The Purdue Boilermakers were a strong choice to make it to the Sweet 16 in this year’s NCAA tournament. But as the Big Dance continues into the next round, the Boilermakers will instead head home to ponder what could have been.

Purdue did not have an answer for Virginia Commonwealth in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, VCU bouncing the Boilermakers from the NCAAs 94-76 in the Southwest regional in Chicago.

Purdue entered the NCAAs as the third seed in the Southwest. After a 65-43 victory in the second round on Friday against St. Peter’s, the Boilermakers had sights set on the Sweet 16. Instead, VCU handed Purdue a bitter ending to a season that saw Purdue finish second overall in the Big Ten Conference.

Purdue’s season ends after 26 victories, thanks in part to the Rams shooting 57.8 percent from the field. The Boilermakers were just 8 of 25 from 3-point range, trailed 42-32 at halftime and gave up 52 second-half points.

JaJuan Johnson led Purdue with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Ryne Smith added 20 points.

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For the 13th consecutive time, the Purdue Boilermakers walked off the court a winner in their NCAA tournament opener.

Purdue using stifling defense in its first game in this year’s NCAAs, blasting St. Peter’s 65-43 in the second round of the Southwest region in Chicago.

E’Twaun Moore and JuJuan Johnson had their way on offense for the Boilermakers. Moore scored a team-high 19 points, and Johnson added 16 points and 16 rebounds. Purdue started quickly with a 15-4 run, then opened the second half with seven consecutive points, building a 40-17 advantage.

Defensively, the Boilermakers held the Peacocks to just 29.3 percent shooting. Purdue never trailed, winning for the 26th time this season and eighth time in its past 10 games.

The Boilermakers face the Virginia Commonwealth-Georgetown winner in the third round on Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.

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It was not the way the Purdue Boilermakers wanted to hit the NCAA tournament, but their strong regular season paid off in a good seeding nonetheless.

The Boilermakers lost just five times in their first 30 games, then fell twice in a six-day span. Purdue’s upset loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals came on the heels of a 67-65 loss to Iowa to end the regular season.

Purdue opens the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southwest, tipping off Friday in Chicago against St. Peter’s. The Boilermakers are looking to recapture the form they showed in winning 14 of 18 games in Big Ten action, including a seven-game winning streak that included consecutive victories over then No. 10 Wisconsin and then No. 3 Ohio State.

Talented forward-center JaJuan Johnson leads Purdue in scoring (20.5 points) and rebounds (8.2), recording 10 double-doubles in 32 games to far. Johnson earned All-America honors by the United States Basketball Writers Association, and is the only active player in Division I with at least 1,800 points, 800 rebounds and 250 blocked shots in his career.

One bit of bad news for the Boilermakers: Purdue lost sophomore guard Kelsey Barlow for the rest of the season, suspending Barlow for conduct detrimental to the team on Tuesday, three days before beginning play in the NCAAs.

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The Purdue Boilermakers have put together a stellar regular season, and their seven-game winning streak in the final weeks of the regular season pushed them toward the top of the Big Ten Conference.

After losing to Iowa 67-65 in the regular-season finale on Saturday, the Boilermakers turn their attention toward this week’s conference tournament in Indianapolis.

Purdue finished second in the Big Ten, and will open the conference tourney Friday against the Michigan State/Iowa winner. The loss to Iowa on Saturday kept Purdue from tying Ohio State for the conference regular-season title, but nonetheless the Boilermakers enter postseason play after an outstanding season.

Purdue went 25-6 overall, losing three games by four points or less. JaJuan Johnson led the Boilermakers with 22 points and 12 rebounds against Iowa. Johnson was named Big Ten player of the year on Monday.

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The loss eliminated any possibility of the Boilermakers backing their way into the Big Ten regular season title.

Purdue had played so well of late that it was almost impossible to imagine a scenario in which they lost to the Hawkeyes.

It was just Iowa’s fourth win in Big Ten play and only their 11th on the season. It was certainly their biggest win of the season.

JaJuan Johnson lead the way with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but Purdue struggled from the floor.

