What will it take for Purdue to clinch a No. 1 seed? That is the biggest question right now with eight games left. On February 2 of last year Purdue was 19-3 after a win against Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was the fourth straight win since the late loss at Indiana, and Purdue was in a similar position to today in that it was in the running for a No. 1 seed. That seed ultimately eluded Purdue, as it went 6-3 in the last nine games of the regular season.

Now, 365 days later, Purdue has played one extra game and it is 22-1 with the sole loss coming by a point. It is the unanimous No. 1 team in the country and the consensus No. 1 overall seed if the tournament began today. It has seven tier 1 wins compared to the five it had at this point last year. Even though both last year and this year Purdue was in line for a No. 1 seed, this year’s profile is unquestionably better.