WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 2009-10 Purdue Boilermaker men’s basketball conference schedule was announced on earlier today (Wednesday). The Boilers are slated to appear live on the Big Ten Network 11 times in the regular season and on the various ESPN channels no less than 12 times.

Purdue University head coach Matt Painter (R) talks to Purdue guard E'Twaun Moore during the second half of their Big Ten mens basketball tournament game versus the University of Illinois in Indianapolis March 14, 2008. REUTERS/Brent Smith (UNITED STATES)

“The Big Ten is going to be as good as it’s been in a number of years,” head coach Matt Painter said. “We have a lot of teams returning experienced players. There will be no easy games on the schedule once we get into league play. I think we have a number of teams who feel like they can make a run at winning the league and advancing in the NCAA Tournament.”

The conference slate is comprised again this year of 18 regular-season games. Purdue plays Northwestern and Michigan once, but will face the other eight conference schools twice.

The Boilermakers open up conference play on the road by traveling to Iowa City, Iowa, on Dec. 29 to take on the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. Purdue returns home for its final non-conference regular-season game against West Virginia at 2:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day on ESPN.

“We’re excited about our schedule for the 2009-10 season,” Painter said. “We feel like we’ve got some great games in the non-conference portion of the schedule that will help prepare our guys for the rigors of the Big Ten season. We also feel like we have some great games on the home-slate for our fans, which is always important.”

Four days later the Boilermakers take on Minnesota, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. in Mackey Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. There are four more home games in January: Ohio State (Jan. 12 – 7 p.m. ESPN), Michigan (Jan. 23 – 4 p.m. ESPN), Wisconsin (Jan. 28 – 9 p.m. ESPN2) and Penn State (Jan. 31 – 3 p.m. Big Ten Network). Purdue’s road contests are Wisconsin (Jan. 9 – 5:30 p.m. Big Ten Network), Northwestern (Jan. 16 – 5:30 p.m. Big Ten Network) and Illinois (Jan. 19 9 p.m. ESPN).

Purdue will face Indiana twice this season. The first contest is on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in Bloomington and will broadcast on ESPN2. The teams meet in West Lafayette either March 2, 3 or 4. Game time and television coverage will be announced when the date is finalized.

After starting the month of February at Indiana, the Boilermakers will play at Michigan on Feb. 9 at 9 p.m. on ESPN, in East Lansing, Mich. Purdue then plays host to Iowa on Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and is on BTN the following game at Ohio State on Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m.

The Illinois matchup in Mackey Arena will be played either Feb. 20 or 21, followed by a game at Minnesota on Feb. 24 at 8:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. Purdue’s final three regular season game dates will be finalized at a later time. Michigan State at home will be either Feb. 27 or 28, Indiana on March 2, 3 or 4 and at Penn State on March 6 or 7.

The 13th annual Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will be played Thursday, March 11 through Sunday, March 14 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. All 10 games will air nationally on ESPN, ESPN2, the Big Ten Network and CBS Sports. ESPN2 will carry the first two games on Thursday and the Big Ten Network will air the final game of the evening. On Friday, ESPN will broadcast the first two quarterfinal games while the Big Ten Network will air the remaining two contests. CBS Sports will televise the semifinal and championship games on Saturday and Sunday.

Purdue season tickets are on sale and are available online at purduesports.com, by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 800-49-SPORT or in person at the ticket office in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility.

The deadline for priority seating is Aug. 28.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.– A loaded tournament in the Virgin Islands, a trip to SEC country and home games against teams from the ACC and Big East highlight the Purdue basketball 2009-10 non-conference schedule.

The Boilermakers will potentially face six teams from BCS conferences during its non-conference schedule.

“We’ve always scheduled according to the team that we have,” said head coach Matt Painter. “We have a lot of veterans on this team, so we felt like we should challenge ourselves early and often in the non-conference. This schedule certainly does that”

Robbie Hummel and the Boilermakers will potentially face six teams from BCS conferences during its 2009-10 non-conference schedule.

Purdue opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 at home against Cal-State Northridge. The Boilermakers will compete in the Paradise Jam from Nov. 20 to 23 on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After a first-round game against South Dakota State on Nov. 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET, the Boilermakers will face either St. Joseph’s (Pa.) or Boston College in the second round. The other side of the bracket features DePaul, Northern Iowa, East Carolina and Tennessee. The complete bracket can be found at paradisejam.com.

