Purdue Secures Slice of Big Ten Basketball Glory in 2023-24 Season
The Purdue University men’s basketball team claimed participation in the 2023-24 Big Ten Conference Championship with a thrilling 80-74 victory over West Lafayette on Saturday night at the Mackey Arena in Michigan. With this win, the Boilermakers’ conference play score improved to 15-3, establishing a two-game lead over Illinois, with two games left.
This marks Purdue’s 26th Big Ten title overall, which is more than any other program in conference history except Indiana, who has won it four times. This is the program’s first repeat after winning the championship consecutively in 1994, 1995, and 1996.
Trailing 26-19 with 8:44 left in the first half, Purdue rallied to take an eight-point lead with a 19-4 run, leading 38-35 at halftime. The Boilermakers extended their lead to 54-39 with a 14-2 run early in the second half. Despite a late surge from Michigan State, Purdue maintained a seven-point advantage with just under nine minutes left. The game concluded with Purdue securing a hard-fought victory.
Purdue will travel to face Illinois on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., a match-up televised on Peacock. The Boilermakers will conclude their regular season with a trip to Wisconsin (Fox at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday), while Illinois will visit Iowa at 7 p.m. (FS1) to wrap up their regular season.
The 2024 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held at the Target Center in Minneapolis from March 13-17. All 14 Big Ten programs will compete in this year’s tournament, with the winner earning automatic qualification for the NCAA Tournament.
