ST. LOUIS (WISH) — No. 2 seed Purdue is gearing up for its 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, taking on No. 15 seed Queens.
Returning to the tournament is something the Boilermakers do not take for granted.
“This is my favorite time of year, so I’m just ready to get out there and get on that court,” Purdue sophomore guard Gicarri Harris said.
“It’s a dream,” Purdue senior center Oscar Cluff said. “I think it’s a lot of people’s dreams so to be able to do it, is unreal.”
Purdue is riding high into March madness after running the table in the big ten tournament last week. The 2-seed Boilers have plenty of experience in the big dance… but have also felt the pain of being upset by a high seed. That’s exactly why they’re not overlooking 15-seed Queens.
“For a lot of people, it’s probably always in the back of their mind,” Purdue senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn said. “If that’s what it takes to get you to respect a high seed team, it is what it is. But I think even us watching the film, we have got a lot of respect for Queens.”
“They’re really good offensively, so we’ve got to be great like we have been these past four games and I think defensively just be locked in and ready to go,” Purdue senior guard Braden Smith said.
“It’s hard work for everybody no matter what your seed is to get in this position, but this is what it’s about,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. “We’re always thinking about ways to improve for this time and obviously we’ve had success but we’ve also had failure… Got a lot of respect for Queens and what they have been able to do. It is going to be a tough game for us.”
Queens makes its NCAA Tournament debut in their first year eligible to play in March Madness. In fact, Queens is the smallest school to ever punch their ticket to the Big Dance – with an enrollment at just 1,500 students. They might be small but they’re more than determined to make their mark on March.
“This is a once in a lifetime experience,” Queens senior guard Nasir Mann said. “I feel like our team is very good at separating when we need to be serious and when we can enjoy the moment… At the end of the day we do have to take care of business”
“Our guys got to be unbelievably locked in to climb that mountain,” Queens head coach Grant Leonard said. “I know when you have an All-American point guard who’s a senior, that is not an easy feat.”
Two offensive teams ready to battle it out. Exactly how March should be. Tipoff for the matchup is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. on Friday.