Indystar.com reports : STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Fueled by nerves of steel and a relentless approach to defense, Purdue’s seventh-ranked basketball team has secured the school’s record-extending 22nd Big Ten Conference regular-season championship.
After beginning the Big Ten season 2-3, the calm yet tenacious Boilermakers roared back, winning 11 of their final 12 conference games, capped Saturday afternoon by a nail-biting 64-60 victory against last-place Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center.It’s a great feeling,” said fifth-year Purdue coach Matt Painter, whose first Boilermakers team finished 9-19 and 3-13 in the Big Ten. “Our players sacrificed a lot and battled. To be in this position and get the job done . . . you can’t really put it into words.
“We had a little bit of bad luck with Rob Hummel’s (knee) injury. It’s just good to see that locker room and see so many smiles.”
It’s Purdue’s first Big Ten regular-season championship since 1996, when Brad Miller and Chad Austin were the Boilermakers’ standouts.
Purdue shares the championship with sixth-ranked Ohio State and also could share it with 11th-ranked Michigan State if the Spartans defeat Michigan today in East Lansing. The Boilermakers will be the Big Ten Tournament’s No. 2 seed regardless.
While Purdue (26-4, 14-4), which was 7-2 in Big Ten road games, never trailed, it watched the Nittany Lions (11-19, 3-15) slice a 13-point, second-half deficit to 61-60 on three Chris Babb free throws with 18.7 seconds to play.
But Boilermakers junior guard E’Twaun Moore, who struggled while scoring nine points, sank two pressure-packed free throws with 16.7 seconds to go to extend the lead to 63-60. Babb, who scored 17 for Penn State, missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with seven seconds to go.
Center JaJuan Johnson, who led all scorers with 21 points and had 10 rebounds, made a free throw with 5.4 seconds to play.
“We played well collectively,” said senior guard Keaton Grant, who added a season-high 17 points. “We outrebounded them, which is what we need to do each and every game. The biggest thing about this is that it was one of our goals, and we accomplished it.”
Purdue used a 13-2 run to take an 18-7 lead and outrebounded the Nittany Lions (30-29), the conference’s second-best rebounding team behind Michigan State.
“It was a good start for us,” said Johnson, 11-of-14 at the free throw line. “Our guys really wanted this game. We knew the importance of it. We weren’t going to take no for an answer.”
Despite playing without leading scorer Talor Battle (leg cramps) during the final 7:06, Penn State would not go away. Battle scored 17.
“Penn State always has made runs,” Painter said. “They’ve continued to fight. We knew that we had to step up and make some of those free throws and do a better job defensively.”
