The Purdue Boilermakers certainly did not expect for their season to end so soon. Certainly, not many people expected a Virginia Commonwealth team to eliminate the Boilermakers after playing its third game in fifth days.

But that’s exactly what happened Sunday, and it wasn’t even close. VCU dominated the third-round matchup, bouncing the Boilermakers from the NCAA tournament 94-76 in the Southwest regional in Chicago.

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.

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.

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E’Twaun Moore and JuJuan Johnson had their way on offense, and the Purdue Boilermakers rolled to victory in their NCAA tournament opener Friday night.

Moore and Johnson led the way offensively, and Purdue used stifling defense to eliminate St. Peter’s 65-43 in the second round of the Southwest region in Chicago.

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 either Virginia Commonwealth or Georgetown in the third round on Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.

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When the Purdue Boilermakers open the NCAA tournament, they will do so without their backup point guard.

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.

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.

The Boilermakers enter the NCAAs on a two-game losing streak, after losing just five times in their first 30 games. 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.

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On Friday the Purdue Boilermakers tip off action in the Big Ten Conference tournament, looking to start a new winning streak after their seven-game surge ended in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

And even though the Boilermakers ended the regular season with a 67-65 loss to Iowa, there is no denying Purdue hits the second week of March as a very viable candidate to make plenty of noise as March approaches April.

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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Every team hopes to be playing its best basketball when the calendar flips to March. Purdue finds itself in that situation.

The Boilermakers are one of the hottest teams in the land, having won seven games in a row since a 66-59 loss Feb. 1 at then No. 18 Wisconsin.

Purdue is ranked No. 6 in this week’s ESPN/USA Today national rankings and sits second in the Big Ten Conference standings despite a 14-3 league mark. Top-ranked Ohio State leads the conference standings.

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.

Purdue concludes the regular season with a trip to Iowa on Saturday. The Big Ten tournament tips off next week in Indianapolis.

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Tied at 7-7 late in the first half Saturday, the Purdue Boilermakers made the plays that gave them the separation needed from scrappy Western Illinois.

Dan Dierking scored two touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards, including the go-ahead score late in the first half, as Purdue would pull away for its first win of the season, 31-21.

Dierking’s 1-yard TD run with 18 seconds left snapped the 7-7 tie. Western Illinois fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Josh Johnson recovered for the Boilermakers. That set up Carson Wiggs’ 36-yard field goal, making it 17-7 Purdue at halftime.

Robert Marve passed for 171 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Ryan Kerrigan set career highs in tackles (12) and tackles for loss (four), forcing a fumble and recording a sack in the process.

Purdue welcomes in Ball State this Saturday.

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It took the Purdue Boilermakers more than three quarters to find the end zone in their season opener.

That was too much time, and allowed Notre Dame to build too much of a lead, for Purdue to rally.

Trailing 20-3 after three quarters, Purdue would end up on the short end of a 23-12 decision at South Bend, despite being able to move the ball all day against the Fighting Irish. Purdue finished with 20 first downs, outrushed the Irish and held the ball for more than 10 minutes longer than Notre Dame.

But Purdue didn’t score a touchdown until Robert Marve’s 23-yard run with 11:55 to go. By then, the game was all but decided. Carson Wiggs booted a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Purdue recorded a safety 12 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Purdue begins the home portion of its schedule Saturday against Western Illinois.

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Ryan Kerrigan will have plenty of eyes on him this season, and not just those of offensive coordinators scheming to block the Purdue standout defensive end.

Kerrigan is on five watch lists for postseason awards entering his last season with the Boilermakers. The latest is the Chuck Bednarik Award, Kerrigan being one of 60 players named to the watch list for the award that goes to the top defensive player in the nation.

Along with the Bednarik Award, Kerrigan also is on the watch list for the Lott Trophy, the Lombardi Award, the Ted Hendricks Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Kerrigan ranks tied for fifth in Purdue history with 21 sacks, 13 coming in 2009 (led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally). He tied a school record by forcing seven fumbles in 2009.

Purdue opens its season Sept. 4 at Notre Dame.

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After finishing tied for sixth in the Big Ten last season, the Purdue Boilermakers are hoping to push their way toward the top of the conference in 2010.

Purdue brings back six starters on each side of the ball from the squad that went 5-7 in 2009, 4-4 in conference action. It will be a team that won’t feature a lot of seniors – only 16 players on the Boilermakers are seniors, compared to 26 juniors and 24 sophomores.

The season begins with four games in a row inside the state of Indiana. It starts with a visit to South Bend to face Notre Dame in the opener on Sept. 4. Purdue opens the home slate Sept. 11 against Western Illinois, kicking off a three-game homestand that also brings Ball State and Toledo to town.

Following the bye week Oct. 2, Purdue travels to Northwestern, plays host to Minnesota, then closes October with back-to-back road contests at Ohio State and at Illinois.

Three of the final four games are at home, a favorable November that begins Nov. 6 at home against Wisconsin. Michigan comes calling at home the next week. Purdue then heads to Michigan State Nov. 20 before closing the regular season at home against Indiana on Nov. 27.

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