Fletcher Loyer on why this year’s Purdue team is different from last year’s squad
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — The Purdue University men’s basketball team is gearing up for what it hopes is a magical run in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
The Boilermakers (29-4) learned on Sunday that it will be the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the tournament. Purdue’s first-round matchup will be on Friday against either No. 16-seeded Grambling or No. 16-seeded Montana State.
Grambling and Montana State will face each other in the First Four on Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio.
This is the second straight year that Purdue has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Even though earning a top seed was expected entering Sunday, the players said it’s still always really neat to hear their team’s named called during the Selection Show.
“We work for it,” Purdue senior forward Mason Gillis said. “It’s something that every, single college team should cherish. It’s a special thing. And it shows how hard we work and the success we’ve had and continue to.”
It’s the first time in program history that Purdue has been a No. 1 seed in back-to-back years of the NCAA Tournament.
“Success is fun,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said after the Selection Show on Sunday night. “And just kind of stay with it. Sometimes after you get some streaks – and we’ve had different streaks this year where we’ve won 6-7 games, I think 4-5 different times – you can’t get caught up in wanting to win a different way. You got to play to the strengths of your players. And when we do that, we’ve been pretty consistent. We’ve been pretty successful.”
Last year, the Boilermakers were also a No. 1 seed, but were upset in the first round by No. 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson.
“I just think it’s just focusing on ourselves,” Purdue freshman forward Camden Heide said. “I think a lot of us would agree on that. Obviously, we haven’t had great success in March, but that’s going to change this year.”
Last year in that 63-58 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer played 28 minutes, scoring 13 points. He’s hoping to experience a different result in the first round this week.
“There’s more you want to prove,” Loyer said. “There’s more you want to do. I think just the difference between last year and this year is how hungry we are. That bad taste in our mouth has stuck with us all year. We’ve had to deal with it.”
Purdue’s game on Friday will tip-off around 7:25 p.m. EDT inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.