Purdue Boilermakers<\/a> tip off their NCAA Tournament run with a high-stakes first-round matchup against Queens University at the Enterprise Center.<\/p>\nThe No. 2-seeded Boilermakers enter the game as one of the tournament\u2019s top contenders, bringing a 27\u20138 record and fresh momentum after winning the Big Ten Tournament.<\/p>\n
Purdue faces No. 15 seed Queens in a classic David-versus-Goliath showdown, with tipoff scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT in St. Louis.<\/p>\n
The Boilermakers are heavy favorites, but history has shown that first-round games can be unpredictable \u2014 something head coach Matt Painter and his veteran roster are taking seriously.<\/p>\n
Queens, making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, arrives with confidence after a strong run through the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.<\/p>\n
Purdue\u2019s biggest strength may be its experience. The team features a senior-heavy lineup and has its sights set on a deep tournament run \u2014 potentially even a Final Four appearance.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Queens embraces the underdog role, leaning on a fast-paced offense and multiple double-digit scorers to try to pull off a stunning upset.<\/p>\n
One key storyline to watch is Purdue star guard Braden Smith, who is on the verge of breaking the NCAA\u2019s all-time assists record \u2014 a milestone that could add extra significance to tonight\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
The game is part of the NCAA Tournament\u2019s return to St. Louis, with the Enterprise Center hosting first- and second-round matchups for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n
The winner of tonight\u2019s game will advance to Sunday\u2019s second round, facing either Miami (FL) or Missouri as the path to the Sweet 16 begins to take shape.<\/p>\n
Purdue alum and Show Me St. Louis’s Mary Caltrider, welcomed on the Purdue Cheer team and friends to kick off the festivities!\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the latest on Purdue Basketball, follow them on Instagram: @BoilerBall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Want more local lifestyle news delivered straight to your inbox?\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for the Show Me newsletter.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Purdue’s veteran-heavy Boilermakers face a spirited Queens in a high-stakes NCAA Tournament opener in St. Louis, aiming for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-169586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}