# 2020–21 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team represented Purdue University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach is Matt Painter in his 16th season with the Boilermakers. The Boilers play their home games at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Boilers finished the season 18–10, 13–6 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament to Ohio State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the South region. They were upset in the First Round by No. 13-seeded North Texas.

## Previous season

The Boilermakers finished the 2019–20 season 16–15, 9–11 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. Due to tie-breaking rules, they received the No. 10 seed in the Big Ten tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Evan Boudreaux | 12 | F | 6'8" | 220 lbs. | Senior | Lake Forest, Illinois | Graduated |
| Tommy Luce | 15 | G | 5'10" | 155 lbs. | Senior | Jeffersonville, Indiana | Graduated |
| Jahaad Proctor | 3 | G | 6'3" | 205 lbs. | Senior | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Graduated |
| Matt Haarms | 32 | C | 7'3" | 250 lbs. | Junior | Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Transferred to BYU |
| Nojel Eastern | 20 | G | 6'6" | 220 lbs. | Junior | Evanston, Illinois | Transferred to Howard |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaden Ivey SG | South Bend, IN | La Lumiere School (IN) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 24, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Ethan Morton SG | Butler, PA | Butler Area (PA) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 9, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Zach Edey C | Toronto, ON | IMG Academy (FL) | 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 285 lb (129 kg) | Nov 9, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 46 247Sports: 33 ESPN: — ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Purdue 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020. "2020 Purdue Boilermakers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020. ||||||

#### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Caleb Furst PF / C | Fort Wayne, IN | Blackhawk Christian School (IN) | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Mar 2, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84 |||||||
| Trey Kaufman PF | Sellersburg, IN | Silver Creek (IN) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 30, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: — 247Sports: 34 ESPN: — |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Purdue 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020. "2021 Purdue Boilermakers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 20, 2020* 5:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Liberty Space Coast Challenge | W 77–64 | 1–0 | 19 – Edey | 11 – Williams | 5 – Tied | Titan Field House (0) Melbourne, FL |
| November 26, 2020* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Clemson Space Coast Challenge | L 70–81 | 1–1 | 17 – Edey | 8 – Tied | 5 – Morton | Titan Field House (0) Melbourne, FL |
| December 1, 2020* 3:00 pm, BTN | | Oakland | W 93–50 | 2–1 | 21 – Newman | 14 – Williams | 7 – Stefanovic | Mackey Arena (0) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 4, 2020* 7:00 pm, BTN | | Valparaiso | W 68–61 | 3–1 | 19 – Stefanovic | 11 – Williams | 3 – Tied | Mackey Arena (200) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 8, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Miami (FL) ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 54–58 | 3–2 | 15 – Edey | 7 – Williams | 3 – Gillis | Watsco Center (0) Miami, FL |
| December 12, 2020* 7:30 pm, BTN | | Indiana State | W 80–68 | 4–2 | 30 – Williams | 13 – Wheeler | 5 – Hunter Jr. | Mackey Arena (200) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 16, 2020 7:00 pm, BTN | | No. 20 Ohio State | W 67–60 | 5–2 (1–0) | 16 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 8 – Williams | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 19, 2020* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Notre Dame Crossroads Classic | W 88–78 | 6–2 | 18 – Tied | 9 – Gillis | 8 – Hunter Jr. | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 22, 2020 9:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 4 Iowa | L 55–70 | 6–3 (1–1) | 14 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 5 – Hunter Jr. | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (536) Iowa City, IA |
| December 25, 2020 2:30 pm, FS1 | | Maryland | W 73–70 | 7–3 (2–1) | 17 – Newman | 8 – Williams | 4 – Ivey | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 29, 2020 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 14 Rutgers | L 76–81 | 7–4 (2–2) | 21 – Williams | 12 – Williams | 3 – Tied | The RAC (0) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 2, 2021 6:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 15 Illinois | L 58–66 | 7–5 (2–3) | 14 – Tied | 8 – Williams | 4 – Hunter Jr. | State Farm Center (167) Champaign, IL |
| January 5, 2021 5:00 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | Game postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Game postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Game postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Game postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Game postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| January 8, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 23 Michigan State | W 55–54 | 8–5 (3–3) | 26 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 4 – Hunter Jr. | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI |
| January 14, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at Indiana | W 81–69 | 9–5 (4–3) | 22 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 4 – Hunter Jr. | Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN |
| January 17, 2021 1:00 pm, BTN | | Penn State | W 80–72 | 10–5 (5–3) | 15 – Stefanovic | 11 – Williams | 5 – Hunter Jr. | Mackey Arena (168) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 19, 2021 6:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 15 Ohio State | W 67–65 | 11–5 (6–3) | 16 – Williams | 7 – Williams | 2 – Ivey | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 22, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 7 Michigan | L 53–70 | 11–6 (6–4) | 14 – Williams | 11 – Williams | 5 – Ivey | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 30, 2021 7:30 pm, BTN | | No. 21 Minnesota | W 81–62 | 12–6 (7–4) | 29 – Newman | 14 – Williams | 7 – Hunter Jr. | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 2, 2021 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 24 | at Maryland | L 60–61 | 12–7 (7–5) | 23 – Williams | 11 – Williams | 3 – Ivey | Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD |
| February 6, 2021 4:30 pm, BTN | No. 24 | Northwestern | W 75–70 | 13–7 (8–5) | 20 – Ivey | 11 – Edey | 3 – Tied | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 11, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 24 | at Minnesota | L 68–71 | 13–8 (8–6) | 24 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 4 – Ivey | Williams Arena (44) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 16, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN | | Michigan State | W 75–65 | 14–8 (9–6) | 28 – Williams | 6 – Williams | 3 – Tied | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 20, 2021 5:30 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | W 75–58 | 15–8 (10–6) | 15 – Ivey | 7 – Tied | 4 – Hunter Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (0) Lincoln, NE |
| February 26, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at Penn State | W 73–52 | 16–8 (11–6) | 16 – Stefanovic | 7 – Wheeler | 4 – Williams | Bryce Jordan Center (261) University Park, PA |
| March 2, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 23 | No. 25 Wisconsin | W 73–69 | 17–8 (12–6) | 21 – Edey | 7 – Tied | 8 – Stefanovic | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| March 6, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 23 | Indiana | W 67–58 | 18–8 (13–6) | 20 – Edey | 9 – Edey | 6 – Stefanovic | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2021 2:00 pm, BTN | (4) No. 20 | vs. (5) No. 9 Ohio State Quarterfinals | L 78–87 $^{OT}$ | 18–9 | 26 – Williams | 14 – Williams | 5 – Williams | Lucas Oil Stadium (7,634) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2021 7:25 pm, TNT | (4 S) No. 20 | vs. (13 S) North Texas First Round | L 69–78 $^{OT}$ | 18–10 | 26 – Ivey | 13 – Williams | 5 – Williams | Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | RV | 24 | 24 | RV | RV | 23 | 20т | 20 | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV^ | — | — | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 23 | 19т | 20 | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.