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BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com T wo victories, one over a ranked rival and another on the road, last week pushed Purdue into conference contention. At least at the halfway point. The Boilermakers simply domi- nated No. 22 Indiana in a juiced envi- ronment in Mackey Arena on Wednes- day before using a massive early sec- ond-half run to gain separation against Northwestern Saturday and holding on for a key road victory. Here are takeaways from the week: S A.J. Hammons said before Big Ten play started that he understood its importance and needed to up his game. He has, and his upward trend continued last week. Hammons was a beast under the rim against the Hoosiers, blocking a career-high eight shots, while also be - ing incredibly efficient on offense by scoring 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and 3-of-4 from the line. But it was against the Wildcats that Hammons' true value was revealed as a complete player. Not only was he great on offense by scoring a team-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, but he was a facilitator, too, staying active without the ball by setting screens for team- mates and not turning the ball over. On defense, he kept versatile 7-footer Alex Olah in check, holding him to only four points and one rebound in a foul- plagued 23 minutes, but he also was good on the glass with nine rebounds, including three offensive. This could be best-case scenario Hammons, which could be good and bad. If he continues — and consisten- cy has been his issue — may he opt to leave after this season? S After a surprising showing by backup Basil Smotherman the previ- ous week, classmate Bryson Scott had his own last week against Indiana. But a few days after an 11-point, inspiringly energetic effort against the Hoosiers, Scott didn't seem as dialed in against the Wildcats, and it meant only seven minutes. Scott can say all he wants how he can be productive when he gets his op- portunities and act like the coaches are doing him a disservice by keeping him on the bench, but he doesn't seem to actually understand why he's been there. When Scott does what he's told and follows his role — stick to his defensive assignment and the scouting report and not gamble, and play intelligently with good decision-making on of - fense — he will play. See In- diana. When he doesn't, he won't. See North- western — and pretty much every other Big Ten game this season. Can Scott be a valuable asset? Yes. But does he know what that'll take? Debatable. S Home-court advantage may seem to be overstated and over-rated. But it was clear t h e energy puls- ing through Mackey Are- na only fueled P u r - d u e ' s p l a y e r s against the H o o s i e r s . Matt Painter called it the best crowd in the are- na in three years, as The Paint Crew filled all six of its s e c t i o n s and the humming hardly stopped over the two-plus hours of the game. The Boil- ermakers can't afford to lose any more games at home and likely will need that kind of sixth man to sustain such emotion. j Tom Campbell A.J. Hammons had quite the week, getting a career-high eight blocks in a rout of Indiana and then nearly getting a double- double at Northwestern. FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Ohio State Location: Mackey Arena When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Notables: The Buckeyes are tied for second in the Big Ten and coming off a 24-point rout over No. 16 Maryland. ... Ohio State's won three in a row, two against ranked opponents in Columbus. … D'Angelo Russell is the nation's leading freshman scorer (19.4), and he flirted with a triple-double against the Terrapins with 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. He's a 45 percent three- point shooter and has a nearly two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio. … Shannon Scott is sixth in the country in assists per game (6.6). A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST WEEK OF BASKETBALL M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L G O L D B O X E S L I N K T O G A M E S T O R I E S GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 19 • 7