Men's basketball to play Purdue in 2019-20 season
Central Michigan men's basketball is beefing up its nonconference schedule for the 2019-20 season.
The most recent addition is Purdue, a game in which the Chippewas will travel to West Lafayette on Dec. 28, 2019. According to a source close to the program, CMU will receive $90,000 for playing.
Purdue finished 2018-19 with a 26-10 record and 16-4 mark in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers defeated Old Dominion, Villanova and Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Virginia, 80-75, in the Elite Eight.
Coached by Matt Painter, Purdue took down two Mid-American Conference teams last season – Ball State (84-75) and Ohio (95-67).
CMU coach Keno Davis, entering his eighth season at the helm of the team, has never taken the Chippewas to the NCAA Tournament. He won the MAC regular season title in 2014-15 but came up short in the MAC Tournament.
Just a few weeks ago, CMU signed a deal to play Texas at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin on Dec. 14, 2019 in turn for $100,000.
The Chippewas capped off the 2018-19 season with a 23-12 overall and 10-8 conference record, making a run to the MAC Tournament semifinals before losing to top-seed Buffalo, 85-81. The campaign ended one game later with a 100-86 defeat at the hand of DePaul in the College Basketball Invitational.
