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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 23 • 14 ing and get as many wins as we can get to the tournament. So any time you can get double-digit vic- tories in Big Ten and keep advanc- ing, you obviously increase your chances of getting to the tourna- ment. That's really important." HOLDING ON Painter holds a slim lead en- tering the final round of ESPN. com's Infiniti Coaches' Charity Challenge. Voting begins Monday for the last four coaches' charities. Painter is at 24 percent for the Smith Fami- ly BReaK Thru Fund, followed close- ly by Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg at 22 percent for the American Heart Association. Michigan's John Beilein (St. Louis Center) and Wich- ita State's Gregg Marshall (Wichita Children's Hospital) finished the last round of voting with 10 per- cent and 8 percent, respectively. By advancing to the final four, the BReaK Thru Fund is guaran- teed $15,000. The winning coach gets $100,000 for his charity. HITTING THE MARK Hammons became the 48th player in Purdue history to score at least 1,000 points last week. After being limited because of foul trouble in the first half against the Scarlet Knights — and not scoring a point — Ham- mons' second basket of the sec- ond half pushed him past 1,000. With about 13:35 left in the game, Hammons had a right-handed hook from the baseline for the over-the-top basket. As soon as he made it, members of The Paint Crew pulled out a sign that read "1,000" and the group started to chant Hammons' name. With 29 points in two games last week, Hammons has 1,026 ca- reer points, placing him at No. 47 all-time. With two regular-season games and at least one Big Ten Tournament game guaranteed, Hammons could move into the No. 42 spot if he continues with his season average (11.4). There's also a chance Ham- mons could move into second place all-time in career blocks this season — he's at 248, JaJuan Johnson had 263. But ask Hammons how he views himself as a player consid- ering those considerable feats, and it's clear he'd rather not talk about himself. "I don't view myself as a big superstar," he said. "I just come out here every day and make sure we win. I'm just trying to win a cham- pionship, make a good run in the NCAA Tournament. I'm not really a cocky person. I'm just trying to make sure my team wins and try- ing to stay on track, take it game by game. I wouldn't say I'm trying to give myself a name." DOUBLE-BYE DETERMINATION Purdue can still earn the dou- ble-bye even if it loses at Michi- gan State on Wednesday, but a victory in East Lansing would as- sure a top-four seed (double-bye) in the Big Ten Tournament. If Purdue beats MSU and Illi- nois, it will be either a No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed. The only way it is a No. 2 seed is if Maryland loses both of its games at Rutgers and Nebraska. If the Boilermakers lose both games, they drop no further than a No. 5 seed. There are scenarios in which the Boilermakers can lose both games and still earn a No. 4 seed, but it would involve finishing in a four-way tie with Michigan State, Indiana and Iowa or a three-way tie with the Spar - tans and Hoosiers or a three-way tie with the Hawkeyes and Spar- tans (all with 11-7 records). And in all those multi-tie scenarios, Ohio State has to stay below Purdue in the standings by losing its fi- nal two games at Penn State and against Wisconsin at home. j NCAA MEN'S TOURNAMENT SITES First Four March 17-18 – UD Arena (hosted by the University of Dayton) Dayton, Ohio Second/Third Rounds March 19, 21 Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (hosted by Jacksonville University) Jacksonville. KFC Yum! Center! (hosted by the University of Louisville) Louisville CONSOL Energy Center (hosted by Duquesne University) Pittsburgh Moda Center (hosted by University of Oregon) Portland March 20, 22 Time Warner Cable Arena (Hosted by University of North Carolina at Char- lotte) Charlotte Nationwide Arena (hosted by Ohio State University) Columbus, Ohio CenturyLink Center (hosted by Creighton University) Omaha KeyArena (hosted by the University of Washington) Seattle Regionals March 26, 28 Midwest Regional Quicken Loans Arena (hosted by the Mid-American Conference & Cleve- land State University) Cleveland West Regional Staples Center (hosted by Pepperdine University) Los Angeles March 27, 29 South Regional NRG Stadium (hosted by Rice University and University of Houston) Houston East Regional Carrier Dome (hosted by Syracuse University) Syracuse, N..Y. Final Four April 4, 6 Lucas Oil Stadium (hosted by Butler University, IUPUI, Horizon League) Indianapolis