+1
For more on the Purdue Boilermakers, check out Hammer and Rails.
The Purdue Boilermakers (14-7, 4-4) head to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats (12-7, 2-5). Northwestern is the middle portion of a five game swing for the Boilermakers in which four teams are ranked in the Top 25 -- NU is not one of those teams, but they are no slouch, either.
Purdue is coming off two straight losses against the ranked teams in the state of Michigan and really needs a win to keep pace in the Big Ten standings before two more games vs. ranked opponents -- Ohio State and Indiana -- next week.
As for Northwestern, they have an outside chance of making their first NCAA tournament and a win vs. the Boilermakers would undoubtedly help bolster their resume.
The game tips at 4 p.m. and will be on ESPN2.
For more on Purdue basketball, check out Hammer and Rails. You can find the Northwestern take at Sippin' on Purple. For all your college basketball needs, head over to SB Nation's college basketball hub.
Purdue Vs. Northwestern Final Score: Boilermakers Hold On For Close 58-56 Win
It was a wild finish to the game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday. Leading 54-49 with five minutes to go, the Wildcatsstarted to come back as time ran out. John Shurna made a three-point jumper to bring the score to 54-52. Both teams would go on to score again, with a Terone Johnson jumper and a Reggie Hearn dunk, and at 42 seconds remaining, Northwestern managed to tie it up with a layup from Hearn at 56-56.
Robbie Hummel came through for Purdue though, nailing a jumper with eight seconds to go, bringing the score to 58-56 that would go on to be the final. Purdue led after the fist half by a score of 26-22 and seemed to have the game firmly in their grasp, but the Wildcats actually came back strong in the second, outscoring them 34-32, though it wasn't by a wide enough margin. They did lead at one point early in the second half.
Purdue held on though, with a solid effort from multiple players, with Terone Johnson leading the way with 14 points, three assists, two steals, two rebounds and a block. Drew Crawford went 9-for-16 from the field and 4-for-7 from the line, with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Northwestern.
Purdue moves to 15-7 on the season, with a 5-4 mark within the Big Ten and will next take on Indiana. Northwestern falls to 12-8 with a 2-6 mark within the conference, and will take on Nebraska in their next outing.
For more on the Purdue Boilermakers, check out Hammer and Rails. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.
Jan 28 6:05p by James Brady