GBI Express

force a second against Nebraska. But this was about more than numbers for one of the program's all-time leading scorers. Though Rayburn has scored nearly 1,800 points and has been one of the toughest, strong-willed, grittiest players to play for Purdue, she's always wanted to be known as a winner. By securing that elusive championship, she just may have cemented her place as one of the program's all-time greats. Not that Rayburn would have any part of proclaiming that. Even when pressed on what the championship meant to her personally, she kept responding using "we" and "us." Her teammates, though, had no problem heaping on praise. KK Houser simply called Rayburn the team's "rock." Others called her clutch, special, amazing. And then Poston, who should have gone out with this class but missed a season with an Achilles' injury, offered this: "Brittany is the epitome of a Boilermaker. She works hard. I've never seen a person take so many hard hits and go through so much adversity and still manage to rise above all of that. It means the world to her — I know it does." j GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com presents The Opening Tip The following are our thoughts now, as Purdue enters tournament time. • Kyle Charters: "It sounds so cliché, but Coach Sharon Versyp's squad is the epitome of a team. The Boilers got contributions from all over their roster in the three-day Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, and they needed every bit of that to get by Penn State and Nebraska in the final two games." • Stacy Clardie: "The only thing missing from Brittany Rayburn's résumé was a championship. She got one on Sunday, and her season senior likely also will include at least a trip to the Sweet 16. No more doubting she deserves to be mentioned among the program's best alltime players." • Alan Karpick: "The best thing to happen to Purdue in the loss at Bloomington was its second-half comeback. It is pretty clear this team will go as far as its shooting can take it, but if the effort level remains high, the Boilermakers will have a chance to make an impression in March." • Brian Neubert: "Purdue's flamed out brilliantly in the past two Big Ten Tournaments, but has some measure of momentum on its side this time around and first- and second-round matchups with two of its single-play opponents from this season. There's an advantage to that, however modest it may be. But Purdue's biggest advantage right now is Robbie Hummel, who was the Most Outstanding Player of the last Big Ten Tournament he played in." Tom Campbell Terone Johnson continued his breakout season vs. Nebraska late last month, when he had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. This Week In Purdue Basketball S So that was an ego bruiser. But Purdue must quickly move on from being swept by Indiana for only the second time under Coach Matt Painter. It's time to snatch some momentum back and, potentially, secure a better seed for the NCAA Tournament. Beating Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday likely won't mean much on that front, but it will set Purdue up to get another quality victory before Selection Sunday. A victory over the Cornhuskers, a team the Boilermakers smoked just a couple weeks ago, means a rematch with 10thranked Ohio State in the quarterfinals. In their only meeting this season, the Buckeyes edged the Boilermakers, 87-84, in Columbus. It was D.J. Byrd's coming-out party, as he drilled seven three-pointers for a career-high 24 points. Purdue will need Byrd to bounce back from a poor shooting effort against the Hoosiers — he made only 2-of-10 threes — if it wants to notch its second victory over a ranked team this season. But it'll also need a re-dedication and re-focusing to defense, especially against a team that has as many weapons as Ohio State. As Purdue saw against Indiana, breakdowns usually lead to buckets and blowouts. Expect Painter to continue to preach assignments and solid defensive play in practice this week. S Maybe KK Houser actually was onto something. When Purdue's sophomore point guard offered up "we're back" after a victory on Senior Night more than a week ago, it seemed premature. It was only a win over hapless Indiana, after all. But then the Boilermakers went out and proved it indeed was true by avenging three losses and winning the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on Sunday. Purdue not only knocked off Michigan State, top-seeded Penn State and Nebraska, teams it'd lost to in the final seven games of the regular season, but in doing so, may have secured as high as a No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament in a week-plus. The Boilermakers entered the tournament 1-5 against ranked teams this season and then knocked off two back-toback. Penn State was ranked No. 9 and Nebraska No. 24, helping Purdue move from No. 21 in the AP poll to No. 14 this week. But players insist this is only the beginning. The Boilermakers will bring a five-game winning streak into the NCAAs — and host the first two rounds in Mackey Arena starting March 17. — Stacy Clardie Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 22, express 24  •  2

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