Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/463948
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 21 • 10 much I know — as tears came to his eyes a couple of times. But you forget what kind of iconic player he was, so it was great to remind folks that this guy was one of the best … ever. "When a guy can talk about rooming with Os - car Robertson, playing in Rome in the Olympic Games and going to dental school while in the sum- mer while playing in the NBA, it gets your attention. He has done that and so much more in his life." Cardinal said he told Dischinger that the had three or four minutes to address the Mack- ey Arena crowd at halftime, but Dis- chinger chose to keep his remarks very short. "I said, 'Don't go handing that mic back to me,'" Cardinal said with a laugh. "He was really enjoying the moment and the fact his No. 43 jersey hangs up in the rafters is important to him." There will be much more on Dischinger, and his remarkable career, in an upcoming edition of "Gold and Black Radio" at the end of this month. NCAA TALK Coach Matt Painter isn't talking about it, but it's only natural some Boilermakers are following NCAA Tournament projections closely and thinking about the postseason. But they also know there's still plenty of work to be done. "We can be," A.J. Hammons said when asked if he felt like Purdue was an NCAA Tournament team. "We still have a couple things to work on, but if we finish out these last couple games the way we should, I feel like we'll be an NCAA Tournament team." In ESPN.com Joe Lunardi's projection on Monday, he has the Boilermakers as one of his "first four out," even though they'd won two games in the last week and six of their last seven. Jerry Palm, who does projec - tions for CBS Sports, had Purdue into the Tournament in the bracket he posted on Monday as one of the "last four in." But he was at Purdue's game Sunday and said he thinks Purdue will have to win at least one, maybe two, their remaining three road games to make the Tournament. So do players. "I feel like if we can get some road games and of course win out at home, then I feel like we're go- ing to go," Isaac Haas said. "I feel like a lot of people are doubt- ing us because we've had a couple bad seasons here at Purdue, but I do know if we keep proving ourselves that we deserve to be in that Tournament then we'll get there." TARGET DATE Rapheal Davis thinks it was right after the Illinois game. Haas said it was when the change in the starting lineup was made, which is the same timeframe. Ham- mons doesn't seem to pin- point a specific moment. But whatever spurred it, Hammons has been an absolute beast for the Boil- ermakers of late. In the last seven games — since the loss at Illinois and since Hammons was re-inserted as a starter for Haas — the 7-foot junior averaged 11.7 points on 70-percent shooting, 7.3 re- bounds and 3.9 blocks. He should have had his fourth double-double of Big Ten play Sunday — he had 12 rebounds but hit only 3-of-7 free throws to keep him from getting 10 points. He finished with seven. Purdue has won six of those seven games, pushing it to second place in the league and onto the Tom Campbell A.J. Hammons' recent streak of consistency has him look- ing like an NBA prospect, Nebraska coach Tim Miles said Sunday. 2014-15 PURDUE MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time/Result Nov. 2 CALIFORNIA (Pa.) (BTN Plus) W, 89-52 Nov. 7 CARROLL (BTN Plus) W, 90-49 Nov. 14 SAMFORD (BTN Plus) W, 80-40 Nov. 16 IUPUI (BTN) W, 77-57 Nov. 20 GRAMBLING (BTN Plus) W, 82-30 Maui Invitational - Lahaina, Hawaii Nov. 24 vs. Kansas State (ESPN2) L, 79-88 Nov. 25 vs. Missouri W, 82-61 Nov. 26 vs. BYU (ESPN2) W, 87-85 (OT) Big Ten/ACC Challenge - West Lafayette Dec. 2 NC STATE (ESPNU) W, 66-61 Dec. 6 NORTH FLORIDA (BTN Plus) L, 70-73 Dec. 8 IPFW (ESPNU) W, 63-43 Dec. 10 ARKANSAS STATE (ESPNU) W, 87-46 Dec. 13 at Vanderbilt (SEC Network) L, 71-81 Crossroads Classic - Indianapolis Dec. 20 vs. No. 21 Notre Dame (BTN) L, 63-94 Dec. 22 GARDNER-WEBB (BTN Plus) L, 84-89 Dec. 31 MINNESOTA (BTN) W, 72-68 Jan. 3 MICHIGAN (BTN) W, 64-51 Jan. 7 at No. 4 Wisconsin (BTN) L, 55-62 Jan. 10 No. 11 MARYLAND (BTN) L, 60-69 Jan. 17 at Penn State W, 84-77 Jan. 21 at Illinois (BTN) L, 57-66 Jan. 24 No. 25 IOWA (BTN) W, 67-63 Jan. 28 No. 21 INDIANA (BTN) W, 83-67 Jan. 31 at Northwestern (ESPNU) W, 68-60 Feb. 4 No. 21 OHIO STATE (BTN) W, 60-58 Feb. 7 at Minnesota (BTN) L, 58-62 Feb. 12 at Rutgers(ESPNU) W, 61-51 Feb. 15 NEBRASKA (BTN) W, 66-54 Feb. 19 at Indiana (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 26 RUTGERS (ESPNU) 9 p.m. March 1 at Ohio State (BTN) 7:30 p.m. March 4 at Michigan State (BTN) 8 p.m. March 7 ILLINOIS (BTN) 4:30 p.m. March 11-15 Big Ten Tournament (Chicago)