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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 24 • 13 for us. Winning is fun. When you do the right things and sacrifice things for your teammates, that's a recipe for winning and a recipe for a championship team." SAFELY IN? After beating Illinois to end the regu- lar season, it'd seem that Purdue is in good shape for a berth to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence. At least according to the bracketolo- gists. ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi had Purdue as one of his "last four byes" — so no play- in game — on Monday morning with the Boilermakers as a No. 11 seed in Columbus. He had Purdue playing No. 6 Providence with the winner of No. 3 Oklahoma-No. 14 South Dakota State up in the next round. Lunardi's ESPN.com colleague, Eamonn Brennan, made a case for the Boil - ermakers in his "Bubble Watch" feature. He said "we think Purdue will get in" but also made sure to recount that there's no hid- ing its bad non-conference schedule that included losses to Gardner-Webb, North Florida, Kansas State and Vanderbilt. Still, a solid Big Ten showing helps lessen that blow a bit. "The Boilermakers' 12-6 Big Ten run wasn't a fluke, but the product of a vastly improved team — check the tapes of Pur- due's offense; Matt Painter deserves as many coaching awards as you want to give him — that figured things out with more than enough time to alter the trajectory of its season. … We won't lock them up yet. But we'd be shocked if they don't get in." CBSsports.com's Jerry Palm still has Purdue designated as a bubble team but has it as a non-play-in No. 11 seed in Pitts- burgh against No. 6 St. John's. In Palm's scenario, Purdue could play No. 3 Mary- land in the next round. DOUBLE BYE SECURED It looks good, if nothing else. Securing the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament means Purdue will enter as a quarterfinalist, skipping games on PLUS-MINUS This graphic indicates whether Purdue led or trailed when specific players were on the floor during Big Ten play. MINN MICH @WIS MARY @PSU @ILL IOWA IU NW OSU @MINN @RUT NEB @IU RUT @OSU @MSU ILL TOT Jon Octeus +15 +14 -5 -16 +9 -6 +1 +16 +17 +7 +14 +11 +13 +13 +6 -5 +13 +1 +118 A.J. Hammons -2 +11 -3 -9 -1 -10 0 +13 +17 +13 -2 +7 +8 +7 -3 -5 +3 +13 +57 Vince Edwards +12 +19 -4 -12 +4 -13 -13 +10 +19 +7 -1 -3 +12 0 DNP +12 -6 +8 +51 Raphael Davis +4 +11 -5 -16 +7 -9 +4 +11 +12 +2 -7 +10 +15 +1 -2 -4 -5 +5 +44 Kendall Stephens +8 +15 +1 +3 +5 +1 +6 +12 -8 -9 -8 +6 +9 0 0 +5 -11 -1 +34 Dakota Mathias -7 -2 -4 -3 +4 -7 +1 +2 +17 +13 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 -9 -2 +6 +25 Isaac Haas +6 +2 -4 -1 +8 +1 +3 +8 -7 -11 -2 +3 +4 +2 +7 +1 -7 -8 +5 Basil Smotherman -8 -8 -7 +3 +1 +4 +15 +5 -13 -5 -3 +13 0 +1 +17 -16 0 -1 -2 Jon McKeeman DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 Neal Beshears DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 Stephen Toyra DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP -2 P.J. Thompson -9 +3 -4 +6 -2 -3 +3 -8 DNP DNP -2 +1 -4 -4 +7 DNP DNP +4 -12 Bryson Scott +1 DNP DNP 0 0 -3 DNP +17 -14 -7 -11 DNP DNP -4 -2 +1 -15 -2 -39 underwoodagency.com Our Knowledge is Your Best Insurance ISU Insurance Services Underwood Agency Lafayette Office 3990 State Road 38 East, Suite 5A Lafayette, Indiana 47905 (765) 742-7320 800-852-5447 Columbus Office Jay Neeb 8011 S 100 W Columbus, IN 47201 (812) 342-8201 Established 1865 ® Craig W. Graham, CIC, CCCSRM Cynthia Bir, Account Executive Linda Grant, Personal Lines CSR Linda Morris, Commercial Lines CSR Elizabeth Shorter, Administration Phil Arth, Accounting