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Purdue Off to the National Championships!

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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Purdue chapter.

This basketball season has been exciting but Saturday night was truly magical! This season, the Purdue men’s basketball team has had quite an impressive record winning 33 games and only having 4 losses. To top this all off, they were ranked 1st in the Big Ten Conference this season. However, the most exciting feat for this team has been how far they have made it in this March Madness season.

This year’s March Madness bracket began with a matchup against the Grambling State University Tigers. Purdue won that game 78-50 taking the Boilermakers on to the second round. In the second round, Purdue matched up against the Utah State Aggies with an end score of 106-67, Purdue taking the win. The team then moved on to the Sweet 16 round. In this round, they played against the Gonzaga Bulldogs resulting in a final score of 80-68, Purdue. This result was particularly thrilling because this meant that the Boilermakers made it to the Elite Eight. The last time Purdue made it to the Elite 8 was in 2019, but that year their run ended there.

In the Elite 8 matchup, Purdue played the Tennessee Volunteers. This game resulted in a score of 72-66 with Purdue winning and moving on to the Final Four. Boilermakers everywhere were ecstatic over this development. The last time that Purdue made it to the Final Four was in 1980. In other words, it has been 44 years since the men’s basketball team has made it this far.

The Final Four game took place just this last Saturday with a matchup between Purdue and the NC State Wolfpack. This game resulted in a score of 63-50, Purdue winning. While many students went and watched the game live in Phoenix, Arizona, many students attended the watch party in Purdue’s very own Mackey Arena. This gathering was electric and the students were beyond thrilled with how the game turned out.

After winning the game in the Final Four, Purdue is now moving on to the National Championships which will take place on Monday, April 8th. This game will be against the UConn Huskies! This is extremely exciting because the last time Purdue made it to the national championships was in 1969, or 55 years ago. To add on, the Purdue men’s basketball team has never won a NCAA championship game. Therefore, if Purdue wins the game Monday night, this will be a truly monumental accomplishment.

This has been an exceptionally exciting season for Purdue basketball fans all around! Make sure to tune in Monday night to see how this game pans out! Boiler up, hammer down, hail Purdue!

Carissa Ray is the president of the Purdue Chapter of Her Campus. Last year she held the position of senior editor. She also writes articles for the chapter and typically writes entertainment pieces. She has been a member of the chapter since January of 2023! Carissa is currently a senior studying at Purdue University. She is majoring in Psychological Sciences with minors in Spanish and Forensic Sciences. Aside from Her Campus, Carissa is also on the board of the Purdue Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, a leadership honors society. She was recently elected as the president for the 2024-25 academic year. She is also a mentor for the College of Health and Human Sciences. In the future, she hopes to become a Forensic Psychologist and potentially work for the FBI. When she is not busy with school, Carissa is a huge book nerd and loves to read anything with mystery, romance, or fantasy. She also loves dancing and is part of the Purdue Higher Ground Dance Company. She enjoys jazz, hip hop, and theater dance styles. Finally, if she has any extra time, she is a TV buff and enjoys binging TV shows like Modern Family, The Vampire Diaries, or Supernatural.