Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/463948
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 21 • 1 BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com P urdue desperately needed a pair of victories last week to stay in the conversation for the NCAA Tourna- ment. And the Boilermakers took care of business by winning at Rutgers and against Nebraska. But, now, it really gets tough. Three of the final five regular-sea- son games are on the road at incred- ibly difficult places to win: Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan State. Purdue hasn't won at any of those venues since 2011 and its combined record on the road during the Matt Painter Era is 5-17. And Purdue hasn't been good this season against good teams on the road either. It's 1-4 against teams in the top 150 RPI away from home, and all three of those programs fit that RPI criteria. Still, there's hope for Purdue, con- sidering it has won six of its last seven games and is playing its best basketball right now. "Hopefully we can get them all," Rapheal Davis said of the final three big road tests, "but like I've always said, in the Big Ten if you want to compete, you've got to get wins on the road. "If we can protect home and get some wins on the road, we'll be fine." Purdue continued the protecting Sunday by beat- ing the Cornhuskers and pushing its league mark in Mackey to 6-1. Perhaps the most impressive of those home Big Ten victories was against Indiana. It probably won't be as easy in the rematch, and that's what's up first in the road gauntlet: The hated Hoosiers on Thursday. The Boilermakers will give them their unrelenting focus, especially considering it's the only game of the week. At least Purdue will head into the week feeling good again. The Boilermakers raced into a tie for second in the Big Ten with a four-game winning streak into early February but it was snapped with a disappointing, un - Tom Campbell Purdue took care of business last week by winning both of its games to stay among the top of the Big Ten and keep its hopes alive for an NCAA Tournament berth. 3 Purdue's seeding in the Big Ten Tour- nament, if it was played today, as the Boilermakers are tied with Maryland for second place with 9-4 league records. Purdue lost its head-to-head with the Terps. 102-4 Boilermakers' record when holding op- ponents to under 60 points in the Matt Painter Era, something they did in Sunday's win. 4 Sunday appearances for Purdue foot- ball in its history after it meets Mar- shall to open the 2015 season. 8 Distance in centimeters that Chuk- wuebuka Enekwechi was short of the NCAA Division I weight throw record. His toss on Friday was the second-best of all time. THE NUMBERS VOLUME 25, EX 21 • FEB.16, 2015 Inside | Purdue wins two 6-12 Injuries mount 15-20 | Recruiting 21-22 Anthrop, Sindelar ahead of schedule 23-25 Keeping Pace