Star Rising: West's Next Shooting Champs Steal Focus
Mar 15, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; A view of the tournament logo on the court during the second half between the Michigan Wolverines and the Purdue Boilermakers during the men's Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Following their victory in the B1G Tournament against the Michigan Wolverines, Purdue was able to elevate themselves into the 2-seed in the West Region. The Boilers set themselves up as well as they ever have for a run in the NCAA Tourney and will first square off against 15-seeded Queens.
With the first stop in St. Louis, if Purdue wins their round-1 matchup, they will face off against either 7-seeded Miami (FL) or 10-seeded Missouri. Let’s take a look at the West Region overall.
No. 1 Arizona (32-2): After capturing the Big 12 tournament title, the Wildcats enter the tournament as one of the favorites to win the whole tourney. The Wildcats have a NET ranking of #3 and a matching KenPom rank of #2 with the 5th best adjusted offense and 3rd best adjusted defense.
They boast 16 Quadrant 1 victories, led by potential top-five NBA pick Brayden Burries. Arizona is one of the most well balanced teams in the country, similarly statistically to Michigan and Duke. No.
2 Purdue (27-8): Purdue secured the No. 2 seed by winning the Big Ten Tournament with a dominating performance against Michigan. They hold a NET ranking of #9 and are #8 in KenPom, supported by 11 wins over the NET top 100.
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