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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 24 • 1 BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com A few days after beating Illinois to finish the regular season with 12 Big Ten wins and in a third-place tie in the confer- ence, a few of Purdue's players went to see a movie. Their choice: "Focus." Now, "Focus" has nothing at all — at all – to do with bas- ketball, but in a different sense, those players couldn't have chosen a more aptly named film relative to their current standing. If there's one thing the Boilermakers need as much as anything right now, it's just that: Focus. Purdue's surprised everyone this season. This was a last-place team a year ago and an irrelevant 8-5 team at the end of December. Today, it's one of the top four seeds in the Big Ten Tourna- ment, standing at the cusp of its first NCAA Tournament trip since 2012. Now comes the hard part, though. The Big Ten Tournament affords Purdue a chance to re- move all doubt about its NCAA candidacy, still watered-down by a highly flawed, to put it nicely, non-conference season. Purdue landed a coveted double bye straight to Friday afternoon, when, if seeding holds, it'll play No. 5 seed Iowa at 2:30 p.m. The double bye was crucial for Purdue. Aside from extra rest and a shorter path to the title game, the Day 2 pass pro- tects the Boilermakers and their NCAA résumé from a poten- tial high-risk low-reward Thursday game. After Purdue dropped back-to-back road games at Ohio State and Michigan State, losing significant first-half leads in both, it needed help from Wisconsin to land the double bye. The Badgers delivered, destroying Ohio State by 24 in Columbus Sunday. Because of it, Purdue landed in a third-place tie and se- cured the 4 seed. "I don't think I ever rooted for another team that hard," forward Vince Edwards said about Wisconsin. The Boilermakers will open the postsea- son event against either the Hawkeyes, Penn State or Nebraska, all teams Purdue beat in single meetings this season. "We feel like we can beat anybody," guard Kendall Ste- phens said. "But already having a win over a team is definitely going to be a confidence booster. I think we're playing great Tom Campbell Purdue grabbed back some momentum Saturday by ending the regular season with a crucial victory over Illinois to secure the double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. 1999 The last year in which a team finished better than third place in Big Ten after finishing in last place the year before. OSU did it, but its games were later va- cated due to troubles with the NCAA. 3 Double-digit deficits Purdue overcame to earn victories in the 2014-15 con- ference season. All three comebacks were at home (Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois). 3 Players in Big Ten history to record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 250 blocks by the end of the junior year. A.J. Hammons joins OSU's Herb Williams (1978-80) and Joe Barry Carroll (1977-79). 1 Fourth seeds to win the Big Ten Tour- nament title. Michigan did it 1998 in the first year, but had to vacate the crown due to an NCAA issue. The Wolver- ines beat Purdue for the crown that year. THE NUMBERS VOLUME 25, EX 24 • MARCH 9, 2015 Inside | Purdue beats Illinois 6-7 Tourney preview 8-9 | Notes 11–16 Women's basketball season ends 18-22 Postseason Here, Purdue Must Keep Its Eye On The Ball