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Purdue looks to keep pace in crowded Big Ten

Mar 1, 2008 - 11:09 AM Northwestern (8-18) at No. 19 Purdue (22-6) 2:00 pm EST

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- With first place in the Big Ten Conference still up for grabs, No. 19 Purdue looks to avoid an upset when it hosts lowly Northwestern on Saturday.

The Boilermakers (22-6, 13-2) are tied with Indiana (13-2) for second place in the conference, just one-half game behind Wisconsin (14-2) as the teams approach the stretch run of the regular season.

Freshman E'Twaun Moore scored 22 points to lead Purdue, which defeated Minnesota, 65-53, on Wednesday. Moore leads the team in scoring at 12.2 points per contest.

The Wildcats (8-18, 1-14) snapped a seven-game losing streak with their first conference win of the season on Tuesday, a 62-60 triumph over Michigan.

Craig Moore made eight 3-pointers en route to 25 points to lead Northwestern, which has lost the last three meetings with Purdue and is looking to avoid a series sweep for the second straight campaign.

It is the final home game of the season for Purdue, which is 8-0 on its own court in conference play.