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.
"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.
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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UConn also plays six nonconference games against teams ranked in the US LBM USA TODAY coaches poll: Home against Kansas, at Arizona, and neutral-site games against Duke (Las Vegas), Illinois (Chicago), Michigan (Boston) and Virginia (New York).
Even Purdue's tough nonconference slate – featuring Gonzaga (in Las Vegas), DePaul and Oklahoma (in Fort Myers, Florida), at Iowa State, home against Tennessee and Colorado (for the Indy Classic) – can't compare to that gauntlet.
Any given UConn team tends to exhibit those intangibles Painter appreciates in a preseason opponent. They're also typically loaded with talent. These Huskies will challenge Purdue with the best lineup it has faced since its Elite Eight loss to Arizona in March.
UConn won at Breslin Center without Mullins, the Greenfield-Central grad whose buzzer-beater pushed them into the Final Four last season. Hurley said last week the preseason first team All-Big East selection has returned to practice and could play against Purdue barring any setbacks.
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Point guard Silas Demary Jr. was preseason Big East Player of the Year. Colben Landrew, a five-star prospect from the same Marietta (Georgia) Wheeler program as 2027 Purdue commit Kevin Savage III, was preseason Freshman of the Year.
While Painter did not seek this matchup based on this Huskies' roster, Tuesday sets up as an important temperature check for his team.
Purdue controlled the boards in its exhibition wins over Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne. UConn has been one of the best offensive rebounding programs in the nation for several years. Last season's dip to 30th in offensive rebounding percentage was its lowest ranking since 2019.
In Demary, Mullins and fellow returning starter Solo Ball, the Huskies will challenge the defense in new ways in the backcourt and on the wing. Purdue believes in the defensive upside of several individual players. Whether those individual pieces work together cohesively enough remains a work in progress – one which will likely continue past the start of the season.
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Ending the exhibition season with a big challenge could help prepare Purdue for the one awaiting in the season opener. Six days later it faces Gonzaga in Las Vegas. Things settle down a bit from there before a robust stretch of opponents over the first three weeks of December.
Hurley thinks the same way. That exhibition at Michigan State was not merely a showcase of two elite programs and two highly respected coaches.
"Going into it, I kept thinking this was going to be some high-level sparring – like two boxers getting ready for a major fight that starts in November for both of us," Hurley said. "Today was just like two boxers sparring in a gym – the physicality, the intensity of the game."
Purdue and UConn both want that fight to extend to upwards of 40 rounds by April. They both have evidence their October approach helps them stay off the mat as long as possible.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball heads into UConn's 'beehive' seeking heavyweight fight