First Look: Purdue's next opponent: Houston, and potential Elite Eight matchups

Purdue advanced to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the past eight NCAA Tournaments following a 75-63 win over High Point and a 76-62 win over McNeese State in the opening weekend. After traveling out to Providence for the first two rounds, Purdue gets a much shorter commute to the second weekend.

Purdue will play in a familiar city, Indianapolis, but in a less familiar location. In preparation for next year’s Final Four, the Midwest Regional will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium. Purdue went 1-2 in the Circle City this season, defeating USC and falling to Texas A&M and Michigan at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Houston Cougars, the Midwest Region’s top seed, await Purdue. Houston hung on late to defeat Gonzaga and advance to this point. We take a first look at the squad Purdue will face on Friday night.

HOUSTON COUGARS

Record: 31-4, (19-1 Big 12); Big 12 regular season and tournament champions. Houston now holds the nation’s longest winning streak at 14 games. The Cougars dominate on the defensive end, leading the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency entering the Sweet 16. LJ Cryer, a Baylor transfer, leads a veteran squad with 15 points per game. Four Cougars average in double figures, as Houston shoots north of 39% from three-point range. It takes care of the basketball, too, turning it over on less than 15% of its possessions. After beginning the season 4-3, Houston has lost just once since the month of November.
Roster | Stats | Results
NCAA appearances: 26
Coach: Kelvin Sampson; 10th season at Houston, 34th overall. Purdue last faced Sampson on February 19, 2008, when he coached Indiana. The Hoosiers downed Purdue 77-69 in Bloomington just three days before he resigned due to NCAA violations. Sampson went 2-1 against Matt Painter while at Indiana. During his time at Oklahoma, Sampson squared off with Purdue five times, taking three of them. All of those matchups came against former Purdue coach Gene Keady.
Location: Houston, Texas
Series: Purdue leads the all-time series vs. the Cougars 2-1. Houston won the first-ever matchup in 1981, while Purdue came away victorious in 1993 and 1998. The game in 1993 took place in Indianapolis.
Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium: The 2021 Big Ten Tournament took place at Lucas Oil Stadium. Purdue, the four seed, fell in 87-78 in overtime to fifth-seeded Ohio State. The stadium had the same configuration for that game as it will on Friday, where just half the stadium is used. Purdue also took on North Texas in the first round of the ensuing NCAA Tournament inside Lucas Oil, another overtime loss for the Boilermakers.
Odds: Houston -7.5
Tickets: Seatgeek

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

Record: 29-7 (12-6 SEC); Fourth place finish in the SEC regular season. Lost in SEC Tournament championship game to Florida. Played the 11th-toughest strength of schedule in America per KenPom, including non-conference wins over NCAA Tournament teams Louisville, Montana, Baylor and Illinois. Tennessee began the season 14-0, reaching the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll.
Roster | Stats | Results
NCAA appearances: 27
Coach: Rick Barnes; 10th season at Tennessee, 38th overall. Barnes holds a 835-422 career record, including a 231-108 record at Tennessee. He holds a 32-28 record in the NCAA Tournament and made the Final Four in 2003 while coaching Texas.
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee.
Series: Purdue leads the all-time series vs. the Volunteers 5-2, which dates back to 1980. Since Barnes arrived in Knoxville, he’s squared off with Purdue and Matt Painter four times, with the Boilermakers taking three. Tennessee downed Purdue at the Battle 4 Atlantis in November 2017, while Purdue defeated the Volunteers in the epic double-overtime Sweet 16 matchup in 2019. Purdue swept Tennessee a season ago, taking a foul-riddled contest at the Maui Invitational before pulling away late in the Elite Eight in an unforgettable back-and-forth affair between Zach Edey and Dalton Knecht.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Record: 24-11 (10-8 SEC); Tied for a sixth place finish in the SEC regular season. Lost in SEC Tournament quarterfinals to Alabama. Played the third-toughest strength of schedule in America per KenPom, including non-conference wins over Duke and Gonzaga. Kentucky plays at one of the fastest temps in the country and operates very efficiently on offense. But, similar to Purdue, the defensive end of the floor brings some inconsistencies. Kentucky does not force turnovers well, and opponents get a lot of offensive rebounds. On offense, the Wildcats shoot well from both two and three-point range.
Roster | Stats | Results
NCAA appearances: 63
Coach: Mark Pope; First year at Kentucky, 10th year overall. Pope, who was a captain on Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, returned home after four years at Utah Valley and five at BYU. He took BYU to the NCAA Tournament twice, but he was unable to advance until this season. A hypothetical matchup with Purdue would become Pope’s first time coaching against the Boilermakers and Painter.
Location: Lexington, Kentucky.
Series: Kentucky holds a 6-2 advantage in the series against Purdue, but the two have not squared off in the 21st century. The two last played in the late 1990s, as Kentucky swept a pair of games against Purdue in 1996 and 1997 in Chicago. Purdue last defeated the Wildcats in 1984, a 10-point win beneath the dome of Mackey Arena. Indirectly, Purdue and UK have a NCAA Tournament history, as the Boilermakers advanced to the Final Four in 1980 winning the Mideast Regional that was played at Lexington’s Rupp Arena. Purdue beat Indiana and Duke to advance missing a date with the Wildcats due to the Blue Devils’ upset of the host school in the last college game for former Boilermaker Kyle Macy who had transferred to UK three years earlier.