The Boilermakers return home to host Central Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 28.

For the second-consecutive year, Purdue will be at home in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Boilermakers will host Wake Forest on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Purdue will have home games against in-state foes Ball State on Dec. 5 and Valparaiso on Dec. 9.

“We will always try to play teams from the state of Indiana,” said Painter. “We think it’s good for both schools and more importantly, our fans.”

The Boilermakers will travel to Alabama on Saturday, Dec. 12. The Boilermakers are 3-2 against the Crimson Tide all-time and have not visited Tuscaloosa since 1976.
“Our trip to Alabama will be a great challenge for us,” said Painter. “We are looking forward to a very competitive series.”

The Wooden Tradition is on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The opponent of the event is not yet known. Purdue will face SIU-Edwardsville before the holiday break on Dec. 22 in Mackey Arena.

The final non-conference contest will be against West Virginia in Mackey Arena on Jan. 1. The Mountaineers and Boilermakers last met in Dec. 25, 1980, in New York City. Purdue is 4-0 against West Virginia.

“Our game against West Virginia should be a great test right as we begin competition in the Big Ten,” said Painter. “Coach Huggins’ teams always play extremely hard and are very talented. New Years Day should be an exciting one in Mackey Arena.”

Purdue’s exhibition games are on Nov. 3, against California of Pennsylvania and against Kentucky Wesleyan on Nov. 9.

Times and television information along with the conference portion of the 2009-10 schedule is expected during the first couple weeks of August.

Continue to check purduesports.com for the latest information on the schedule and Purdue basketball.

Tickets for the 2009-10 season will go on sale, Monday, Aug. 3. The priority deadline is set for Aug. 28. Public upper arena tickets will be priced at $358 for 18 games. Public lower arena tickets are $470 and assigned by the John Purdue Club priority point system.

Student tickets are only available by purchasing the VIP All-Sport Card for $225. Fewer than 500 VIP All-Sport Cards remain for the 2009-10 season.

2009-10 Purdue Basketball Non-Conference Schedule

• Nov. 3 – California of Pennsylvania (Exhibition)
• Nov. 9 – Kentucky Wesleyan (Exhibition)
• Nov. 13 – Cal State Northridge (HOME)
• Nov. 20-23 – Paradise Jam
• Nov. 28 – Central Michigan (HOME)
• Dec. 1 – Wake Forest (HOME)
• Dec. 5 – Ball State (HOME)
• Dec. 9 – Valparaiso (HOME)
• Dec. 12 – at Alabama
• Dec. 19 – Wooden Tradition (Opponent TBA) (INDIANAPOLIS)
• Dec. 22 – SIU-Edwardsville (HOME)
• Jan. 1 – West Virginia (HOME)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -– State Sen. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) will present the Purdue University men’s and women’s basketball teams today with Senate Concurrent Resolutions honoring their successful seasons.

The Boilermaker men made history with their first Big Ten Tournament Championship this year, beating Ohio State Buckeyes 65-61 after trailing by five at halftime. Purdue also defeated Penn State and Illinois on the way to the final game.

Boilermaker men made history with their first Big Ten Tournament Championship this year, beating Ohio State Buckeyes 65-61 after trailing by five at halftime.

“This is one of the most determined teams I’ve seen out of West Lafayette,” Alting said. “Injuries, illness and a couple of bad games couldn’t keep these players down, so they were very deserving of the big win.”

This year’s championship played a role in helping Purdue enter the NCAA tournament as the number five seed in the West Regional, according to Alting. For the first time since 2000, the Boilermakers advanced in the national tournament to the Sweet Sixteen.

Men’s head coach Matt Painter is in his fourth season at Purdue and was named 2008 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Painter and his team contributed to Purdue’s claim on the record for most wins in the Big Ten Tournament Championship and becoming the only Big Ten School with winning records against every basketball program in the conference.

“Both the men and women’s teams showed the entire state what can happen when team work is the focus,” Alting said.

Women’s head coach Sharon Versyp is in her third season in Lafayette and she led her team to a second place finish in the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue’s Women’s Basketball team was one of only three Big Ten teams to move on to this year’s national tournament. The Boilermaker women advanced to the Elite Eight.

