After injury to Haas, Purdue faces familiar foe in Butler

Published

DETROIT (AP) No. 2 seed Purdue (29-6) vs. No. 10 seed Butler (21-13)

Second round, East Region, Detroit, Sunday at 12:10 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: An elbow injury to Purdue center Isaac Haas has put a damper on the Boilermakers' chances of a deep run this year. He was ruled out for the season Friday, but it now appears that a return may not be completely out of the question. Purdue and Butler met earlier this season, with the Boilermakers winning that matchup of in-state rivals 82-67. Butler shot 7 of 33 in the first half of that game.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Purdue routed Cal State Fullerton 74-48 on Friday, and Butler handled Arkansas 79-62. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-2 lead in their game, let that advantage slip away before halftime, then pulled away again in the second.

CONSISTENT FACTOR: Butler is one of only eight teams to win at least one game in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. The others are Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Villanova and Xavier.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP?: Purdue has had plenty of success against other teams from Indiana this season. In addition to the win over Butler, the Boilermakers beat Valparaiso 80-50, IUPUI 86-61 and Indiana 74-67.

AT THE LINE: Butler averages only 16.1 free throw attempts per game, and Purdue is allowing only 14.3. When the teams played in December, the Boilermakers outscored the Bulldogs 19-8 from the line.

---

More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events