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BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com P urdue ran its winning streak to four and scored its third win over a ranked team in as many tries in its win over 20th-ranked Ohio State, but then literally handed a game away in Minneapolis. In the loss to the Gophers, Purdue turned the ball over 23 times — its most since 2005 — and those giveaways accounted for more than 40 percent of Minnesota's scoring, including the bulk of the 14-0 run Minnesota used to start the second half to turn a four-point halftime deficit into a double-digit lead. Purdue made six of its final eight threes to put itself in position, though, to tie or win at the end, but Vince Edwards was stripped around the basket with six seconds left go - ing up with the ball in an attempt to tie the game. The loss at Minnesota sets up a must-have road game at misera- ble Rutgers Thursday night. Following are takeways from the week: S The Minnesota game has "aberration" written all over it, as op- posed to being suggestive of things to come for the Boilermakers from here on out. It could be years before Purdue ever turns the ball over again the way it did in the Barn, and the im- probabilities worked both ways. Of those six threes Purdue, a struggling shooting team, made in the final nine-and-a-half minutes, two were banked in off the hands of Jon Octeus. Those fluke shots helped keep the Boilermakers alive. Point being: This looks to have just been "one of those games." S A.J. Hammons is really at- tacking the basket when he's within striking distance and playing with au- thority and purpose on defense. He looks like a player right now who's just reacting, finishing around the basket, blocking shots and moving the basketball as a reflex. That switch from the timid- ness, inefficiency and paralysis by analysis has been a big part of the reason he's been so good lately. S Purdue was sound in its halfcourt defense at Minnesota after stifling Ohio State, but it was solely a matter of turnovers in the Twin Cities. That still bodes well for the Boilermakers from here on out. As long as they're defending the way they've been and not gift-wrapping offense for opponents like in Wil- liams Arena, it'll have a chance in every game. S Was the run of three- point shooting at Minnesota at the end a sign of things to come? Probably not, but it was good to see Kendall Stephens make a couple big shots. His issue is not a matter of con- fidence, but a little more of it can't hurt. He's not been right since getting hurt at Illinois. j Tom Campbell Purdue's turnovers were a problem at Minnesota, but Jon Octeus' three-pointers were a positive. FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Rutgers Location: Brown Athletic Center When: 7 p.m. Thursday Notables: In the context of Purdue's NCAA Tournament hopes, it'll face a nearly must-win situation against the middling Scarlet Knights in its first visit to Rutgers as a Big Ten rival. … Rutgers is 10- 15 overall, 2-10 in the Big Ten, riding an eight-game losing streak, most recently a 19-point home loss to Ohio State Sunday. … Guard Myles Mack leads the Knights with an average of 14.3 points, but is a sub-40-percent shooter. … Big man Kadeem Jack averages 13.2 but shoots just 43 percent … Rutgers shoots only 39.2 percent collec- tively, 29 percent from three-point range, and has averaged only 57 points in Big Ten games, a league-worst. 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 P R O V I D E L I N K S T O G A M E S T O R I E S GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 20 • 13