# 1987–88 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team represented Purdue University during the 1987–88 college basketball season. Led by head coach Gene Keady, the team won the Big Ten Conference championship by a 3-game margin. The Boilermakers earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16, finishing the season with a 29–4 record (16–2 Big Ten).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 20, 1987* | No. 2 | Arkansas–Little Rock | W 102–88 | 1–0 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Nov 24, 1987* 6:30 pm, Score | No. 2 | Iowa State Big Apple NIT | L 96–104 | 1–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Nov 30, 1987* 8:00 pm | No. 2 | at Illinois State | W 68–61 | 2–1 | Horton Field House (6,942) Normal, IL |
| Dec 3, 1987* | No. 11 | at Wichita State | W 80–78 | 3–1 | Levitt Arena Wichita, KS |
| Dec 5, 1987* | No. 11 | Oregon | W 88–62 | 4–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 7, 1987* | No. 11 | Colorado | W 72–54 | 5–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 12, 1987* | No. 13 | Ball State | W 96–47 | 6–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 20, 1987* | No. 12 | Kansas State | W 101–72 | 7–1 | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 22, 1987* | No. 10 | Texas Tech | W 82–59 | 8–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 29, 1987* | No. 11 | vs. Wake Forest Palm Beach Classic | W 81–73 | 9–1 | West Palm Beach, FL |
| Dec 30, 1987* | No. 11 | vs. Miami (FL) Palm Beach Classic | W 110–82 | 10–1 | West Palm Beach, FL |
| Big Ten Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 4, 1988 | No. 11 | at Illinois | W 81–68 | 11–1 (1–0) | Assembly Hall (16,654) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 7, 1988 | No. 10 | Ohio State | W 84–77 | 12–1 (2–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 9, 1988 | No. 10 | No. 16 Iowa | W 80–79 | 13–1 (3–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 14, 1988 | No. 8 | Northwestern | W 80–64 | 14–1 (4–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 16, 1988 | No. 8 | at Minnesota | W 82–74 | 15–1 (5–0) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 20, 1988 | No. 5 | Michigan State | W 78–67 | 16–1 (6–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 23, 1988* | No. 5 | at Louisville | W 91–85 | 17–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| Jan 30, 1988 | No. 2 | at Indiana | L 79–82 | 17–2 (6–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 3, 1988 | No. 6 | Wisconsin | W 86–62 | 18–2 (7–1) | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 7, 1988 | No. 6 | at No. 11 Michigan | W 91–87 | 19–2 (8–1) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 10, 1988 | No. 2 | at Michigan State | W 72–70 | 20–2 (9–1) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 15, 1988 ESPN | No. 2 | at No. 13 Iowa | W 73–68 | 21–2 (10–1) | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 21, 1988 | No. 2 | Indiana | W 95–85 | 22–2 (11–1) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 25, 1988 | No. 2 | Illinois | W 93–79 | 23–2 (12–1) | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 27, 1988 | No. 2 | at Northwestern | W 69–51 | 24–2 (13–1) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Mar 3, 1988 | No. 2 | at Wisconsin | W 84–56 | 25–2 (14–1) | Wisconsin Field House (8,496) Madison, WI |
| Mar 5, 1988 | No. 2 | No. 10 Michigan | W 80–67 | 26–2 (15–1) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Mar 9, 1988 | No. 2 | at Ohio State | L 60–71 | 26–3 (15–2) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Mar 12, 1988 | No. 2 | Minnesota | W 93–66 | 27–3 (16–2) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1988* CBS | (1) No. 3 | vs. (16) Fairleigh Dickinson NCAA tournament First Round | W 94–79 | 28–3 | Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, IN |
| Mar 19, 1988* CBS | (1) No. 3 | vs. (9) Memphis State NCAA Tournament Second Round | W 100–73 | 29–3 | Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, IN |
| Mar 25, 1988* CBS | No. 3 | vs. No. 20 Kansas State NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | L 70–73 | 29–4 | Pontiac Silverdome (31,309) Pontiac, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

### NCAA basketball tournament

During the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Purdue qualified for the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to Kansas State.
* Midwest
** Purdue (#1 seed) 94, Fairleigh Dickinson (#16 seed) 79
** Purdue 100, Memphis (#9 seed) 73
** Kansas State (#4 seed) 73, Purdue 70

## Awards and honors

* Gene Keady – Big Ten Coach of the Year

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 31 | Everette Stephens | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2 | 43 | Todd Mitchell | Denver Nuggets |