Why (and why not) Purdue Basketball Will Return to the Final Four

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MARCH 22: C. J. Cox #0 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates with his team after beating the Miami Hurricanes during the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images Two years ago when I sat in Detroit to watch two basketball games, one against Gonzaga and one against Tennessee, I had little doubt that Purdue was going to head to the Final Four. Purdue had the best player in the country in Zach Edey and a supporting cast that made him better in every respect. It was an incredible team and it was unfortunate that they ran into a buzzsaw of a UConn team in the National Championship game.

Purdue fans will always remember that team though for breaking through to the Final Four after a drought dating back to 1980. This year, Purdue was the preseason number 1 team, expectations were high, but they failed to meet their first goal of winning the Big Ten championship. The bottom fell out of fan expectations with a 6-7 slide to end the regular season.

A lot of fans were simply ready for the season to end and were preparing themselves for heartbreak. Then, Chicago happened and everything reset. Now, Purdue sits just two games away from a return to the Final Four just two seasons after their breakthrough.