Purdue Basketball Starts Year Ranked No. 14 in AP Preseason Poll
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s basketball team will start the season ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the organization released today.
It marks the second straight season and 11th time in Matt Painter’s 20 seasons that the Boilermakers have been ranked in the AP preseason poll. By contrast, Purdue has been ranked in the final AP poll in 12 of the previous 19 seasons under Painter.
Purdue is the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the preseason poll, followed by No. 17 Indiana, No. 22 UCLA and No. 25 Rutgers. Seven other teams received votes (Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maryland).
Among non-conference opponents, Alabama is ranked No. 2 and will visit Mackey Arena on Nov. 15. No. 18 Marquette (Nov. 19), No. 13 Texas A&M (Dec. 14) and No. 11 Auburn (Dec. 21) are also ranked in the top 25, while the Boilermakers could face No. 24 Ole Miss in San Diego.
The No. 14 ranking marks the 39th straight week that Purdue has been ranked in the top 25, and the first week since Nov. 20, 2022, that Purdue has been ranked outside the Top 5. The 39 straight weeks being ranked is the sixth-longest active streak in America. The Boilermakers have been ranked in the top 15 in 59 of the last 62 AP Top 25 polls.
Purdue’s No. 14 ranking is the fourth-highest preseason ranking of the Painter era (No. 3 in 2023-24; No. 7 in 2021-22; No. 7 in 2009-10; No. 11 in 2008-09).
The Boilermakers will open the regular season on Nov. 4, when it hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 6 p.m. ET in Mackey Arena. Tickets for the season are sold out.