Dance Card: Purdue, Big Ten at-large

Who? The Boilermakers of Purdue.

What? A nickname born out of mockery and the white-collar/blue-collar divide, Purdue proudly adopted the name as its own. The Boilermaker Special is the official mascot, with Purdue Pete making appearances that require a bit less space and a bit more motion.

Where? West Lafayette, Indiana, which is not to be confused with the one in Ohio.

When? March 22nd, in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Why? Top ten in both RPI and SOS will get you into pretty much anywhere you want to go.

How? They were an at-large selection.

Surprise? They were fourth in conference, but fell to fifth on a tiebreaker, ending up two games back of Penn State and Michigan State.

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Purdue Boilermakers

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SOS: 6

Record: 21-8 (11-5 Big Ten)

Good wins: At Penn State. Also, I think they've won the MAC.

Bad losses: At Northwestern.

Who's running this show? Sharon Versyp, since 2006, in two state sports halls of fame.

Extra, Extra! The Indianapolis Star. SB Nation's Hammer and Rails has also offered weekly coverage of the team this year.

Losing senior point KK Houser to a torn ACL right before the Big Ten tournament was a heartbreaker, not just for her 15.2 points and 5.0 assists per game, but for her steady senior leadership. Even more of the playmaking load falls on sophomore April Wilson now. Fortunately, the Boilermakers still have senior Courtney Moses, who leads the way with 15.7 points per game. Junior Whitney Bays comes off the bench with 11.5 points and a team high 7.6 rebounds per game.