Purdue basketball heads into UConn’s ‘beehive’ seeking heavyweight fight

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter did not seek UConn as a third exhibition opponent for a particular style matchup or to test specific vulnerabilities.

No reason to overthink this. That national championship game victory over the Boilermakers in 2024 was the program’s sixth in 25 years. It took a minor miracle to reach a third Final Four in four years last season, but only on the scoreboard. No one is surprised when UConn wins in March.

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“They run good offense and they make it hard for you to run good offense,” Painter said. “Just a quality opponent – a tough, physical opponent – and going into, hopefully, a beehive.”

That last factor, of course, is what Painter really seeks for these October warm-ups. Purdue won’t face the Huskies in their cozy 10,244-seat M&T Bank Center in Storrs, Connecticut. Phase one of an extensive renovation was recently completed.

Instead, Painter hopes his team’s third and final exhibition comes amid a mostly hostile 16,294 fans at the PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford.

Not all coaches are as insistent about spending their preseason on the road in addition to playing other elite programs. One coach has surpassed even Painter’s commitment to preseason tests: UConn’s Dan Hurley.

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The Huskies beat Syracuse 72-52 on Oct. 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena as part of the Hall of Fame Series. They won 78-70 at Michigan State on Oct. 20.

Hurley went to East Lansing for the same reason Painter will take his team to Connecticut. Facing a talented team in October carries inherent value. Facing them on their home court – or close enough, in the case of Tuesday’s game – adds a coveted degree of difficulty.

“The fact that that was an exhibition game blows my mind,” Hurley said after the Michigan State exhibition. “It’s probably the closest thing I’ve seen to the Kansas type of feel with the crowds. It lived up to everything I thought it would be.”

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Publish date : 2026-10-27 08:47:00

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