The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team has added a non-conference game in West Lafayette, Indiana against Purdue on November 8, the school released on Thursday.
The Norse will take on the national runner-up inside Mackey Arena.
Purdue finished 34-5 in 2023-24, winning the regular season Big Ten title and advanced all the way to the national championship before a loss to two-time reigning champ UConn. The Boilermakers finished the year ranked second in both the AP and Coaches Poll Top 25. Purdue loses National Player of the Year Zach Edey, who’s projected to go in the first round in this month’s NBA Draft. They’re expected to return three starters in Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufmann-Renn and have four of their seven top rotational players back.
This will be the second meeting all-time between the two, Purdue escaping at home with a 77-76 victory in 2013.
NKU will be in the conversation once again as one of the top teams in the Horizon League, coming off a 18-15 season in 2023-24 and returning six of their top eight rotational players while they’ll get Sam Vinson and Hubertas Pivorius back from injury. They also added some pieces in the transfer portal and high school, which includes Paulius Rapolis, a 7-foot, 3-star prospect, the No. 20-rated prep player in Florida and the No. 26-rated center in the nation.
The date with Purdue is one of three non-conference games that have been reportedly scheduled. Unofficially, they’ll also face University of Cincinnati on November 13 at Truist Arena and play at Akron on December 7.
