| WEEKEND STREAMING GUIDE (all times ET) |
| Men's Basketball |
| Saturday / Noon / Butler / FOX Sports Go |
| Women's Basketball |
| Sunday / Noon / Eastern Washington / BTN |
By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - No. 17 men's basketball (10-2) takes on Butler (8-2) in the seventh-annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. Tip time is noon ET, and the game will be televised by FOX.
The Boilermakers have won their last six games, by an average margin of 16.5 points.
Head coach Matt Painter earned the 300th win of his career when Purdue defeated IUPUI 86-61 at Mackey Arena on Dec. 10. He boasts a 300-149 record in 14 seasons, becoming the 15th coach in NCAA history to record 300 wins in 14 seasons or less.
The Boilermakers wrap up their non-conference schedule with home games against Tennessee State on Dec. 21 and Lipscomb on Dec. 30 before resuming Big Ten play Jan. 3 against Rutgers at Mackey.
The Boilermakers have won their last five games against teams from the state of Indiana, 13 straight in the month of December and 14 in a row at home.
Women's Basketball Hosts Invitational
Women's basketball (6-5) hosts the Basketball Traveler's Inc. Invitational at Mackey Arena on Dec. 17, 18 and 20. Here is the schedule:
Dec. 17
Noon: Purdue vs. Eastern Washington (4-5)
2:30 p.m.: Saint Mary's (5-3) vs. Tennessee-Martin (4-5)
Dec. 18
4 p.m.: Eastern Washington vs. Saint Mary's
6:30 p.m.: Purdue vs. Tennessee-Martin
Dec. 20
11 a.m.: Eastern Washington vs. Tennessee-Martin
1:30 p.m.: Purdue vs. Saint Mary's
The Boilermakers begin Big Ten play at Rutgers on Dec. 28. Their conference home opener is Dec. 31 against Wisconsin at 2 p.m.
Wrestling Home Openers
No. 20 and undefeated wrestling (3-0) competes in its first two home matches of the season Dec. 18 at Holloway Gymnasium. Admission is free.
The Boilermakers face SIU Edwardsville (1-2) at 3 p.m. ET, followed by No. 23 Central Michigan (1-3). SIU Edwardsville and Central Michigan get the day's action underway at 1 p.m.
The 55th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships are Dec. 29 and 30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Volleyball All-America Honors
Volleyball senior outside hitter Danielle Cuttino has been named a first team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and redshirt senior setter Ashley Evans has earned first team Academic All-America honors by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Cuttino and Evans both are the fourth Boilermakers to be so recognized. Previous first team All-Americans are Marianne Smith (1985), Stephanie Lynch (2008) and Ariel Turner (2011), while previous first team Academic All-Americans are Jane Neff (1982), Annette Bauer (1984) and Turner (2012).
Junior outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson earned third team All-America honors, and Evans was an honorable mention pick.
Evans becomes the fourth Purdue volleyball player to earn All-America and Academic All-America honors in the same season, following Neff (1982), Bauer (1984) and Turner (2011). Evans is the first player to program history to be a three-time Academic All-American as she earned third team honors two years ago and second team recognition last season. She is a mechanical engineering major.
Black Named Big Ten Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Senior Symone Black earned Big Ten Women's Track Athlete of the Week honors for her performance at the season-opening Hoosier Open on Dec. 8. The honor is the first of Black's indoor career and fourth overall.
Black won the 400 meters with a meet-record time of 55.36 seconds, which ranks fourth in the country this season. She also ran the opening leg of the victorious 4x400-meter relay. The quartet of Black, redshirt senior Carmiesha Cox, sophomore Samara Miller and senior Jahneya Mitchell posted a time of 3:39.37 (winning by 6.47 seconds), which is the fastest in the nation this season.
Both track & field teams return to action Jan. 13 with the Gene Edmonds Open at Lambert Fieldhouse.
Cifelli at Winter Nationals
At the USA Diving Winter National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday, junior diver Joe Cifelli advanced to the 3-meter final. He is seventh after the preliminaries and semifinals. The finals are Saturday.
Cifelli will team with University of Miami diver Briadam Herrera in the synchronized 3-meter competition Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, the Purdue swimmers depart for their winter training trip in Hawaii on Sunday. The divers are slated to join their teammates in Honolulu on Dec. 26. The Boilermakers will be training in Waikiki until Jan. 6. That upcoming extended trip coupled with Winter Nationals being held in North Carolina this year were the primary reasons why Cifelli was the only Purdue diver that opted to compete this year.
