Arizona men’s basketball to face Purdue in Indianapolis, per report

Arizona hasn’t gotten an invite to join the Big Ten Conference, but that league’s teams don’t mind playing the Wildcats.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein is reporting that Arizona will take on Purdue in a neutral-site game in Indianapolis. The game is tentatively set for Dec. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

The Boilermakers would be the third Big Ten school on the UA’s 2023-24 schedule, joining a matchup with Michigan State in Palm Springs on Thanksgiving and at home against Wisconsin on Dec. 9. That’s in addition to visiting Duke on Dec. 10 and playing Alabama in Phoenix on Dec. 20.

Purdue, coached by Matt Painter, was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this past season but became the second team to lose to a No. 16 seed when it was upset by Fairleigh Dickinson (one day after the Wildcats lost to 15th-seeded Princeton). The Boilermakers are No. 2 in CBS Sports’ way-too-early rankings, buoyed by the return of National Player the Year Zach Edey and five others among their top seven scorers.

Arizona and Purdue have met 12 times, most recently in 2017 in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas when the Boilermakers blew out the Wildcats 89-64. Arizona’s last win in the series came in 2001.

2023-24 Arizona MBB schedule (so far)

Nov. 6 vs. Morgan State

Nov. 10 at Duke

Nov. 13/14 at Southern

Nov. 23 vs. Michigan State (Palm Springs)

Dec. 9 vs. Wisconsin

Dec. 16 vs. Purdue (Indianapolis)

Dec. 20 vs. Alabama (Phoenix)