No. 11 Purdue seeks share of Big Ten title at Northwestern

Purdue owns more regular-season Big Ten titles than any other school.

All that stands between the 11th-ranked Boilermakers and their 24th Big Ten crown is Saturday's visit to last-place Northwestern. With a win, Purdue (22-8, 15-4) shares the championship with the winner of Saturday's Michigan-Michigan State bout.

With a win, the Boilermakers would clinch the No. 2 seed for next week's Big Ten tournament at the United Center in Chicago; they lose a tiebreaker against either of the Michigan schools. With a loss Saturday at sold-out Welsh-Ryan Arena, pushed would be the No. 3 seed.

"Understand no matter how you feel or understand the stakes, you can still do your job," coach Matt Painter said on GoldandBlack.com.

"I think that's where things get away from people sometimes, is when they let other factors come into play. Don't let other factors come into play. Just do your job. We've put ourselves in a good position because we've done our job."

Well, Purdue could be in an even better position. The Boilermakers squandered their shot for their second outright title in three seasons with a 73-69 loss Tuesday at Minnesota.

Junior guard Carsen Edwards finished 7 of 31 from the field against the Gophers -- continuing his trend of errant marksmanship. He is likely to capture the Big Ten's scoring crown -- Edwards averages 21.4 points in conference play while Penn State junior forward Lamar Stevens (20.2 ppg) is the only one who can catch him -- but he's shooting just 34.8 percent from the field and 30.2 percent on 3-pointers.

Nevertheless, Edwards has been named a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy that goes to the nation's best player. He and Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston represent the Big Ten on that 12-man list. Edwards also earned one of the five finalist spots for the Jerry West Award that goes to the nation's best shooting guard -- an honor he won last season.

While Purdue tries to figure out how to get everything working perfectly for March Madness, Northwestern wants to figure how to replicate Wednesday's 68-50 win over Ohio State as many times as it can.

Though the Wildcats (13-17, 4-15) have clinched a spot in the Big Ten's basement for the first time since 2007-08, they are riding high after snapping their 10-game losing streak Wednesday night. They'll also be boosted by the adrenalin rush of Senior Day, which includes custom jerseys and shoes they designed for the occasion.

Northwestern will recognize six seniors prior to the game -- a group that features center Dererk Pardon (14.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and fifth-year forward Vic Law (15.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg).

Pardon and Law, who was coach Chris Collins' first recruit way back in July 2013, are the only starters remaining from the 2016-17 team that became the school's first NCAA Tournament qualifier.

"Hopefully (the OSU win) will give the guys some confidence," Collins said. "I tell them all the time, until you're told you don't have any more games, you get ready to play and you compete to win.

"I think our guys are excited about Saturday. We have a huge senior class that has meant a lot to our program. It's their last time playing at home and we're playing against a team that's fighting for a Big Ten championship. There should be a lot of energy. It should be a high-level game."

--Field Level Media