A Look Back: Purdue's NCAA past as a No. 4 Seed

Purdue is making its 36th NCAA appearance and just its fourth as a No. 4 seed. And if it follows a pattern in the three previous games, it won’t be a walk in the park for the Boilermakers on Thursday in Providence.

More: Matt Painter, Branden Smith and more from Wednesday’s press conference in Providence

Since seeding began in 1980, the Boilermakers have been seeded most as a No. 3-seed six times, with the second highest occurrence as a No. 1 and No. 6 seed (five times). The Boilermakers have also been a No. 9 seed four times during its Big Dance history.

According to an article posted by The Sporting News, in the 40 years since the NCAA expanded the Big Dance to 64 teams (it did so in 1985), a 13 seed has won at least one game in 27 different tournaments. In four years, multiple 13 seeds have won games: 1987 (Xavier and Missouri State), 2001 (Indiana State and Kent State), 2008 (Siena and San Diego) and 2018 (Buffalo and Marshall).

So what does it all mean for Purdue? Not much. It has been well-documented that High Point is a threat. That goes without saying, considering the Panthers have a 29-5 record and are on a 14-game heater. Purdue is 4-3 all-time as a No. 4 seed, and no one on the Boilermakers’ current roster has entered March Madness as a No. 4 seed. But here is a look back at the Boilermakers’ three appearances–none of which have been a walk in the park for the higher-seeded team.

2010: No. 4 Purdue 72, No. 13 Siena 64 (South Region–Spokane)

It was recently deposed Iowa coach Fran McCaffery‘s last game as the Siena coach, and the Saints put up a fight, leading Purdue by three at halftime before JaJuan Johnson and Co. got things rolling for the Boilermakers. Johnson, a senior, had 23 points and 15 boards and helped the Boilermakers, who were still struggling after Robbie Hummel’s season-ending knee injury three weeks earlier that devastated a squad that looked more than capable of making it to the Final Four. E’Twaun Moore (12), Keaton Grant (11) and Chris Kramer (10) all reached double figures and the Boilermakers built a comfortable lead in the second half, but the Saints cut it to a one possession game with 1:11 left.

Purdue managed to post a dramatic win over Texas A&M to advance to the Sweet 16 thanks in part to a Kramer blow-by layup and last-second defense, but No. 1-seed and eventual national champ Duke was too much for the Boilermakers, rolling to a 70-57 win in Houston.

2017: No. 4 Purdue 80, Vermont 70 (Midwest Region–Milwaukee)

Purdue trailed for most of the first half and never could blow out the Catamounts despite winning somewhat comfortably in the game’s final minutes, thanks in part to a three-pointer by P.J. Thompson that gave the Boilermakers an 11-point lead with about two minutes left. All-American Caleb Swanigan had 16 points and 14 boards (his 27th double-double of the year), but it was Vincent Edwards’ 21 points and a couple of big shots down the stretch that helped carry the Boilermakers. It was Purdue’s first win in the NCAA Tournament in five years.

The Boilermakers advanced to the Sweet 16 with a grinder victory over Iowa State before getting blown out by No. 1 seed Kansas 98-66 in Kansas City.

2021: No. 13 North Texas 78, No. 4 Purdue 69 (South Region–Indy)

We would like to forget many things about Covid, and for Purdue fans, this is one of them. An overtime loss to the Mean Green in a game played in front of a sparse but Purdue partisan crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium was regrettable and started a three-year streak of losing to double-digit seeds. The Boilermakers trailed for the entire game but managed to get it to overtime despite shooting poorly in the game (only 36 percent). Freshman Jaden Ivey led all scorers with 26 points yet managed just 10-of-24 from the field. Trevion Williams added 13 rebounds, including nine offensive boards, but the most memorable image of Williams was then assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry trying to console the senior as he left the court for the final time. The Boilermakers were sunk, in part, by the play of Javion Hamlet, a senior guard who had 24 points and 12 rebounds.