For Purdue, things are different in Seattle 57 years later
Yes, things were much different the last time Purdue played at the University of Washington in hoops. A lot different.
Not only did Purdue wear the two-tone basketball uniforms (that are no longer legal) when they faced Washington at the end of the first week of December, 1967, but some other things were a bit different than you would see them today.
Purdue-UDubb on back-to-back nights
For the only time in the modern era, Purdue played an opponent on its home court on consecutive nights. Athletic director Red Mackey wanted to make the most out of his trip out West, so the Boilermakers and Huskies laced it up on Friday, Dec. 8, 1967, and Saturday, Dec. 9, 1967. It wasn’t uncommon then for Washington to schedule that way to get schools to visit, as the week before, the Miami Hurricanes played back-to-back contents in the same facility the Huskies use today.
The Boilermakers went from unranked to the top-10 despite losing its first game
You read that right. Coach George King’s third Boilermaker squad was unranked when it faced one of college basketball’s great dynasties UCLA to dedicate Purdue’s $7 million arena on Dec. 2, 1967. The Boilermakers took the defending national champion Bruins to the wire before losing 73-71 on a 25-foot buzzer-beater by Bill Sweek. So much respect was given to the Boilermakers that they went from being unranked to being ranked No. 7 by the Associated Press the following week.
Boilermakers split in Seattle
Coach George King was quoted a few days before making the trip out west that he was worried about the difference in officiating between the Midwest and Pacific Coast. According to King, Western officials liked to call charging and were more prone to call traveling. But that wasn’t the problem for Purdue as hot-shooting Washington broke the game open from midway in the first half to an easy 98-87 win, leading by as much as 22.
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Purdue, a year away from a Final Four appearance, despite being a preseason Big Ten favorite, never was ranked again in 1967-68.
The Boilermakers did respond well 24 hours later as sophomore Rick Mount scored 30 and back court mate Billy Keller had 26 en route to a 84-77 win.
Former Indiana Pacers’ coach George Irvine was on the Huskies team, which ended up struggling to a 12-14 record. Purdue finished the season with a 15-9 mark and finished third in the Big Ten behind eventual co-champs Iowa and Ohio State. In those days, only one Big Ten team played in the 24-team NCAA Tournament, and the Buckeyes were the league’s representative thanks to a playoff game victory (held on a snowy March night in Purdue’s arena, no less).
Pregame story Journal and Courier, Dec. 7, 1967
