurdueSports.com
- Twitter: @BoilerBall / @PurdueMBBStats
- Instagram: BoilerBall
- Facebook: facebook.com/BoilerBall
- YouTube: BoilerBall
WHAT LEFT AND WHAT CAME BACK
• With all five starters back and 135 of a possible 140 starts returning from a year ago, Purdue returns almost all of its production from last year.
| Category | What Returns | What Left | Pct. Returning |
| Games Started | 135 | 5 | .964 |
| Minutes | 5,137 | 513 | .909 |
| Points | 1,881 | 108 | .946 |
| Rebounds | 930 | 124 | .882 |
| Assists | 370 | 29 | .927 |
| Turnovers | 324 | 26 | .926 |
| Blocked Shots | 85 | 13 | .867 |
| Steals | 125 | 17 | .880 |
IT STAYS THE SAME
• Purdue will return all five starters from last season and over 90.0 percent of minutes played. It marks the first time since the 2009-10 season that all five starters return. That team went 29-6 and reached as high as No. 3 in the national polls in February.
• Purdue returns 90.9 minutes played, the second most of any power-conference team in America. Purdue returns the most minutes of any power-conference team that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
| Pct. Returning | Team | 2020-21 Record |
| 94.1 | Butler | 10-15 |
| 90.9 | Purdue | 18-10 |
| 81.1 | Xavier | 13-8 |
| 79.7 | Notre Dame | 11-15 |
| 79.5 | UCLA | 22-10 |
| 78.9 | Ohio State | 21-10 |
| 78.6 | Connecticut | 15-8 |
| 77.7 | Washington State | 14-13 |
| 75.1 | Villanova | 18-7 |
| 74.1 | Virginia Tech | 15-7 |
POLL POSITION
• Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Purdue has been ranked in 75 of 115 of the Associated Press Top 25 polls. The total is the 10th most in the country.
• Purdue has been ranked in one poll in every season for six consecutive years, the second-longest streak in school history (eight; 1968-75).
| No. of Weeks | Team | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 114 | Kansas | 5 |
| 109 | Villanova | 40 |
| 105 | Virginia | 20 |
| 104 | Duke | --- |
| 102 | Gonzaga | 95 |
| 96 | Kentucky | --- |
| 89 | North Carolina | --- |
| 87 | Michigan State | --- |
| 86 | West Virginia | 19 |
| 75 | Purdue | 3 |
IN THE RANKINGS
• Check out where Purdue ranks in some other preseason polls.
3rd -- The Athletic
3rd -- The Athletic
5th -- Lindy's
6th -- Stadium
6th -- Three-Man Weave
6th -- ESPN
6th -- Busting Brackets
9th -- Blue Ribbon Yearbook
11th -- CBS Sports
11th -- Athlon
POWER IN POWER CONFERENCES
• Purdue boasts the fifth-best conference record among all power-conference teams since the start of the 2016-17 season.
6th -- Stadium
6th -- Three-Man Weave
6th -- ESPN
6th -- Busting Brackets
9th -- Blue Ribbon Yearbook
11th -- CBS Sports
11th -- Athlon
POWER IN POWER CONFERENCES
• Purdue boasts the fifth-best conference record among all power-conference teams since the start of the 2016-17 season.
| Winning Pct. | Record | Team |
| .791 | 72-19 | Virginia |
| .778 | 70-20 | Kansas |
| .759 | 66-21 | Villanova |
| .719 | 64-25 | Kentucky |
| .705 | 67-28 | Purdue |
| .700 | 63-27 | Oregon |
| .685 | 61-28 | Florida State |
| .677 | 65-31 | Michigan State |
HALF A DOZEN... STRAIGHT
• Purdue has earned six straight NCAA Tournament berths. The streak is the second-longest among Big Ten teams (Michigan State - 23; Purdue - 6) and the seventh longest nationally.
| No. | Team | Last |
| 31 | Kansas | 1989 |
| 23 | Michigan State | 1997 |
| 22 | Gonzaga | 1998 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 2010 |
| 8 | Villanova | 2012 |
| 7 | Virginia | 2013 |
| 6 | Purdue | 2014 |
HOME SWEET HOME
• Purdue boasts one of the best homecourt advantages in not only the Big Ten, but nationally as well.
| Team | 2020-21 Record | Since 2015-16 | Pct. |
| Gonzaga | 12-0 | 87-6 | .935 |
| Kansas | 13-1 | 87-6 | .935 |
| Florida State | 12-1 | 85-8 | .914 |
| Oregon | 11-2 | 92-9 | .911 |
| Villanova | 9-0 | 75-8 | .904 |
| Houston | 15-0 | 90-10 | .900 |
| Purdue | 11-1 | 85-10 | .895 |
| Virginia | 10-1 | 82-10 | .892 |
