Bucket Game on Black Friday creates doubleheader for Purdue basketball, football fans
Purdue men's basketball will serve as the lead-in to the Old Oaken Bucket game on so-called Black Friday, Nov. 28. The Boilermakers have not finalized what is expected to be an early afternoon tipoff time for their nonconference game against Eastern Illinois at Mackey Arena.
Purdue and IU will play for the Bucket at 7:30 p.m. at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Purdue confirmed the Friday football kickoff will not necessitate moving the basketball game. The university holds Thanksgiving break from Nov. 26-29, so no classes will be in session.
Per a Purdue athletics spokesperson, the Big Ten and NBC proposed moving the Bucket Game to the Friday primetime spot and away from the crowded Saturday slate of rivalry games. Athletic director Mike Bobinski presented the proposal to coach Barry Odom, who signed off.
The spokesperson said scheduling of the Bucket Game will be addressed annually, as opposed to making this a permanent move. Big Ten rivals Iowa and Nebraska, for instance, always play their rivalry weekend game on Black Friday.
IndyStar understands Indiana did not object to playing the Bucket Game on that Friday.
This is not the first occurrence of a basketball-football doubleheader — or even the first to coincide with the Bucket Game. On Nov. 22, 2008, the Boilermakers beat Indiana 62-10 with a noon kickoff in Joe Tiller's final game. The basketball team defeated Coppin State 66-46 that night.
Purdue men's basketball played a home exhibition game against Indiana State on Oct. 28, 2017. That night, the Boilermakers lost to Nebraska 25-24 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Ross-Ade.
IndyStar IU insider Zach Osterman contributed to this story.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Ryan Walters' former boss thinks he failed with Purdue football
Before Purdue hired Ryan Walters as head coach, he was a defensive coordinator under Bret Bielema at Illinois.
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
Iowa football offensive lineman names favorite road venue in Big Ten
The Big Ten conference is full of difficult road venues to try to win at. From the Big House in Ann Arbor to the Horseshoe in Columbus to Kinnick Stadium, going on the road and winning in conference play is extremely difficult. Almost every team in the conference has a stadium that tests you and your resolve (sorry, Northwestern). But, certain stadiums and road environments rise above the rest and stand out to the players in the conference. Logan Jones, a preseason All-Big Ten center for the Hawkeyes this season, was one of Kirk Ferentz's representatives at Big Ten media days in Las Vegas. He was asked about which road Big Ten stadium is his favorite to play at. Jones gave an insightful answer, while also throwing a little jab at one of Iowa's biggest rivals. What is Logan Jones' favorite road Big Ten venue? When asked about his favorite Big Ten road venue to play at, Jones had this to say. "I like playing at Nebraska. They have a pretty cool stadium. It's a close game, it's a fun game. I like kicking field goals there, too," Jones said. Nebraska's Memorial Stadium can hold over 85,000 screaming and avid Cornhusker fans. It's one of the toughest places to play in the conference because of how loud it gets there. It makes sense that Jones picked that for his favorite Big Ten road venue. But, it's the last sentence of his quote that has Hawkeye fans laughing. While Nebraska leads the all-time series 30-22-3, it's been Iowa who has dominated the rivalry for the past decade. The Hawkeyes have won 10 of the previous 12 meetings between the two schools, including six in a row at Memorial Stadium. Two of the last three victories for the Hawkeyes in Lincoln have come on last-second, game-winning field goals, hence the last comment from Jones. It's a fun jab at one of Iowa's biggest rivals and should set things up well for the 2025 matchup between these two teams. Iowa and Nebraska square off once again on Black Friday this year. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Nov. 28 from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. And who knows, maybe Jones will get the chance to be on the field again for another game-winning kick at Nebraska. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
College Football Fans Want ESPN Writer Fired After 'Arrest-Worthy' Marcus Freeman Ranking
College Football Fans Want ESPN Writer Fired After 'Arrest-Worthy' Marcus Freeman Ranking originally appeared on The Spun. A recent ranking of college football coaches by an ESPN analyst has some fans so outraged that they're ready to bring out the pitchforks. In a recent post on X, the College Football Alerts (@CFBAlerts_) account shared a recent ranking of college football coaches by ESPN's Bill Connelly. That ranking failed to include Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman anywhere in the top 30, and fans quickly started giving Connelly hell for it: "Bill, can you provide why coach Marcus Freeman wasn't placed in your top 30? Perhaps the criterion used explains? Genuinely interested, thank you," one user wrote. "Bill Connelly of ESPN is a Hack! You've got Purdue coach at number 11 and Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame not even on that list. Tell me you don't know college football without telling me you don't know college football!" wrote another. "Not having Marcus Freeman on this list is criminal work! Bill should be arrested!" a third wrote. "I'd change my name so that I wouldn't be linked to this joke." There was only one problem: The post was completely misconstrued. In Connelly's original post, he actually made it a post of the top coaches of the past 20 years and even had Freeman as his No. 6 coach among active coaches. He shared CFBAlert's post and admonished them for framing it in a way to "generate the most toxic possible responses." "It's a shame you guys forgot to link to the piece in question and decided to frame it in the way that would generate the most toxic possible responses," Connelly wrote in response. Unfortunately, fans still took serious issue with Connelly's ranking even after his clarifying statement: "This is really great, now I know when your name is attached to an article I can skip it," one user declared. "Your rankings are crap. No matter how you try to explain it away. Kirby is #1 on every other persons list but yours," wrote another. "It doesn't matter how you got there. This list is (expletive) garbage and shows how stupid you are. Defend it however you need to, it's an embarrassing list." It doesn't seem like ESPN will be canning Connelly over this one though. On to the next inevitable, insane Football Fans Want ESPN Writer Fired After 'Arrest-Worthy' Marcus Freeman Ranking first appeared on The Spun on Jul 27, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
