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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 24 • 11 BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com F ew teams in the Big Ten have responded to a last-place sea- son like Purdue just did. The Boilermakers' third-place finish, which tied with Michigan State and Iowa, marked one of the more impressive single-sea- son turnarounds in the confer- ence's history. Since 1965, only three other programs went from last to as high as third place in the league the next season, and two of those years included won-loss records sullied from NCAA sanctions (Ohio State in 1999, Minnesota in 1977). So, officially, the last team to finish last and jump at least to third place the next year was Michigan State in 1966 when it moved to second place. Purdue went from 5-13 in 2013-14 to 12-6 in 2014-15 with a regular-season finale victory over Illinois on Saturday. "Really good," sophomore Kendall Stephens said when asked how the turnaround felt. "It's definitely nice to have the regular season over with and be - ing satisfied with where we are, but of course, we have a huge Big Ten Tournament coming up that we have to get ready for." Stephens wasn't necessar- ily surprised by the response of the team, considering the talent that was infused by the group of freshmen to start the season and the growth shown by the rest of the roster, he said. M E N ' S BA S K E T BA L L : N E W S A N D N OT E S Tom Campbell Purdue finished tied for third place in the Big Ten, one year after finishing in last place. Strong defense, as shown here by Dakota Mathias has had a lot to do with the resurgence. Boilermakers Post Record Turnaround For Season Stats Click Here www.MeetYouAtArnis.com LAFAYETTE • INDIANAPOLIS • GREENWOOD Visit one of our 18 Indiana locations Meet You At Arni's TM Celebrates Purdue's Student-Athletes SERVING BOILER FANS FOR 50 YEARS World Famous Pizza, Salads, Sandwiches Faye Adelaja RS Sophomore, Major in Movement and Sports Sciences Adelaja, a middle blocker from Baton Rouge, La., was one of five volleyball players to be named Academic All-Big Ten on Dec. 10. Seventy-one Purdue student-athletes received Academic recognition eclipsing last fall's total of 64 and 2012's total of 46. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners, in at least their second year at their institution and carry a gradepoint average of at least 3.0. Football and women's cross country led the way for the Boilermakers with 20 honorees for football and 19 for women's cross country. Women's soccer followed with 16, men's cross country had 11 members recognized and the volleyball team had five. PRESENTS vertime