Purdue basketball headed to Fort Myers to put MTE championship streak on the line
· Yahoo Sports
Purdue men’s basketball’s next in-season tournament features at matchup with Boilermaker ties and a guarantee of another power conference game.
The Boilermakers will participate in the Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena during Thanksgiving week. The rest of the field includes Oklahoma, Pitt and DePaul.
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Purdue will play DePaul on Nov. 24, and then the Boilers will play Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day. Tip-off times and TV assignments are to be announced, but the event said that game against the Sooners is "anticipated to air on network television."
“We are excited to spend our Thanksgiving in Fort Myers, competing in an outstanding event against DePaul and Oklahoma. We take great pride in making our nonconference schedule one of the best in the country and playing in this event will definitely help prepare us for Big Ten play," Purdue coach Matt Painter said in a release. "Both of these teams are led by outstanding coaches and will provide a big opportunity for our program. Our fans have consistently traveled in large numbers for all of our neutral-site games and we expect a great contingent on the Florida Gulf Coast during Thanksgiving Week.”
Big Ten teams have won the last two Fort Myers Tip-Offs. Michigan State defeated North Carolina in last season’s championship game. Michigan defeated Virginia Tech and Xavier in 2024.
Purdue has won five consecutive multi-team events and 12 straight games in those tournaments. It won the Baha Mar Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, last season, defeating Memphis and Texas Tech.
DePaul is coached by former Butler and Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann. The Blue Devils finished 16-16 last season, the program’s most wins since 2019-20. Former Purdue associate head coach Jack Owens is an assistant.
That early season tournament and other major non-conference games will tell the new-look Boilermakers a lot about themselves. C.J. Cox is the lone returning starter. Four other players – Gicarri Harris, Omer Mayer, Jack Benter and Daniel Jacobsen – averaged between 12.9 and 15.7 minutes per game. Redshirt freshman Antione West Jr. and four incoming freshmen will factor in, and Painter continues to explore adding another piece with size.
Purdue is playing a series of exhibition games in Canada in late July to help bring that new mix together. The idea is to be farther along and better prepared for early season challenges such as this Thanksgiving-week event.
The NCAA increased the maximum games teams are allowed to play to 32 for 2026-27. Teams can either play 29 regular-season games and a three-team tournament or 30 games plus a two-team tournament.
Purdue’s other known nonconference opponents for 2026-27 include a road game at Iowa State, a neutral court game against Gonzaga in Las Vegas and a home game against Tennessee. An opponent for the Indy Classic – typically another power conference team – has not yet been announced.
Purdue will also play an exhibition game against Connecticut on the East Coast.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball to play at Fort Myers Tip-Off: Opponents, dates, schedule