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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 21 • 11 bubble for the NCAAs. And much of that surge is due to Ham- mons' play. "A.J. Hammons is playing as good as I've ever seen him play," Ne - brask a coach Tim Miles said. "He looks like that NBA prospect ever y- body has been talk ing about for a long time." Davis said after Purdue lost Jan. 21 at Illinois, Coach Matt Painter "ripped us apar t," getting into each guy. The next day when the Boiler- makers came in to watch film, Davis said he saw a change in Hammons. "A.J. came into practice with a totally different attitude. Ever since then, I think that flipped his switch," Davis said. "As long as that switch stays on, we can be really good. He's playing really well right now, making himself one of the best big men in the countr y. We're just feeding off him and tr ying to get him going. "He k new we had to make a move (after Illinois) and we had to make it now, especial - ly with that loss up there. He k new how impor tant it was. He came back this year to win and to go to the NCAA Tournament. So we're tr ying to do it for him and do it for our seniors." Hammons said he simply realized someone needed to step up and it just as easily as anyone else could be him. He's seemed to take on more of a leadership role this season but especially of late, understand - ing he can use playing with energy and a motor to inspire teammates. And that 's what he's done, using effor t to not only get those juices-flowing blocks but also move well on the pe - rimeter on defense and stay active offensively within the motion offense. "I feel like I'm more focused or more dialed in, more confi- dent," Hammons said. "Begin- BIG TEN STANDINGS (Through Feb. 16) Team Big Ten/Pct. Overall/Pct 1. Wisconsin 11-1/.917 22-2/.917 2. Maryland 9-4/.692 21-5/.807 PURDUE 9-4/.692 17-9/.653 4. Michigan State 8-4/.667 17-8/.680 5. Ohio State 8-5/.615 19-7/.730 Indiana 8-5/.615 18-8/.692 7. Illinois 7-6/.538 17-9/.653 8. Iowa 6-6/.500 15-10/.600 9. Michigan 6-7/.461 13-9/.591 10. Nebraska 5-8/.384 13-12/.521 Minnesota 5-8/.384 16-10/.615 12. Penn State 3-10/.230 15-11/.576 13. Rutgers 2-11/.153 10-16/.384 14. Northwestern 2-10/.167 11-14/.444 ... all the services ... all the food ... all the comfort ... all the fun YourWindow_GoldandBlack_August10_electronic.indd 1 8/20/2010 2:26:24 PM PLUS-MINUS Below indicates how Purdue has fared when an individual has been in the game. For example, Purdue has outscored its opponents by 90 with Jon Octeus in the game. MINN MICH @WIS MARY @PSU @ILL IOWA IU NW OSU @MINN @RUT NEB TOT Jon Octeus +15 +14 -5 -16 +9 -6 +1 +16 +17 +7 +14 +11 +13 +90 Raphael Davis +4 +11 -5 -16 +7 -9 +4 +11 +12 +2 -7 +10 +15 +49 A.J. Hammons -2 +11 -3 -9 -1 -10 0 +13 +17 +13 -2 +7 +8 +42 Kendall Stephens +8 +15 +1 +3 +5 +1 +6 +12 -8 -9 -8 +6 +9 +41 Vince Edwards +12 +19 -4 -12 +4 -13 -13 +10 +19 +7 -1 -3 +12 +37 Dakota Mathias -7 -2 -4 -3 +4 -7 +1 +2 +17 +13 +2 +2 +3 +21 Isaac Haas +6 +2 -4 -1 +8 +1 +3 +8 -7 -11 -2 +3 +4 +10 Jon McKeeman DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 Neal Beshears DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 Stephen Toyra DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 Basil Smotherman -8 -8 -7 +3 +1 +4 +15 +5 -13 -5 -3 +13 0 -3 Bryson Scott +1 DNP DNP 0 0 -3 DNP +17 -14 -7 -11 DNP DNP -17 P.J. Thompson -9 +3 -4 +6 -2 -3 +3 -8 DNP DNP -2 +1 -4 -19