2026 NCAA Tournament: Purdue 104, Queens 71 Postgame Video
Purdue has no problems whatsoever in round 1.
Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer (2) reacts after shooting a basket during the second half against Queens University of Charlotte Royals guard Chris Ashby (11) during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Purdue is now 13-3 in first round NCAA Tournament games under Matt Painter, an this one was a rout pretty much from the word go.
The game was at least somewhat in doubt for all of 19 seconds tied 2-2 very early on. The Fletcher Loyer hit a three to make it 5-2 and it was never really in doubt from there. I know our memories of St.
Peter’s and FDU are still fresh, so it is a delight to see Purdue show up and just dominate a foe it should dominate. Queens was a solid team, but Purdue was better and left no doubt. This was about as efficient of an offensive performance as you could ask for.
The Boilermakers shot 63% from the field, 58% from three, had 15 offensive rebounds, 24 assists, and 12 turnovers, most long after the game was decided. Even when Queens hit a big shot just before halftime Purdue quickly erased any doubt with a dominant opening to the second half. It was everything you could ask for.