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Purdue University’s Mackey Arena has the reputation of being one of the loudest college basketball venues in the country. The arena’s decibel meter hit a record 124.3 just two seasons ago.(Advance\/SILIve.com | Annie De Biase Jr.)<\/p>\nWEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA \u2014 It was still early June when Liam Murphy got to put up some shots for the first time inside legendary Mackey Arena on the campus of Purdue University.<\/p>\n
To the diehard college basketball fan, just the mention of Mackey makes you think \u2018loud.\u2019 There\u2019s a reason why the famous venue includes a decibel meter that never sleeps.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember, the first couple of days I was out here, I drove (to Mackey) with my mom (Eileen) and started shooting while it was dead silent,\u2019’ explained the West Brighton resident, who is using his final year of eligibility to play for the Big Ten powerhouse Boilermakers. <\/p>\n
\u201dWhen there\u2019s nobody in here and it\u2019s dead quiet, that number keeps moving every time you dribble the ball. You\u2019ll see it bounce,\u2019’ laughed the 6-foot-7 Murphy. \u201cIt just keeps fluctuating. I know there\u2019s some kind of record for loudest decibels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can get really loud.\u2019’<\/p>\n
Purdue University’s Mackey Arena has the reputation of being one of the loudest college basketball venues in the country. The arena’s decibel meter hit a record 124.3 just two seasons ago.(Advance\/SILIve.com | Annie De Biase Jr.)<\/p>\n
A few weeks earlier, when he made his one and only visit to Purdue before committing, he witnessed a contingent of different individuals playing \u2018noon ball.\u2019’<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came up on top (of the arena) first and we just met athletic director (Mike Bobinski) and they were playing noon ball,\u2019’ said Murphy. \u201dIt\u2019s just faculty administration, some ex-players, ex-coaches, some football guys, admissions guys and whoever who came in here at 12 o\u2019clock to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of these guys are 50-60-years-old and getting up and down the court playing basketball,\u2019’ the former St. Peter\u2019s star added. \u201dIt\u2019s definitely just a special place and I haven\u2019t even played on it in front of a packed crowd. I just know it.\u2019’<\/p>\n
Mackey, which opened in 1967, has a seating capacity of 14,876, according to Purdue associate strategic communications director Chris Forman. He added approximately 4,800 students, the majority of which make up the \u2018Paint Crew,\u2019 attend home games and the decibel meter record is 124.3 from two seasons ago when soon-to-be senior Fletcher Loyer buried a three-pointer against Northwestern.<\/p>\n
\u201dIt\u2019s definitely just a special place and I haven\u2019t even played on it in front of a packed crowd. I just know it.\u2019’<\/p>\n
Liam Murphy on playing at Mackey Arena<\/p>\n
Mackey has sold out in 89 consecutive games and with a strong core of returning players \u2014 most notably Braden Smith, Trey Faulkner-Renn and Loyer, there\u2019s no reason to believe that streak will end anytime soon. <\/p>\n
Purdue\u2019s non-league schedule has been released and, according to its website, the Boilermakers open the season at home against Evansville on Nov. 4.<\/p>\n
Murphy is currently taking part in summer workouts with the Boilermakers\u2019 coaching staff. The team will get an approximate 10-day break in August before they start classes later that month. <\/p>\n
Naturally, there\u2019ll still be workouts being conducted for the first month-and-half of the fall semester before official practices commence in mid-October.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3STNDKBNCJFNVOSHQMLU6EK3V4.JPG\")
West Brighton resident Liam Murphy is looking forward to putting up a host of shots while playing for Purdue University during the 2025-26 campaign. (Advance\/SILive.com | Annie De Biase)(Advance\/SILive.com | Annie De Biase)<\/p>\n
So the bottom line is, it\u2019s still a long way off before Nov. 4. If Purdue\u2019s current schedule remains the same, they\u2019ll play eight non-league games at home before it begins its Big Ten schedule.<\/p>\n
Murphy doesn\u2019t want time to go by too quickly, but he\u2019d be lying if he said he wasn\u2019t looking forward to getting his feet wet on Mackey\u2019s hardwood floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thought of it is just super exciting,\u2019’ explained Murphy. \u201dIn today\u2019s technology world, I can be in here shooting, 8 to 10 at night, get a good sweat in by myself envisioning it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I can go home and watch when they had Alabama here, teams like Michigan St., and then it really makes it real,\u2019’ he acknowledged. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u2019’ he added. \u201dI still understand it won\u2019t be real until I run out of that tunnel and I\u2019ve had that conversation with some of the guys who tell me when I run out of there for the first time, it should be pretty special.”<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had to bet on it, I\u2019d say probably a nice three and hopefully the first one I put up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam Murphy on envisioning how he scores his first Purdue points<\/p>\n
When asked how he envisioned his first Purdue bucket, he laughed before answering.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter too much \u2014 I just want to hit the first one I put up, whether it be mid-range, three-pointer, half-court shot, dunk on somebody. Whatever,\u2019’ he said, still chuckling. \u201cBut if I had to bet on it, I\u2019d say probably a nice three and hopefully the first one I put up.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd no rim.\u2019’<\/p>\n
![\"Purdue's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ISCBWS4WWVCOZKQBQFZPQUR7FI.JPG\")
Approximately 4.800 Purdue students get tickets to a home game at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers have sold out in 89 consecutive games entering next season.(Advance\/SILive.com | Annie De Biase Jr.)<\/p>\n
Murphy said finding motivation won\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked to my folks, especially my dad (Joe), I think finding motivation is big, especially since I\u2019ve been at it now for about five or six years in college\u201a\u2019\u2019 said Murphy. \u201dAfter having injury after injury, some guys stop and some guys want to keep going.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s easy for me to work out in here and find motivation,\u2019’ he added. \u201dIf you\u2019re in (Mackey) and you\u2019re sweating and dying, whether it be early morning or late-night workout, you just have to look up (at the banners) and get some motivation. It\u2019s actually pretty easy for me.\u2019’<\/p>\n
Other recent stories on Purdue\u2019s Liam Murphy <\/p>\n
Charlie\u2019s Take: Here\u2019s why trip to see Purdue\u2019s Liam Murphy opened eyes in numerous ways<\/a><\/p>\n Murph\u2019s journey to Purdue included uncanny family influence<\/a><\/p>\n S.I. hoops star has chance to chase national title with Purdue<\/a><\/p>\n Liam Murphy is Purdue bound and here\u2019s why SI should be excited<\/a><\/p>\n Ex-Jaques winner Liam Murphy is going to be a Boilermaker<\/a><\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA \u2014 It was still early June when Liam Murphy got to put up some shots…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,398,400,401,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-2092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}