With the Loss of Purdue's Robbie Hummel, Is the Big Ten Now Up for Grabs?

Sometimes sports are like a Wes Craven-like remake of a family winning a lottery, only to have consistent misfortune plague the lives of everybody involved.

And although Matt Painter is not a coach wielding a ghostly mask or a finely-sharpened blade, he is the brains behind the basketball operation taking place at Purdue. Ranked in the top five in the nation, the Boilermakers looked like a sure-shot Final Four team.

That was until star player Robbie Hummel—one of the “big three” players including E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson—tore his ACL Wednesday night against Minnesota.

Just like that, his season is over and his team’s hopes may be shattered.

But while Purdue must find other players to step in and make an impact in his absence, it also gives teams like Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois a wider door to step through as the regular season comes to a close.

Hummel’s injury and the effect it will have on his team will be greatly tested as the Boilermakers face the Spartans on Saturday—a game in which Purdue could complete a sweep over Michigan State and simultaneously put a stranglehold on the Big Ten conference.

But, and there is always a “but” in sports, if the Spartans finally play like they are capable and come out of West Lafayette with a victory, then the season will conclude in even more intriguing fashion than it began.

Along with the Spartans will be the Buckeyes and Fighting Illini saying to themselves, “You know, we really have a shot at this thing.” It’s almost as if the entire conference (except for bottom-feeders like Penn State, Indiana and Michigan) received a cortisone shot and has been fully revived.

Nobody should count out Purdue just yet, though.

With players like Moore and Johnson, as well as good character players off the bench, Coach Painter still has the best opportunity to win the Big Ten’s regular season campaign. Hummel’s injury may be a blow to the psyche today and tomorrow, but once the Spartans show up Saturday it will be a dogfight in a battle for supremacy.

The ball is in Purdue’s court—literally—and they must seize advantage of it.