What is Purdue's Projected NCAA Tournament Seed Before Big Ten Media Days?

We've reached the unofficial starting point of Purdue's basketball season. The Boilermakers head to Chicago this week for Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, marking the next big step towards the beginning of the 2026-27 campaign.

Before teams from across the conference descended upon Chicago, ESPN's Joe Lunardi updated his Bracketology for the 2027 NCAA Tournament. He currently has the Boilermakers projected as the No. 6 seed in the South Region of March Madness.

In this particular prediction, Purdue would play the winner of No. 11 TCU and No. 11 Xavier for its first game. With a win, the Boilermakers would advance to take on No. 3 seed Virginia or No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington.

Lunardi is also projecting that Purdue would play its first two games in Louisville. Should the Boilers advance to the Sweet 16, they'd head to San Antonio. The top four seeds in the South Region are currently listed as Florida (No. 1), Houston (No. 2), Virginia (No. 3) and Arkansas (No. 4).

Here's a full rundown of Purdue's bracket, per Lunardi's latest update:

South Region (San Antonio)

• No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 East Tennessee State/No. 16 Merrimack
• No. 8 Marquette vs. No. 9 Indiana

• No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 New Mexico
• No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Santa Barbara

• No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 11 TCU/No. 11 Xavier
• No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington

• No. 7 Villanova vs. No. 10 Iowa/No. 10 St. Louis
• No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Central Arkansas

Purdue is an unknown this offseason

With so much of Purdue's production graduating after the 2025-26 season, the Boilers enter a new year as a bit of an unknown. They return just one starter from last year's team: junior guard C.J. Cox.

For the first time since the 2014-15 season, no Boilermakers were selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. They have been left off multiple preseason top-25 rankings.

Matt Painter did return 10 players from last year's roster, brought in a talented four-man recruiting class and added Caden Pierce from the transfer portal. The Boilers also added big man Enzo Shahrvin from France, who was recently cleared by the NCAA.

The future looks bright in West Lafayette, but will the success come immediately? Purdue has earned a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament in nine consecutive years. This team has that potential, but there are going to be some skeptics until this team takes the floor in November.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/purdue as What is Purdue's Projected NCAA Tournament Seed Before Big Ten Media Days?.