Does Purdue have the best profile in America when it comes to the 2023 NCAA Tournament? The Boilermakers lead the nation with seven wins on tier 1 of the NET. The one loss it has is to a top 20 NET team in Rutgers, so even though it came in Mackey Arena by a point, it is far from a “bad” loss. Only Baylor, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Maryland have played more Tier 1 games (nine for each) than Purdue’s eight, and Purdue was Nebraska’s opponent for two of those games and for one of West Virginia’s games.

Purdue is 5-0 in true road games, 9-0 away from Mackey Arena entirely, and it won one of the toughest early season tournaments in the country. The only way that would have been tougher is if Purdue would have played Xavier in the final instead of Duke. At 17-1 Purdue has already clinched an overall winning record, and with four more wins (maybe less) it would assure itself of an NCAA Tournament berth, as 10-10 in the Big Ten is likely more than good enough to make it. At this point just four wins or less the rest of the way falls into the “absolute disaster” category, so it is likely safe to say that Purdue will at least make it to March for the 34th time in school history.

Joe Lunardi at ESPN still has Purdue as a No. 1 seed with the preferred path of Columbus-Louisville, which is the best case scenario. Purdue is a No. 1 seed in virtually every bracket according to Bracket Matrix as well. Lunardi even moved Purdue up to the No. 2 overall seed. To get that preferred path I am thinking a 27-4 regular season is more than enough, with the Big Ten Tournament being mere gravy. Merely being a No. 1 seed does not mean a team automatically walks to a Final Four, but it does make things as easy as possible.