MILWAUKEE — Funny thing about college basketball — especially now in the Transfer Era — is the serendipity that occurs between programs, coaches and even players at the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State just played against one of its own in ex-Spartan Foster Loyer. When Wisconsin plays Iowa State Sunday in Milwaukee, it'll see former Big Ten opponents Gabe Kalscheur (Minnesota) and Izaiah Brockington (Penn State) in different uniforms.

For Purdue, Sunday's meeting with Texas will be the Boilermakers' third meeting iwith Chris Beard, with three different teams, since 2016 and one final encounter with former Big Ten rival Marcus Carr.

First, Carr.

The former Minnesota standout departed the Gophers last year after their coaching change and landed at Texas, his third school after he'd started his career at Pitt.

Carr, who totaled 15 points and nine assists in Round 1 against Virginia Tech, is the Longhorns' point guard and third-leading scorer for the season, averaging 11 points per game.

That's a very different role for the Canadian, who was the centerpiece of Minnesota's offenses the past few years, averaging nearly 20 a game last season.

Eric Hunter will guard Carr for Purdue, facing off with him for at least the fourth time.

"I think (that experience) will help me a lot," Hunter said, "but players change and people get better, so just being able to touch up on newer film and also watching the past couple times that I've played him, it will be important for me. He's a good player, so it will be a tough matchup.

"I think now he's like more of a patient player. I think that comes with the nature of going to a different program. At Minnesota, he was asked a lot of him to make plays, put the ball in the basket and now he does a little bit more playmaking than usual. He definitely can put the ball in the basket whenever he wants to. Definitely got to watch out for that."

In two meetings last year, Hunter contributed to Carr going just 2-of-13 in Mackey Arena, before Carr got 19 on 18 shots and banked in an a go-ahead three with 15 seconds left in the Gophers' win in Minneapolis.

"He's one of those guys that can make difficult shots and difficult plays," Coach Matt Painter said, "especially in crunch time."

That background gives Hunter some unique perspective this time of year, though the same could be said for Carr vs. the guy who'll be guarding him.

"I've had some great battles with Purdue and Coach Painter," Carr said. "They're a great team. Obviously it's nice to know an opponent, but me playing them, that was last year and two years ago and this is a whole new season. They're a great team. They do do a lot of similar things, so I'm sure they're going to be breaking out their old scouting report on me as well as what I've done this year. I'm going to try to help my team and the coaches with just some of their tendencies and stuff they liked to do in the past."

Carr's a key piece for a transfer-heavy Longhorn that opened the season ranked fifth in the preseason AP poll in Year 1 under Beard, but wound up a 6 seed to the NCAA Tournament, perhaps making Texas a bit of a reflection of the challenges that come with hitting the ground running with transfer-heavy teams.

That said, Texas beat Kansas and Tennessee this season — a 1 and a 3 seed, respectively.

The Longhorns are formidable, with five senior starters and a coach Purdue's been unable to get past to this point.

First there was that wild first-round double-overtime loss to Beard's Arkansas-Little Rock in Denver, then the Sweet 16 loss to Beard's Texas Tech in Boston, an outcome obviously influenced by Isaac Haas' elbow injury the weekend prior.

The Little Rock loss is one that sticks with Painter, he said, after Purdue led by three late in regulation but didn't foul before Josh Hagins made a long three with five seconds left to force OT.

"I didn't make a mistake (three years ago) in the Virginia game," Painter said of the game Purdue did foul in. "I made a mistake in the Arkansas-Little Rock game and those stick with you more. The losses stick with you. That's what stings about our business. People have no idea how that churns with you five, 10 years later. Those moments just are tough, but you try to learn from it and be better and keep rolling."

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2022. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.