Purdue had just one game last week, and it was a game where the Boilermakers barely escaped, at that. The rest of the Big Ten saw some minor shakeups. Minnesota’s midweek upset of Michigan State helped. Michigan State coming back to beat Illinois in overtime helped, too. Right now, the Boilers do not control their path to a Big Ten title, but they will as long as both Illinois and Michigan each take another loss outside of when Purdue plays them. They also still have to play each other.
What did take
a hit was Braden Smith’s pursuit of the assists record. He had just four on Saturday, and six of his last seven games have been below his season average. He is currently eighth all time with 958, two behind Syracuse’s Sherman Douglas. The record is still possible, but this recent cold stretch means Purdue probably needs a deep postseason run of at least 5 games betweent he two tournaments to get there.
Here is teh AP Poll for this week, which is a pivotal one for Purdue. Finding a way to sweep two very difficult road games would be a tremendous boost to the B1G title hopes.
Other Receiving Votes: Alabama 72, Iowa 69, NC State 31, Tennessee 26, Villanova 17, Utah St. 15, Georgia 6, Santa Clara 2, Auburn 2, Saint Mary’s 1.