“Indiana is a state known for its love for basketball,” Alting said. “Purdue Boilermakers are carrying on a Hoosier tradition with both teams giving impressive showings on the national level.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In recognition of the current economic challenges for Purdue fans, the university’s board of trustees voted to hold the line on athletic ticket prices with the exception of an increase of about $2 for men’s basketball.

The adjustment applies only to general public and faculty and staff tickets. Student prices will not rise, nor will the cost of the student VIP card, which includes a men’s basketball ticket.

Because there will be fewer home games on the 2009-10 schedule, the cost of a general and public and faculty/staff season ticket will be lower than this past year’s price. The price increase is the first since the 2007-08 season.

The action will enable the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to make up some of the revenue lost by hosting fewer games. Men’s basketball, which is the second largest source of athletic ticket revenue at 8.5 percent, will have 17 home games in 2009-10, three fewer than last season. Without the increase, revenue would drop more than $560,000 from 2008-09. The approved increase is projected to offset approximately 45 percent of the shortfall.

Intercollegiate Athletics chose to forego a rise in football ticket prices for the 2009 season, an increase that could have generated $350,000 to $500,000. Football ticket revenue represents 24.5 percent of the department’s total revenue.

Purdue Athletics depends on ticket sales for approximately 34 percent of its annual budgeted revenue. The department is self-financing and receives no state or university funding.

“Budget pressures are responsible for our request of a modest inflationary increase in one sport,” said Morgan Burke, director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “We strive to be nationally prominent and excellent while also maintaining our status as a self-supporting enterprise.”

Mens’ basketball season tickets for the general public in the lower arena will be $442, down from $488. For faculty and staff, lower-arena season tickets will be $354, down from $391, reflecting a 20 percent discount off the public price.

Upper-arena season tickets will be $337, down from $362. Faculty and staff season tickets in the upper arena will be $270, down from $290, again reflecting a 20 percent discount off the public price.

Single-game prices will be $22 in the upper arena and $29 in the lower arena. Single tickets for premium games also will increase $2, to $26 in the upper arena and $33 in the lower arena. Premium games are decided on a season-by-season basis, but are generally high-demand conference and non-conference games.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — DeShawn Sims scored a career-high 29 points and Manny Harris had 27 points and eight rebounds to lead Michigan to an 87-78 victory over No. 16 Purdue on Thursday night.

The Wolverines (18-11, 8-8 Big Ten) improved to 3-4 against ranked opponents and added an important victory to the ones it had over Duke and UCLA, when both teams were ranked fourth in the nation. Michigan is trying for its first NCAA tournament bid in more than a decade.

Robbie Hummel and Michigan guard Stu Douglass look to pull in a loose ball. (AP)

Robbie Hummel scored 24 points for the Boilermakers (21-7, 10-5), while E’Twaun Moore had 18 and Keaton Grant added 11.

Purdue, which had won four straight, fell two games behind Big Ten-leading Michigan State and a half-game behind Illinois.

The Boilermakers trailed by three midway through the second half, but couldn’t stop Sims or Harris during a 19-6 run that decided the game.

The Wolverines haven’t earned an NCAA tournament bid since 1998, but they’ve got a shot to end the drought with two talented upperclassmen–Sims and Harris — recruited by former coach Tommy Amaker, gutsy freshmen and savvy coaching by John Beilein, who is in his second season.

Michigan was coming off a deflating loss to Iowa, the 10th-place team in the Big Ten, in which Harris was benched during the overtime. But Harris and the Wolverines bounced back with an inspired effort in their regular-season home finale.

Harris became the sixth player in Michigan history to reach the 1,000-point mark as a sophomore, joining Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Phil Hubbard, Mike McGee and Louis Bullock.

The shooting guard forced Purdue to extend its defense with his outside shooting.

Boilermakers coach Matt Painter, meanwhile, struggled to defend Sims inside because 6-foot-10 forward JaJuan Johnson had three fouls midway through the first half and was called for a fourth early in the second.

After taking a 16-point lead with 4 1/2 minutes left, Michigan added some drama because it missed the front end of some 1-and-1 opportunities and missed a slew of other free throws in the closing minutes.

The Wolverines were 11-of-21 at the line in the second half, giving Purdue a glimmer of hope.

Purdue hurt its Big Ten title chances, but the team can be encouraged by the play of Hummel. He fell only one point of his career high, showing he seems to be regaining his form after missing three games earlier this month with a fracture in his lower back.