Purdue men’s basketball’s nonconference schedule has almost completely come into focus before the end of May.
The full benefit of the games announced Thursday will not be known until later this winter. Typically, the depth of competition the Boilermakers bring to Mackey Arena — and not merely in home-and-home series with major conference opponents or special events — pays off on Selection Sunday.
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The marquee games had already been announced — Gonzaga in Las Vegas for the Nov. 2 season opener, DePaul and Oklahoma at the Fort Myers Tip-Off around Thanksgiving, at Iowa State on Dec. 5 between the first two Big Ten games and Tennessee at Mackey Arena a week later.
One additional exhibition game to go along with Ball State on Oct. 18 and the warm-up at UConn is yet to be announced. Also still in the works is an opponent for the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Dec. 19.
Thursday’s release laid out the bulk of the home schedule — the mid-majors whose impact on the Boilermakers’ resume can go overlooked. Last season, teams such as Oakland, Akron and Kent State contributed to the solid RPI underlying their candidacy for a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed.
Predicting which opponents could yield those beneficial matchups can be difficult — even moreso in the era of extreme year-to-year roster turnover. The six buy games Purdue pinned down feature programs either trending up or endeavoring to reclaim recent success.
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Valparaiso (Nov. 6) is a team on the rise in the Missouri Valley Conference under former Illinois player and Gonzaga assistant Roger Powell. The Beacons finished 18-15 last season for their first winning season since 2020. They won only seven games two years earlier in Powell’s first season.
Illinois State (Nov. 9) made its last NCAA Tournament appearance under former Boiler Kevin Stallings in 1998. Former Illinois, Butler and Ohio State assistant Ryan Pedon has made the Redbirds a postseason contender, though. They won the CBI in 2025 and advanced to the NIT semifinals last season.
Ohio (Nov. 13) pulled a 13-4 upset over Virginia in 2021, then won between 19 and 25 games the following three seasons. The Bobcats are trying to return to that level after a couple of years in the middle of the MAC. They added a pair of international forwards — Siebe Ledegen (Belgium) and Dusan Makitan (Bosnia).
Lennie Acuff guided Lipscomb (Nov. 17) to the NCAA Tournament in 2025, then jumped to Samford. The Bisons won 19 games last season under Kevin Carroll and played at Vanderbilt and Duke.
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Oakland (Nov. 20) returns to Mackey Arena, where it played to an 87-77 loss in the second game of last season. Injuries derailed Greg Kampe’s talented collection of players.
Cal Baptist (Dec. 21) enters its ninth season in Division I but comes off its first NCAA Tournament appearance. That 25-win team was a senior-led group. WAC All-Freshman guard Jordan Muller leads the returnees.
The Lancers and Illinois State both finished inside the NET rankings top 100 last season. Only Ohio (232) ranked outside the top 200. On paper, this could be a tougher slate of buy games than last season.
It’s an inexact science, but Purdue hopes this math adds up in March.
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Purdue basketball nonconference schedule 2026-27
Times and TV TBA
Oct. 18: BALL STATE (exhibition)
Oct. 27: at Connecticut (exhibition)
Nov. 2: vs. Gonzaga in Las Vegas
Nov. 6: vs. Valparaiso
Nov. 9: vs. Illinois State
Nov. 13: vs. Ohio
Nov. 17: vs. Lipscomb
Nov. 20: vs. Oakland
Nov. 24: vs. DePaul in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Nov. 26: vs. Oklahoma in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Dec. 5: at Iowa State
Dec. 11: vs. Tennessee
Dec. 19: vs. TBA in Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Dec. 21: vs. Cal Baptist
Purdue basketball’s 2026-27 Big Ten opponents
Home/away: Illinois, Indiana, Rutgers
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Home only: Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA, USC
Away only: Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, Washington, Wisconsin
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball schedule brings tougher opponents for March Madness resume
