GAMEDAY INFORMATION — NCAA SWEET 16 [2 seed] Purdue (29-8) vs. [11 seed] Texas (21-14) Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 7:10 p.m. ET, 4:10 p.m. PT San Jose, California | SAP Center (19,000) TELEVISION: CBS (Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce) RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell) PURDUE’S NUMBERS • Overall: 29-8 | Big Ten: 13-7 • Home: 12-5 | Away: 8-3 | Neutral: 9-0 • NCAA NET: 9th | KenPom: 8th • Off. Eff.: 1st | Def. Eff.: 33rh THE SCENE SETTER • The second-seeded Purdue Boilermakers aim for their third Elite Eight in the last seven years when it faces a surging Texas squad in a West Region Sweet 16 match-up in San Jose, California, on Thursday. The Boilermakers are making their third straight Sweet 16 appearance and seventh in the last nine tournaments. Prior to 2019, it had been since 2000 that the Boilermakers made the Elite Eight. • A win over the Longhorns would advance Purdue to Saturday’s Elite Eight against the winner of Arizona and Arkansas. THE MATCHUP • Purdue and Texas will meet for the seventh time in series history with the Longhorns owning a 4-2 advantage. It will mark the first meeting since a 81-71 Purdue victory in the 2022 NCAA Tournament second round. • The teams have faced each other four times in the NCAA Tournament, splitting the four meetings. Texas won in 1990 (2nd rd.) and 2003 (2nd rd.), while Purdue won in 1999 (1st rd.) and 2022 (2nd rd.). • The four meetings against Texas are the most in the NCAA Tournament against a single opponent for the Boilermakers. • Matt Painter is 1-2 against Texas, with the lone win being the 2022 NCAA Tournament victory. Texas topped Purdue 70-66 in Mackey Arena in Nov. 2019, and 72-68 in Austin in Dec. 2018, despite 40 points from Carsen Edwards. • Purdue will be playing its first NCAA Tournament game in California. Purdue is 9-4 all-time in the West Region. BOILERMAKER QUICK HITTERS • Coming off a pair of double-digit wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Purdue looks to keep it going when it faces 11th-seeded Texas in the West Region Sweet 16. • Matt Painter and Duke’s Jon Scheyer are the only coaches remaining in the NCAA Tournament coaching at their alma maters. • A win over Texas would give Purdue its 30th win of the season for just the third time in school history (2017-18 – 30; 2023-24 – 34). • Purdue’s nine NCAA Tournament victories since the start of the 2023-24 season are tied for the most in the country (Alabama, Connecticut, Duke, Houston). • Purdue and Houston are the only programs in America to have recorded at least 29 wins in four of the last five seasons (Houston – 5 seasons; Purdue – 4 seasons). • Purdue has played the most games in the country against teams that reached the Sweet 16, posting a 6-4 record (Alabama, Iowa State, Iowa 2x, Illinois, Michigan 2x, Michigan State, Nebraska 2x). • Purdue leads the NCAA Tournament field (all teams) in 3-point field goal percentage during the tournament, making 22-of-38 (.579) from deep. Michigan is next at 46.8 percent. • During Purdue’s six-game winning streak, the Boilermakers are shooting 51.8 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from 3-point range and 78.3 percent from the free throw line. Purdue, Arkansas and Michigan State are the only teams to shoot 50-40-75 since March 1. • Purdue is 17-3 away from Mackey Arena this season, including 9-0 in neutral-site games. • In the win over Miami, Fla., Purdue won an NCAA Tournament game when trailing at halftime for the first time since 2010 (2nd round vs. Texas A&M). Purdue outscored the Hurricanes 41-29 in the second half. COMPLETE GAME NOTES: https://purduesports.com/documents/856c6917-4273-43c9-8cf4-f693039741bb.pdf About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts Post navigation COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS
