SOUTH BEND — Purdue got the highest seed of the three Indiana teams that got NCAA tournament bids and a chance to play in the Final Four in Indianapolis.
The Boilermakers were also the most disappointed after getting the No. 4 seed, lowered because do-everything forward Robbie Hummel was lost for the season to an injury.
"Our resume says we're a two or a three," coach Matt Painter said. "You can't really get upset about reality and the fact that he's not playing. You would just sending your energy somewhere where it doesn't need to be."
The Boilermakers (27-5) will play No. 13 seed Siena (27-6) in Spokane, Wash., on Friday.
Horizon League champion Butler (28-4) got the No. 5 seed and will try to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 21 games when it faces No. 11 seed UTEP (26-6) in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday. And Notre Dame (23-11) was ecstatic to be seeded sixth for its game against Old Dominion (26-8) in New Orleans on Thursday.
Painter said he wasn't going to begrudge the tournament selection committee for its decision.
"I think they did what they felt was best and I think it can serve as motivation to pick themselves up off the canvas," he said of his players.
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, chairman of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, said the injury to Hummel was a factor in Purdue's seeding. The Boilermakers were ranked No. 3 when he was injured, but went 3-2 after losing him.
"To have integrity in the field we needed to make certain that we placed them in a place where we felt was appropriate without Robbie Hummel," Guerrero said on CBS.
Butler coach Brad Stevens didn't care about his team's seeding, which matched the highest in the program's history.
"I don't even pay attention to the numbers," he said. "The only thing I saw was UTEP. You can take numbers out of the equation because they're a heck of a basketball team."
The Miners won 16 straight games before losing 81-73 in the Conference USA championship game to Houston on Saturday. Despite not losing in two months and being ranked, UTEP was one of the tournament "bubble" teams.
Stevens said the Miners will present problems for his Bulldogs.
"They're unbelievably athletic and they have terrific size," Stevens said.
Notre Dame won six straight games before losing to West Virginia in the Big East tournament semifinal. The team was thrilled with its sixth seed, especially after it looked as if they might be headed back to the NIT when the Irish were 6-8 in the Big East and leading scorer Luke Harangody was out indefinitely with a knee injury.
"We thought it was a heck of a run we finished with, probably even better than we thought, to earn a six seed," coach Mike Brey said. "It's really powerful how we finished. I'm proud of that. It says a lot about what this group did to put us in that position."
The Irish thought they likely would receive either an eighth or ninth seed.
"To see us get a six, that's tremendous," Harangody said.
Brey said the Irish will head to New Orleans full of confidence since switching to a slower-paced offense that led to a six-game winning streak.
"I'm glad we play Thursday instead of Friday, we get to get back out on the court, because we feel we're playing pretty well," he said.
While Purdue, Butler and Notre Dame prepare for tournament games and a chance to play for the championship in their home state, Indiana is on spring break with no place to go.
The Hoosiers (10-21) lost 12 of their last 13 games to finish with a losing record for a second straight season, leaving Indiana coach Tom Crean plenty of time to tweet about his hopes for future NCAA tournament berths.
"From the cornfields to the Capitol we are out and about today. We need to get the guys added that can help us get back to Selection Sunday," Crean posted Sunday on his Twitter account. He was not available for comment Sunday.
A day earlier, Crean posted about being at high school basketball sectional finals, saying: "I wish I could tell you where we are heading but its against NCAA RULES. WE NEED TO ALL TAKE BACK THE STATE THOUGH."
The Hoosiers haven't been the best team in the state since Kelvin Sampson resigned because of recruiting violations two years ago. That left the Hoosiers with only eight scholarship players and one senior for the 2008-09 season, when they finished with a 6-25 record — the school's worst winning percentage in nearly a century.
Crean said the Hoosiers are further along in their rebuilding than it appears.
"I can promise you that with the trial and error and the rebuilding situation that we've been in sometimes, I'm shocked we're as far along as we are," he said after the Hoosiers lost in the Big Ten tournament. "I know our record doesn't indicate that, but this program has endured a lot. A lot. And certainly we're not — we're not through the tunnel yet."
College Sports
Purdue gets No. 4 seed, Butler No. 5, Notre Dame No. 6
- College Sports
-
-
AU men lose, but still clinch spot in HCAC tourney
The Anderson University men’s basketball team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Manchester College 81-71 on Wednesday night at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena in North Manchester.
-
Hoosiers hold off ’Cats
Tom Crean’s first 20-win season at Indiana came with some fitting benchmarks.
A freshman credited with turning the program around led the way again. An injured senior who survived a six-win season closed it out. And, of course, the Hoosiers had to scrap for another 40 minutes to pull off the win -
Wiles’ heart leads her to Hoosiers
Meghan Wiles took some time to explore her options, but she always kind of knew where she would end up.
She’s an IU girl.
Wiles, a Pendleton Heights senior, signed to play soccer at Indiana University on Feb. 1, the NCAA’s National Signing Day. Her parents, Tom and Mandy, both attended IU. -
Boilers get back on track with win
Robbie Hummel scored a season-high 27 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds Sunday as Purdue snapped Northwestern’s three-game winning streak with an 87-77 victory.
-
W. Virginia women upset No. 2 Irish
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said her team had it coming to them. “I thought we’ve been building up to this game now for a couple of weeks,” she said. “We just haven’t played well for a long time.” The second-ranked Irish almost played well enough Sunday, but West Virginia ended their 21-game winning streak with a 65-63 victory.
-
Prahalis lifts No. 10 OSU women past No. 16 Purdue
Samantha Prahalis, the only senior on Ohio State’s roster, has been through a lot of battles on the court. So it figured that when the No. 10 Buckeyes were badly in need of a bucket on Sunday against No. 16 Purdue, it was their most experienced player who supplied a dagger of a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to pave the way to an 80-71 victory.
-
Ravens soar past Grizzlies
The Anderson University men’s basketball team has been in tournament mode for the past three weeks.
But the Ravens took a big step toward the actual postseason Saturday afternoon with a 79-65 victory against Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. -
AU women fall to HCAC leaders
The Anderson University women’s basketball team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference leader Franklin College 68-43 on Saturday at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium on Senior Day.
-
No. 23 Hoosiers hurry past Illinois 84-71
Illinois played like a desperate team Thursday night. That didn’t matter to Indiana. Cody Zeller scored 22 points and Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford each had 18, igniting No. 23 Indiana’s late charge to get past the Fighting Illini 84-71.
-
Boilers honor Lewis at halftime against IU
Purdue basketball fans took time out Saturday in the middle of a heated rivalry game with Indiana to honor Anderson High School graduate Troy Lewis, whose No. 23 jersey hangs from the rafters at Mackey Arena.
- More College Sports Headlines
-
