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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 23 • 19 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com P urdue is one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten as it en- ters the postseason, having won six consecutive games. The last win, an 82-66 vic- tory over Nebraska Sunday, gave the Boilermakers a bye in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Thurs- day in Indianapolis. The fourth-seeded Boilermakers will play at 2:30 p.m. Friday, against the winner of Thurs- day's game be- tween No. 5-seed Iowa and No. 12 Illinois. "I feel really good about the team," Coach Sharon Versyp said following Purdue's win over No. 16 Nebraska on Sunday. "The Big Ten is exception- ally tough, day in and day out. We've done our résumé and played the top teams in the country. We beat Nebraska twice. … We're just going to keep playing, hav- ing fun and going as far as we can." Following is a look at the con- tenders for the tournament title. No. 1 seed: PeNN state The Nittany Lions shared the regular-season championship with Michigan State, missing out on sole possession after getting crushed at Nebraska last week. Still, Penn State has won five of its last six games. The Nittany Lions, winners of the regular-season title for three straight years, are hungry for a tourney title. For the third straight season, they are the tour- nament's No. 1 seed. To get to the championship game, Penn State will need its de- fense, which has been inconsis- tent most of the season, to show up. The Nittany Lions allowed about 66 points per game, only the sixth-best mark in the league. No. 2 seed: MichigaN state The Spartans earned a share Tom Campbell Sharon Versyp and the Boilermakers will try for their third consecutive Big Ten Tournament title this week. w o m e n ' s ba s k e t ba l l : n e w s a n d n ot e s Double vertime Boilers vie for third straight Saturday, March 8 Semifinals Sunday, March 9 Finals BTN Noon #1 Penn State #4 Purdue #2 Michigan St. #3 Nebraska #8 Ohio State #9 Northwestern #7 Michigan #10 Indiana #6 Minnesota #11 Wisconsin Friday, March 7 Quarterfinals Thursday, March 6 Round One BTN 6:30 p.m. BTN 25 min. after BTN 25 min. after BTN Noon BTN 6:30 p.m. BTN 25 min. after BTN 3:30 p.m. BTN 25 min. after ESPN 1 p.m. 20th annual women's BIG ten touRnament Bankers life Fieldhouse Indianapolis All times Eastern #5 Iowa #12 Illinois BTN 25 min after AP Top 25 (March 3) 1. Connecticut (36) 2. Notre Dame 3. Louisville 4. Stanford 5. South Carolina 6. Tennessee 7. West Virginia 8. Maryland 9. Baylor 10. Duke 11. Penn State 12. Kentucky 13. North Carolina 14. N.C. State 15. Texas A&M 16. Nebraska 17. PURDUE 18. Oklahoma State 19. Michigan State 20. California 21. Gonzaga 22. Middle Tennessee 23. Iowa 24. Rutgers 25. DePaul USA Today Top 25 (Feb. 24) 1. Connecticut (31) 2. Notre Dame (1) 3. Louisville 4. Stanford 5. Baylor 5. South Carolina 7. Maryland 8. Duke 9. Tennessee 10. West Virginia 11. North Carolina 12. Penn State 13. Nebraska 14. Oklahoma State 15. Kentucky 16. Texas A&M 17. N.C. State 18. California 19. PURDUE 20. Gongaza 21. Dayton 22. Arizona State 23. LSU 24. Iowa State 25. Middle Tennessee