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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 24 • 1 BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com P urdue isn't exactly charging into the Big Ten Tournament. After losing to Northwestern Sunday on senior day, the Boilermakers finished in last place in the Big Ten for the first time since 2006. They closed the regular season on a six-game losing streak, the longest of Matt Painter's tenure and tied for longest over- all since the end of 2004-05 season. They're struggling to defend, allow- ing at least 70 points in the last six games, the longest streak since another six-game stretch in 2002. They're struggling to make good deci- sions on offense, losing the turnover bat- tle in five consecutive games and coming off their worst shooting half of the season (19.2 percent, 21 points). They haven't seemed to be able to summon much energy off the bench, ei- ther, after losing two critical components in Sterling Carter (knee) and Jay Simpson (heart condition). It all adds up to Purdue entering this week's conference tournament at 15-16, staring down its potential first back-to- back losing seasons since 2004-05 and 2005-06 and likely needing to advance to the semifinal to have a chance at postsea- son play. "We put ourselves in a bad position going into the Tournament," Coach Matt Painter said Sunday. "You have to be able to go in there and win your first game and work from there. A lot of people look at it as a whole, and you're still just playing a game. You've got to win the game in front of you. We've obviously put ourselves in the worse possible position." As the No. 12 seed, the Boilermak- ers will play No. 5 seed Ohio State (23-8) Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes beat Purdue in both the schools' meetings this season. Can the Boilermakers show the same kind of fight they displayed in the home loss to the Buckeyes, a 78-69 defeat? It's hard to say. When Painter was asked after the Northwestern loss what went wrong for his team this season, he said it was too in- consistent. So it's hard to predict whether it can put multiple games together of good volume 24, eX 24 • march 10, 2014 Inside | Losing skid hits six 6-7 | Simpson's career ends 9–12 Bays hitting stride 15–16 | Spring practice starts 21-23 uphill battle Tom Campbell Unless Purdue makes a run in the Big Ten Tournament, it likely won't end up in postseason play for the first time since 2006. 9 Purdue has had to play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Thursday. 3 Games won by the lowest seed in the 16-year history of the men's Big Ten Tournament, all by Illinois in 1999. 3-5 Purdue's record as the lower seed in the Big Ten Tourna- ment, a situation it finds itself in against Ohio State on Thursday. 9 Times in 29 games an opponent shot more free throws in a game than the Boilermaker women. Iowa did so Friday. Purdue is 3-6 in those games. THE NumbErs