Colorado’s non-conference slate just got a whole lot more revealing.
On July 16, the Buffaloes announced they’ll meet Purdue in the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 19, 2026. It’s shaping up to be the toughest game on CU’s non-conference schedule, and for Tad Boyle, that’s exactly the point.
Boyle sees the matchup as a checkpoint before Big 12 play begins. Purdue is coming off a season in which it finished No. 6 in the AP Poll and reached the Elite Eight, and the setting only adds to the challenge. Gainbridge Fieldhouse holds 3,034 more seats than Mackey Arena, Purdue’s usual home, and plenty of those extra seats figure to be filled with Boilermakers fans.
Still, Boyle isn’t shying away from it.
“It’ll tell us at that point in time where we are relative to being ready to play in the Big 12,” Boyle said. “Win or lose, you’ve got to be ready to hook it up against a legitimate, traditional top 20 team, and a big-time Big Ten team. So we’ll find out a lot about ourselves in that game, for sure.”
For Eric Jacobsen, the game carries a different kind of weight. The Colorado center will get a chance to line up against his brother, Daniel, a 7-4 center for Purdue who is entering his junior season. It’s the kind of matchup most college players never get, and for the Jacobsen family, it’s a built-in storyline with bragging rights on the line.
“We’ve talked about it a little bit,” Eric Jacobsen said. “We’re both really excited; my parents are really excited, so I’m really just looking forward to it.”
From a team standpoint, the Purdue game could end up as the marquee non-conference test for Colorado in 2026. The Big 12 schedule is not as punishing as it was in 2025, but Purdue still sits near the top of the list of opponents the Buffaloes will see that season.
And if Colorado can pull off the upset in that environment, it would get noticed. The Buffs are dealing with a major roster overhaul and are expected to be an underdog, but a win over Purdue would be the kind of result that forces people to take a closer look.
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