Despite finishing stumble, Purdue gets No. 3 seed in NCAAs

By Bud L. Ellis

It was not the way the Purdue Boilermakers wanted to hit the NCAA tournament, but their strong regular season paid off in a good seeding nonetheless.

The Boilermakers lost just five times in their first 30 games, then fell twice in a six-day span. Purdue’s upset loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals came on the heels of a 67-65 loss to Iowa to end the regular season.

Purdue opens the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southwest, tipping off Friday in Chicago against St. Peter’s. The Boilermakers are looking to recapture the form they showed in winning 14 of 18 games in Big Ten action, including a seven-game winning streak that included consecutive victories over then No. 10 Wisconsin and then No. 3 Ohio State.

Talented forward-center JaJuan Johnson leads Purdue in scoring (20.5 points) and rebounds (8.2), recording 10 double-doubles in 32 games to far. Johnson earned All-America honors by the United States Basketball Writers Association, and is the only active player in Division I with at least 1,800 points, 800 rebounds and 250 blocked shots in his career.

One bit of bad news for the Boilermakers: Purdue lost sophomore guard Kelsey Barlow for the rest of the season, suspending Barlow for conduct detrimental to the team on Tuesday, three days before beginning play in the NCAAs.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 7:09 pm by bud

Tags: Big Ten Conference, Iowa, JaJuan Johnson, Kelsey Barlow, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue Boilermakers news, Purdue Boilermakers schedule, Purdue Boilermakers tickets, St. Peter’s, Wisconsin