Purdue might be looking up at Ohio State in the Big Ten Conference standings, but that doesn’t mean the Boilermakers aren’t a dangerous threat to turn up the heat on March Madness.

The Boilermakers are one of the hottest teams in the nation as the postseason looms. Purdue is 25-5 overall this season and 14-3 in Big Ten action, trailing only the top-ranked Buckeyes in the Big Ten.

The Boilermakers sit at No. 6 in this week’s ESPN/USA Today national rankings this week. Despite the presence of the No. 1-ranked team in the land in the conference, Purdue nonetheless has put together a fantastic season to this point., including a 76-63 victory over then third-ranked Ohio State on Feb. 20.

And Purdue looks to be peaking at the right time. The Boilermakers have won seven games in a row since a 66-59 loss Feb. 1 at then No. 18 Wisconsin.

Purdue concludes the regular season with a trip to Iowa on Saturday.

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Purdue held Wisconsin scoreless in the first quarter and actually took a 10-6 lead into the locker room.

That seemed to wake up the Badgers, who dominated the Boilermakers in the second half, outscoring them 28-3.

Quarterback Sean Robinson had an ugly day, throwing for just 143 yards and three interceptions. He also threw a touchdown pass.

Purdue did get 162 yards out of its rushing attack, which is more than would be expected against a pretty good Wisconsin front seven.

Nobody will dispute the great season the Purdue Boilermakers put together in 2009-10. Consider that entering Friday night’s South Regional semifinal in Houston, the Boilermakers had lost just twice in their past 17 games.

And through the first 30 minutes of Purdue’s matchup with Duke, the Boilermakers stood toe-for-toe with the top seed in the South and a favorite to win the NCAA title. But from that point, it was all Duke as the Boilermakers were bounced from the NCAA Tournament in a 70-57 loss.

Purdue (29-6) put together its strong late-season surge without one of its top players, Robbie Hummel. Certainly Hummel’s presence would’ve been helpful against a Duke team that held Purdue to just 37 percent shooting and dominated the game in the paint.

Purdue trailed by three points with 10 minutes to go, 42-39. But from there it was the Blue Devils who took over, closing the game and Purdue’s season with a 28-18 run.

JaJuan Johnson led the Boilermakers with 23 points and five rebounds.

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In a one-week stretch of mid January, the Purdue Boilermakers looked lost. They dropped three consecutive games after their first 14 contests of the season.

Fortunately for the Boilermakers, that rough stretch was followed by another sustained string of success. Purdue has won 15 of 17 games since dropping those three games in a row, and takes the floor Friday night seeking its 30th win of the season, and so much more.

When the Boilermakers take on Duke in the South Regional semifinals in Houston, Purdue will seek to move into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. If they can knock out the top seed in the South and the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, Purdue will move to within one win of its first Final Four appearance since 1980.

Duke comes in as the favorite in most everyone’s mind. The Blue Devils are averaging 77.6 points per game – both Duke and Purdue are allowing exactly 61 points per contest. If the Boilermakers can hold the Blue Devils’ offense in check, Purdue figures to have a good chance.

Purdue has not allowed more than 70 points in a game in its past 13 contests. Only four times this season has an opponent put 70 or more points on the board against the Boilermakers.

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Chris Kramer stands just 6-foot-3, but he came up big enough on Sunday to catapult his Purdue Boilermakers into the Sweet 16.

Kramer scored a team-high 17 points, none bigger than the driving basket he hit with 4.2 seconds left in overtime, sending Purdue to a 63-61 victory over Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash.

Purdue (29-5) now advances to the Midwest Regional semifinals on Friday in Houston against Duke. The Boilermakers probably will use most of the time between games to rest, given how physical things got with the Aggies on Sunday.

Down 11 points, Purdue turned things around just in time, closing the game a strong surge to force overtime. Texas A&M, which shot just 35.4 percent, had their chance at the end of regulation and again at the end of overtime, but B.J. Holmes could not knock down the game-winning shot.

JaJuan Johnson added 11 points for Purdue and D.J. Byrd scored 10. Kramer led the team with seven rebounds.

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