GBI Express

The Authority on Purdue Athletics volume 22, EX 27 • march 26, 2012 In this issue: saving the season • Page 17: Recruiting Update • Pages 18-19: Women's Basketball Review • Pages 8-16: Spring Football Coverage Inside The Purdue rallied to make something of a season that looked lost BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com T here were several low points hit during this past season, but none lower than the one met Feb. 4. It was then that Purdue walked off the court a 17-point loser to hated Indiana. It was its first loss to the Hoosiers since 2007. And it came at home, in a venue where the Boilermakers had been virtually invincible the three seasons prior to this one, but won just one more league game than they lost there this season. And after the loss at Ohio State that followed — a surprisingly competitive defeat against an elite team, but a defeat nonetheless — it left Purdue at just 15-9 and below .500 in the Big Ten, with a meatless résumé to speak for it come Selection Sunday. In short, the Boilermakers were headed nowhere, and by nowhere, we mean the NIT. Its five-year run of NCAA Tournament appearances and 20-win seasons wasn't just on the ropes. It was on life support, with one hand on the plug. That its best player and beacon of pre- Upcoming GBI EXPRESS publishing schedule EX 28: April 2 EX 29: April 16 EX 30: May 23 Dates subject to change. GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com season hope, Robbie Hummel, had been struggling mightily to that point only added to the angst that surrounded a program that's been one of college basketball's winningest in recent years. Then, something changed. And six weeks later, Purdue found itself not only in the NCAA Tournament, but winning a game, then coming within a minute of upsetting eventual Final Four participant Kansas in the Round of 32. And Hummel, after enduring hell — there's simply no better way to describe it — for the better part of the season he and so many others had waited so long for, walked off the floor for the final time as a collegian as a star again. Numbers 1 28-22 The finish Brittany Rayburn will be shooting for in the State Farm 3-Point Championships held Thursday at the Final Four in New Orleans. Katie Gearlds won the event in 2007. The record of teams that have eliminated Purdue in the men's NCAA Tournament after defeating the Boilermakers. Kansas could become the third champion in six years to have its title path go through Purdue. The last year a Purdue baseball team opened conference play with a series victory, something the Boilermakers accomplished this past weekend by winning two of three at Ohio State. The record of teams that have eliminated Purdue in the women's NCAA Tournament after defeating the Boilermakers. The Boilermakers have lost to three eventual national champs since their first Big Dance appearance in 1989. 1995 18-17 "We had some adversity and our guys handled it," Coach Matt Painter said. "They really stayed together and stayed positive and kept fighting." Purdue won the fight. Thanks to a stretch in which the Boilermakers won five of six and earned their biggest win on the home floor of Big Ten tri-champ Michigan on its Senior Day, Purdue made something big out of a season that went sideways early and easily Lon Horwedel One of the high points of the season was the Boilermakers win at No. 11 Michigan on Feb. 25. Terone Johnson's breakout 22-point performance was key. Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 22, express 27  •  1

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