Purdue’s nonconference slate now has a family twist.
When the Boilermakers meet Colorado in the Indy Classic on Dec. 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Purdue center Daniel Jacobsen will line up against his brother, Eric Jacobsen, a freshman for the Buffaloes.
The matchup completes Purdue’s nonconference schedule and gives the Boilermakers another high-end test before Big Ten play. Colorado joins a list that already includes Gonzaga, Tennessee and Iowa State, with Purdue set for eight games against teams that finished in the top 100 of the final NET rankings.
The Indy Classic has become a familiar stop for Purdue since the program helped launch it for the 2022-23 season. This time, the Boilermakers are back in the event after the last two editions featured SEC opponents, with Purdue facing Texas A&M in 2024 and Auburn in 2025. Butler will meet Georgia Tech in the other game.
Colorado comes in under longtime coach Tad Boyle, who has built a steady résumé in 16 seasons with six NCAA tournament appearances and five NIT bids. Boyle’s teams have won 320 games, an average of 20 per season, and the Buffaloes finished 17-16 last year.
For Purdue, the schedule is loaded from top to bottom. The Boilermakers open with exhibition games against Ball State, Purdue Fort Wayne and Connecticut, then jump into a November stretch that includes Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Nov. 2, followed by home games against Valparaiso, Illinois State, Ohio, Lipscomb and Oakland.
They’ll also play DePaul and Oklahoma in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, visit Iowa State on Dec. 5, host Tennessee on Dec. 11 and close the nonconference portion against Cal Baptist on Dec. 21.
The Colorado game also adds another personal layer to a schedule already packed with big names. For one night in Indianapolis, the Jacobsen family gets the spotlight. Time and TV information for the Indy Classic has not yet been announced.
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Colorado brings its own recent postseason history under Tad Boyle, including NCAA Tournament trips in 2021 and 2024, and the Buffaloes are coming off a season that kept them in the national conversation late. For Purdue, the bigger picture is the same as always in these scheduling decisions: a chance to challenge itself before Big Ten play, even if the full scope of that non-conference slate is still coming into view. [Read more 🡒]