Sigh.
Northwestern played a competitive game, but couldn't win its fourth consecutive conference game - a feat we were told a dozen times NU has not accomplished since 1967 - falling to Purdue in frustrating fashion. In the first half, Northwestern played well on defense, but couldn't grab a rebound, allowing 11 offensive boards right off the bat, and looked stagnant as all get out on offense, only putting up 25 points, allowing Purdue to get away with a poor offensive performance of their own.
In the second, things clicked on offense, as NU put up 51 points, but Ryne Smith and D.J. Byrd found all the soft spots in NU's zone and drilled threes to keep the Boilers perpetually three to six points ahead of Northwestern for most of the second half. John Shurna really went off, putting up 30, many in a late-game scoring spree, but it didn't help.
This isn't the death knell for NU's tourney hopes, but it's not fun, as the game really could've done wonders for the resume. NU will just have to do work elsewhere.