Big Ten Daily (March 6): Has Purdue Done Enough to Secure Top Overall Seed in March Madness?
You almost need a second notebook page to keep track of the number of signature wins No. 3 Purdue has accumulated this season. The Boilermakers picked up another one on Tuesday night, defeating No. 12 Illinois 77-71 in Champaign.
Zach Edey had another monster performance, scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the win. Braden Smith had 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, hitting a clutch triple in the final minute of the contest to put the game to bed.
With the win, Purdue secured the outright Big Ten title, winning back-to-back regular season titles. More importantly, though, it essentially locked up a No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter is proud of the way his team has responded this year following such a heartbreaking defeat in March Madness a season ago.
"It's really hard for the loss that we had. We had never been a 1 seed since I've been the coach. You fight to be a 1 seed and you get beat by a 16 — I don't even really like talking about it out of respect for our opponent because they beat us straight up," Painter said.
"But we had to sit in that for six or seven months before our season started. That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to fight to get back in that same place and looks like we're gonna be in that same place come tournament time. But winning the Big Ten is such an honor because it's so hard."
With another big victory added to the resumé, the question is whether or not Purdue deserves to be the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. CBS Sports' Gary Parrish made the case for the Boilermakers on Tuesday night.
"Really impressive performance to go on the road and win as an underdog in that type of environment," Parrish said. "And now, Purdue has nine wins over teams ranked in the top-25 of the NET. UConn and Houston — both of which are projected No. 1 seeds, as well — combined only have eight. Purdue should be the No. 1 seed overall in the NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers are 27-3 on the season with a home game against Wisconsin on Sunday remaining on the regular season schedule.
Clark inks deal with Fever sponsor
Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark isn't officially a member of the Indiana Fever quite yet, but it's only a matter of time before she is selected by the franchise with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She's already getting her professional career started with a sponsorship deal.
The Des Moines Register confirmed that Clark inked a deal as a brand ambassador with Gainbridge — an Indianapolis-based insurance and investment company. Terms of the deal of confidential, but it is reported to be a multi-year sponsorship agreement.
Gainbridge is also the stadium sponsor of the basketball venue in downtown Indianapolis — home of both the Indiana Pacers and Fever.
Last week, Clark announced that she would be entering her name into the WNBA Draft after this season, bringing an end to her career with the Hawkeyes. Although she played four seasons at Iowa, she technically had one year of eligibility remaining because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Clark became the all-time NCAA scoring leader this season, breaking "Pistol" Pete Maravich's record of 3.667 points in a career. Heading into the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, she has totaled 3,685 points.
Related Big Ten stories
- BIG TEN WBB TOURNAMENT DAY 1 PREVIEW: The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday. Here's a preview of the Day 1 games, which features No. 13 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Purdue and No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Minnesota. CLICK HERE
- IZZO HOPES PURDUE MAKES DEEP RUN: Michigan State's Tom Izzo has a lot of respect for Matt Painter and Purdue. He said the Boilermakers are the best team in the country and hopes "this is the year" they finally break through during March Madness. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN BASKETBALL POWER RANKINGS: Both Ohio State and Iowa have won four of their last five games. There might still be some work left to do for the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes, but do they have an outside shot at making the NCAA Tournament? CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN WOMEN'S TOURNEY SELLS OUT: For the first time in its history, the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament has been sold out. This year's event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6 through Sunday, March 10 and will be played at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. CLICK HERE
- MEN'S BIG TEN TOURNAMENT TRACKER: The Big Ten Basketball Tournament is approaching quickly. This year's event is being held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. from March 13-17. We're keeping track of the bracket throughout the final month of the regular season. CLICK HERE