FORWARD MARCH
Purdue back as top seed, looking to avoid another upset
Purdue coach Matt Painter, reigning AP player of the year Zach Edey and the rest of the Boilermakers have had to carry with them all season the stink of becoming the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
They can put that loss to Fairleigh Dickinson behind them when they play Montana State or Grambling State.
The Boilermakers once again earned a No. 1 seed on Sunday, one day after losing to Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, and will begin their trek toward their first Final Four appearance since 1980 in nearby Indianapolis facing the winner of the First Four game between the Big Sky champs and the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
“I don’t think we’re really worried about what happened last year,” the Boilermakers’ Braden Smith said. “We’re focused on now. That’s in the past. I’ve said it multiple times, they beat us that day, and they played better than us, and I don’t think it will happen again. We’re all super excited and ready for this upcoming week.”
If the Boilermakers get through their opening game, the path forward is pockmarked with high-profile programs.
They could face fourth-seeded Kansas or No. 5 seed Gonzaga, two teams accustomed to much better seeds this time of year, and a trip to the Final Four could involve beating second-seeded Tennessee or No. 3 seed Creighton.
The defending champion UConn Huskies earned the top overall seed, while Houston and North Carolina are the other No. 1s.
Of the top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. The others lost in their conference tournaments, yet those were hardly the only surprises over the final weekend of hoops before the main event hits centre stage.
Unexpected titles placed Oregon, North Carolina State and even Duquesne, none of whom were projected to make the tournament, into the field of 68 via the automatic bid that goes to conference champions. The teams they beat gobbled up a handful of the 34 at-large bids, thus shrinking the number of spots available to teams on the so-called bubble.
“It was one of the most difficult that I’ve been involved in,” Charles McClelland, the chairman of the selection committee, said.