As Purdue women’s basketball prepares for the 2023-2024 season, the program now knows its Big Ten opponents for the coming year. Dates and times will be announced at a later date, but the 18-game conference slate is now locked in.
Purdue will have five home-and-away series against Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, and Wisconsin this season. The only team that finished above Purdue in the conference of those five teams was last year’s Big Ten Champions, Indiana. Two games apiece against teams with a losing record during conference play in 2022-23 could bode well for the Boilermakers as they look to improve on their success from last season.
Four other Big Ten foes will make the trip to West Lafayette for the lone matchup between the schools this season. Those teams include Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, and Rutgers. Purdue’s home-only slate features three teams coming off NCAA Tournament appearances, including Iowa, which made a run to the National Championship Game being Caitlin Clark. Illinois and Ohio State are also trending upward and are expected to be in the upper half of the league.
Katie Gearlds and company will also have four away-only matchups on the slate, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Northwestern. After being two of the top teams in the league last year, the Terrapins and Wolverines have undergone some massive roster turnover heading into 2023. Minnesota and Northwestern finished at the bottom of the Big Ten in 2023 and could see a similar result this season.
The Boilermakers’ non-conference slate has also started to take shape, with a season-opener against UCLA being announced last week. Purdue will travel to Los Angeles on November 7th to kick off the 2023-24 campaign against the Bruins.
Purdue will also take a trip to the Bahamas for the 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship on November 20th and 22nd. The event is non-bracketed, with each team playing two games. Possible opponents for the Boilermakers are Columbia, East Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, and USC.
The remainder of the non-conference schedule will be filled out in the coming months.
