This is what Jaden Ivey's been waiting the whole season — actually, his whole life — for.

When he and his Purdue teammates open NCAA Tournament play Friday against North Texas as the No. 4 seed in the "South" Regional — the whole event will be held in Indiana, no further south than Bloomington — most of the Boilermaker team will be experiencing its first NCAA Tournament.

Purdue will meet North Texas at 7:25 p.m. Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, with either Villanova or Winthrop waiting in Round 2 should the Boilermakers advance.

Freshmen Ivey, Zach Edey and Ethan Morton obviously have never been, nor has sophomore Isaiah Thompson or redshirt freshmen Mason Gillis and Brandon Newman. Last year's Tournament was canceled and Purdue likely wouldn't have qualified even if it hadn't been.

As has been the case for this Purdue team all year — and in a lot of ways for everyone everywhere — this will all be new.

"It's going to be excitement, this being my first tournament," Ivey said. "Growing up, on the women's side, I've been around the tournament my whole life. Me getting to play in it now, it's going to be fun and exciting. I know I'm going to have those butterflies in my stomach a little bit, but once I get on that court, I'm going to be ready."

Ivey, probably Purdue's foremost live wire, isn't concerned about being over-eager come Friday, whatever time the Boilermakers play.

Coach Matt Painter, though, says that could be a natural issue for a team like the one that's achieved improbable success to this point this season, being as young as it is.

"When you have a lot of guys who haven't been in the Tournament yet, you know there's going to be a lot of anxiousness to get out there and play," Painter said. "You have to keep your emotions in check and do what you did all year."

Continue reading below

Last time Purdue took an NCAA Tournament floor, it was part of one of the great games in the event's history, Virginia's overtime Elite Eight win in Louisville, part of the Cavaliers' charmed-life ride to the national championship that season.

Trevion Williams, Eric Hunter, Aaron Wheeler and Sasha Stefanovic were part of that game, but also those that came before it — including a rout of then-defending-champion Villanova in Hartford and an epic overtime win over Tennessee in Louisville.

Painter often talks of the need for experienced players to carry themselves accordingly. As Purdue prepares for its highest-stakes game(s) of the season, that will be the goal.

The Boilermakers' first foray into single-elimination postseason play didn't go so well, an overtime Big Ten Tournament loss on Friday to Ohio State in which Purdue fell behind by 18 at halftime, the product in part of litany of defensive breakdowns that Painter called "a little alarming" at this stage of the season.

Purdue hopes that setback can steady it prior to the NCAA Tournament, but its biggest steadying force may need to be its experience: The upperclassmen.

"It means a lot," Williams said. "We've been there before and we know what to expect. We know how hard it's going to be to get past those (first) games to get to where we want to go. We have to bring the guys together and constantly give them confidence to be ready for that big stage."

This has been a season of firsts for everyone, but especially for most of Purdue's team.

Not only will Friday represent a first NCAA Tournament experience for most Boilermakers, but the environments are changing.

This past Friday, on March 12, Purdue's team played in front of a meaningful crowd for the first time this season, as there was limited-capacity general attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten Tournament.

"I told my mom that was probably the most fun game I've ever played in," Ivey said. "It was full of excitement. It had been over a year since I'd played in front of fans."

It'll be the same arrangement for the NCAA Tournament, wherever Purdue plays, another new dynamic for a new team encountering uncharted waters.

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. 2021. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.