March 8, 2001
Big Ten Tourney Audio
| Format | Date | Player/Coach |
 | 03/08/01 | Purdue Coach G. Keady Postgame press conference following 91-77 win over Minnesota in 1st Round of Big Ten Tourney. |
| 03/08/01 | R. Smith and C. Cunningham Minnesota postgame press conference. |
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO - Thanks to a career day by Maynard Lewis and the return of Rodney Smith and John Allison, Purdue still has a chance at a ninth straight NCAA tournament.
Lewis scored a career-high 22 points, and Smith and Allison played for the first time since each broke a foot in early February as the Boilermakers beat Minnesota 91-77 Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
The Golden Gophers (17-13) lost despite a career-high 31 points from Kerwin Fleming, who was 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Fleming finished just two points shy of the Big Ten tournament scoring record after a 3-point attempt with about 15 seconds left banged off the rim.
The Boilermakers (15-13) have gone to the NCAA tournament the last eight years, but they need to win the Big Ten to make it nine in a row. It doesn't get any easier from here, as Purdue plays No. 4 Illinois, the tournament's top seed, on Friday.
But the return of Allison and Smith has to give Purdue a huge boost. The Boilermakers lost seven of their last eight Big Ten games with the two on the bench.
Allison, Purdue's top rebounder, has been out since breaking his foot Feb. 2. Smith, the team's leading scorer, broke his foot five days later.
Allison had six points and one rebound. Smith finished with 11 points, including a layup down the stretch that helped seal the game.
Fleming pulled the Gophers within 63-59 on another 3-pointer with 7:46 to play. But Lewis hit a 3 and Smith scored on a layup to give Purdue a 68-61 lead, and Minnesota never threatened again.
Willie Deane and Joe Marshall added 13 each for the Boilermakers, and Carson Cunningham had 10 points.
Terrance Simmons had 18 points for Minnesota, which shot just 40 percent for the game.
The Gophers missed their first six shots before Fleming got them going. He hit a 3-pointer - the first of four in the first half - to spark a 15-4 run that gave Minnesota a 15-9 lead with 13:17 left in the half.
But Smith gave the Boilermakers a spark when he went in with 12:32 left in the first half. He didn't waste any time working himself back into the offense, dunking the first time he got his hands on the ball. The momentum dumped him on his backside, but he got up and hit an 11-foot jumper about two minutes later.
Allison came through big later in the first half, scoring on a tip-in and an 11-foot jumper with 3:45 left. After Lewis' 3-pointer, Allison added a pair of free throws to put Purdue ahead 39-34 with 2:53 left in the first half.