NKU men’s basketball to play at national runner-up Purdue

Northern Kentucky University Thursday confirmed earlier news reports that the men’s basketball team will play on the road early in the 2024-25 season at 2024 national runner-up Purdue.

The game will be Friday, November 8 in Mackey Arena. It will be exactly 11 years since Purdue avoided an upset by the Norse at Mackey Arena in a 77-76 win over NKU on Nov. 8, 2013. NKU had two last-second field-goal attempts for the win.

That is the only previous head-to-head meeting between the two schools.

Purdue, a No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA tournament, lost 75-60 to the UConn Huskies in the national championship game in April. The Boilermakers were 34-5 overall, winning the Big Ten regular-season title and finishing No. 2 in two national polls.

Star center Zach Edey is projected by many as a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Purdue’s head coach is Matt Painter, who has been at the helm since 2005 and is one of the winningest coaches in both Purdue and Big Ten history. His teams have advanced to seven Sweet 16’s and 15 NCAA Tournaments overall during his time in West Lafayette.

The Purdue game could be the season opener. Programs can begin playing regular-season games on November 4.

Northern Kentucky is looking to return to the top of the Horizon League and earn the program’s fifth bid to the NCAA Tournament in the past eight years.

The Norse return a strong core that includes Sam Vinson, Trey Robinson, LJ Wells, Keeyan Itejere, Randall Pettus II and Hubertas Pivorius, among others.

The Norse also have talent coming in through the transfer portal and the high-school ranks. Vinson, a Highlands graduate and one of NKU’s most versatile players, missed most of last season due to a knee injury suffered in December.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKU men’s basketball to play next season at national runner-up Purdue