Purdue is dancing, faces Cincinnati in NCAA tourney
By JAMES HOWELL, JR.
ISL Purdue Writer
The Purdue Boilermakers are officially in the NCAA Tournament.
It seemed far fetched in December of this season when the Boilermakers lost games to teams such as North Florida and Gardner-Webb on the court of Mackey Arena, but the Boilermakers got it done.
On Sunday evening the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee released the tournament bracket for the world to see. For West Lafayette and Boilermaker Nation, the release was a good thing.
For most of the past two months the Boilermakers were firmly on the bubble watch, but not got distracted. The team continued winning and continued playing strong to seal a berth in the tournament.
On Thursday, the Boilermakers an opportunity to make some noise against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bearcats are the No. 8 seed and the Boilermakers are the No. 9 seed.
In the matchup with the Bearcats, the Boilermakers will see a 22-10 team that finished third in the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats are ranked sixth nationally in points allowed per game and are led by junior Octavius Ellis. Ellis led the Bearcats with 10 points, 7.3 rebounds and shot nearly 58-percent on the season.
All-time the Bearcats are undefeated against Purdue. The teams last met in 2005.
As tradition holds, the winner of this game will take on a one seed in the following round. This time is no ordinary one seed, however. This time the Boilermakers will stand face-to-face with the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats if they are to defeat the Bearcats.
None of the aforementioned teams will have to travel very far. These games will all take place in Louisville, KY at the KFC YUM! Center.
Tip times have yet to be set for the games that will come later this week.
Follow James on Twitter @jrhowell92 for the latest news on Purdue and the NCAA Tournament.