Remembering Santa Clara
Purdue football has a history with Santa Clara, California.
The Boilermakers played the University of Santa Clara at Kezar Stadium on Oct. 28, 1939.
Before a crowd of 8,000, the Boilermakers took an early 6-0 lead on a 63-yard touchdown from halfback Mike Byelene to end Dave Rankin. But the Broncos rallied for a 13-6 victory.
In the book, "Boilermakers: A History of Purdue Football," author Bob Collins wrote that head coach Mal Elward "was incensed at the officiating, which counted off 50 yards in penalties to zero for Santa Clara."
Purdue went on to finish the 1939 season with a 3-3-2 overall record, including a 2-1-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference, good for third place. All but one of the games was decided by seven points or less, including five by three or less. The Boilermakers scored 56 points for the season while allowing 53.
The original Kezar Stadium, which opened in 1925, was demolished in 1989. A new stadium opened in 1990. Santa Clara discontinued its football program following the 1992 season.
Purdue has made two other Bay Area appearances, defeating Stanford 26-14 in Palo Alto on Oct. 3, 1970, and losing at California 42-18 on Sept. 14, 1991.
The Boilermakers will square off against Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Dec. 27. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised by FOX.
For complete Foster Farms Bowl information, including tickets and travel packages, click here.
December Graduates
The following 16 current or recent student-athletes are graduating this weekend: Fernando Barco (men's golf), Kirk Barron (football), David Blough (football), Taylor Dunlap (women's track & field), Austin Flager (men's swimming & diving), Cole Herdman (football), Katie Johnson (softball), Kyle Johnson (baseball), Anthony Mahoungou (football), Ricky Medinilla (men's tennis), Antoine Miles (football), Gregory Phillips (football), Gelen Robinson (football), David Yancey (football), Erika Yohn (soccer) and Domonique Young (football).
Wooden Institute Certificate of Achievement
Twenty-one senior student-athletes have completed the John R. Wooden Institute curriculum and will receive the prestigious certificate of achievement: Erika Beeler (softball), Savannah Carson (women's track & field), Morgan Cavinder (softball), Joshua Ebikwo (men's track & field), Ashley Evans (volleyball), Danny Ezechukwu (football), Kaylah Hampton (softball), Julianne Heyde (women's swimming & diving), Rachel Ho (women's swimming & diving), Hanna House (women's swimming & diving), Maya Hughes (softball), Da'Wan Hunte (football), Andreona Keys (women's basketball), Anthony Mahoungou (football), Marta Martin (women's golf), Kaersten Meitz (women's swimming & diving), Gregory Phillips (football), Annie Spalding (women's swimming & diving), Brionna Thomas (women's track & field), Maddy Williams (soccer) and Erika Yohn (soccer).
The John R. Wooden Leadership Institute utilizes resources developed by coach Wooden. Resources include the legendary Pyramid of Success, the teachings of Wooden and books written by Wooden. The curriculum includes a public-service component during each year of enrollment at Purdue. At the conclusion of their senior year, student-athletes must write an essay describing their experience in the institute and how they plan to utilize the teachings in the future.
Athletics Staff Recognized for Service Time
Twenty Purdue Athletics staff members were recognized Dec. 13 for reaching service-time milestones:
10 Years: J. Agnew, Tiffany Britten, Chris Clopton, Laura Glitz, Dan Mason and Kyle Post; 15 Years: Katie Brothers, Bill Foutch, Ryan Johnson, Brenda Kolb and Chris Tull; 20 Years: Kelly Barrett, DeEtta Hawks, Darlene Renie, Mike Shandrick and Bobbi White; 30 Years: Ken "Bucky" Buchanan, Doug Jones, Mary Roberts and Cathy Wright-Eger
Combined, the individuals have worked for the Boilermakers for 355 years.
Etcetera
Men's golf coach Rob Bradley announced the signing of two prep players that will join the Boilermakers in the fall of 2018 ... Former women's basketball players Tricia Cullop (1990-93) and Cindy Lamping (1992-95) have been elected to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined April 28, 2018 ... At the Major League Baseball winter meetings this week, Todd Thomas of the San Francisco Giants was honored as one of three Scouts of the Year. Among the players that Thomas recommended is Purdue pitching coach Steve Holm, who played catcher in the big leagues with the Giants in 2008 and 2009 and with the Minnesota Twins in 2011 ... Guests on this week's Purdue Athletics Podcast are football sophomore Elijah Sindelar and basketball senior Dakota Mathias.