Where Purdue Basketball Ranks in ESPN’s 2025 Preseason Bracketology

ESPN college basketball expert Joe Lunardi is banking on the Boilermakers again in 2024-25. Inside pre-season bracketology It ranks Purdue as the No. 4 seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

In Bracketology predictions released in mid-September, Lunardi listed Purdue as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, which will be played in Indianapolis. The Boilers play No. 13 seed Bradley in the opening round of this very early projection.

It’s probably a pretty safe bet that Lunardi puts Purdue at No. 4. Coach Matt Painter has led his team to a top-four finish in the NCAA Tournament every year since 2016-17 (except 2019-20; March Madness was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Kazans have been the No. 1 seed in each of the last two seasons.

Purdue lost two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey, who averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. The Boilers also lost starting guard Lance Jones and Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Mason Gillis.

There are many things that need to be changed. However, Purdue returns a dynamic backcourt duo of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer; This is a duo that has started all 74 games since arriving in West Lafayette before the 2021-22 season. The frontcourt is led by Trey Kaufman-Renn, who is expected to take on a larger role with Edey’s departure.

Purdue is also eyeing bigger roles for sophomores Myles Colvin and Cam Heide. Both played last season but will get more opportunities in 2024-25 with the departures of Edey, Jones, Gillis and Ethan Morton.

Additionally, Painter and his staff have assembled a five-man recruiting class that is ranked No. 20 nationally (according to 247Sports). So, despite offseason departures, there’s still a lot to like about Purdue next season.

It’s still pretty early to predict where the Boilermakers will land in the NCAA Tournament, but the top four spots have been nearly locked in for the past decade. We’ll see if Painter and Co. can continue that winning streak this season.

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