#2 Purdue Men’s Basketball vs. #15 Queens: Staff Predictions
Will Purdue move on to the second round?
Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn looks on during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images Today is the day.
Purdue starts their 2026 NCAA Tournament journey. After seeing Duke struggle with Siena and Wisconsin lose to High Point in the early games on Thursday it should be more clear than ever that Purdue cannot take anyone for granted. It was fascinating to see a Duke player actually say that they thought this game was gonna be a cakewalk as they came out for the second half.
That mentality almost cost them. It should be a wakeup call to all the better seeded teams. With the game less than 12 hours away I thought it was a good time to check in with the staff on a prediction thread.
Ledman: Queens has some shooters and wants to run run run run run on offense. Purdue cannot allow them to control the game like they allowed FDU three years ago. Purdue is the better team and has better plays at every position.