Purdue won the Big Ten by three games last season, despite three road losses. Yet it also went to Champaign and beat its closest competitor — the Illini — in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Not because Purdue basketball lost Tuesday night, an unexpected albeit realistic outcome. But because the Boilermakers have another game this week against another team capable of beating them. One of Purdue's lesser talked about traits during its Final Four season a year ago was learning as much from the wins as it did the losses.

The Purdue basketball team came into their matchup with Ohio State on Tuesday night as big favorites. The Boilermakers are one of the best teams in the Big Ten, and they were at home against a Buckeyes team that is near the bottom of the conference standings.