Texas basketball has track record of success vs. Purdue

The Round of 64 win for first-year head coach Chris Beard and the six-seed Texas basketball was massive for this program. Texas’ win over the 11-seed and reigning ACC Tournament Champion Virginia Tech Hokies in the Round of 64 on March 18 signified that this team could be finally turning a corner in terms of postseason success.

Beard and the Longhorns snapped a four-game losing streak for this program in the NCAA Tournament, dating all the way back to 2014. The win over head coach Mike Young and the Hokies also helped Texas snap a three-game losing streak they had coming into the NCAA Tournament.

Moreover, the Longhorns are about to face one of the toughest teams they’ve matched up against all season long in the Round of 32. Beard and the Longhorns are set to face the three-seed Purdue Boilermakers, who are fresh off a dominant 22-point win over the 14-seed Yale Bulldogs in the Round of 64 on March 18.

Yet, there are a few reasons why the Longhorns should have some confidence heading into this Round of 64 matchup against the Boilermakers. Texas has a track record of success historically against Purdue.

These two teams have faced each other five times in each program’s history. And Texas was able to come out on top against Purdue in four of those five games. Some of those results came in the last few years too.

Chris Beard and Texas basketball have a strong track record in the past vs. Purdue

The most recent meeting between Texas and Purdue on the hardwood came back during the 2019-20 season. Texas knocked off Purdue by the final score of 70-66 in the last meeting between these two teams back in 2019. Texas also topped Purdue by that same four-point margin in the second-most recent meeting between these two teams during the 2018-19 season.

This is good for the Longhorns to have these two wins over Purdue in their bag. Since a few of the players on the Longhorns’ current roster were still on the team in those two wins over Purdue, this squad should know what it’s like to experience success in this particular matchup.

Beard himself also has some fairly recent success matching up against the Boilermakers. When he was the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Beard and his squad topped the two-seed Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Beard and the Red Raiders topped Purdue by a convincing margin of more than a dozen points in that game too.

All told, Beard and the Longhorns have a lot of success to ride on against Purdue heading into this game. That’s not going to mean that Texas should be the favorite in this one, but it should give them more confidence heading into this game.

Texas has won three games in a row against Purdue and Beard beat the Boilermakers in his only attempt as the Texas Tech head coach.

Following their win over Virginia Tech in the Round of 64, the Longhorns are sporting a record of 22-11 (10-8 Big 12). Tip-off time between Texas and Purdue in the Round of 32 on March 20 is set for 7:40 p.m. CT at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI.