Purdue Closing In On Coaches’ Top 25

The Boiling Point: Purdue men’s basketball getting closer to being ranked in one poll.

After Purdue’s men’s basketball team stomped Northern Illinois by 62 on Friday, it moved closer to being ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Boilers sit two spots out of the group with the second-highest number of receiving votes. They are 25 votes behind Texas and 33 behind No. 25 Missouri.

Purdue was buried in the receiving votes pile in the preseason poll, earning just 17 votes.

That situation resembles the Boilers’ place in the AP poll where they are getting just five votes, putting them at No. 39. That total is down from the 10 votes they got in the preseason version. There are some interesting selections sitting above Purdue with Drexel (13 votes), Creighton (19), Belmont (21) and Temple (79).

Purdue might get a chance to earn some respect against Temple in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Friday. The Owls have to beat Western Michigan first.