A member of the Michigan State student section behind the Purdue bench yelled that he hopes Boilermakers star Robbie Hummel tears his ACL again. Hummel already has come back from that injury twice.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said he thinks that members of MSU's "Izzone'' — named for coach Tom Izzo — usually are good, but chewed out this student.
Painter said Monday he now wishes that he had ignored the taunt.
"But part of me, during competition, is going to defend my player,'' Painter said, "especially with what he went through.''
Izzo was angered when he learned of the student's remark.
"Robbie Hummel is one of the most respected people in this league, and I want our fans to be as hard as they can be,'' Izzo said. "I just don't want them to be ignorant. I would throw the guy out of here who said something like that.''
That's a refreshing bit of sportsmanship to hear from a home coach. In the Big 12, almost anything said goes. Maybe the Big Ten really is more collegial.
Player honors
Player of the week: Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor. The senior from Bloomington, Minn., had 15 points and six assists in a win over Northwestern and 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a win over Illinois.
Freshman of the week: Michigan point guard Trey Burke. The Columbus, Ohio, product had 20 points and four rebounds in a win over Michigan State and 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a loss to Arkansas.
Stat of the week
Northwestern, which had been ranked in the top half of the Big Ten in field-goal shooting and 3-point shooting, missed its first 14 shots in Sunday's loss to Minnesota.
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