Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Michael Floyd had 12 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown to help Notre Dame defeat Purdue, 38-10, on Saturday night. Cierre Wood ran for a career-high 191 yards, Jonas Gray rushed for 94 yards, and Tommy Rees passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns for the Fighting Irish (3-2). Notre Dame outgained Purdue, 551 yards to 276, in its most dominant performance of the season. It was a season-high yardage total for the Irish and their third game with at least 500 yards of offense.

Nazr Mohammed made acclaimed Purdue center Brad Miller look ordinary, and Kentucky exposed the Boilermakers as "wannabes" in the eyes of their own coach. Mohammed scored a career-high 19 points and helped limit Miller to 10 - about half his average - as the seventh-ranked Wildcats defeated No. 6 Purdue, 89-75, last night in the finale of the Great Eight at the United Center in Chicago. The two-day event featured teams that reached the regional finals of last season's NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA yesterday shot down a report that it was investigating Purdue's basketball program for possible violations. Responding to a CBS Sports report, Purdue had denied that it had received a letter of inquiry, which would precede an investigation. "I've seen some articles where Purdue indicated it had not received that letter, which is how we start an investigation, and I can confirm that's correct," said David Berst, the NCAA director of enforcement. "All that means is there is no NCAA investigation.

Center Melvin McCants worked three defenders into early foul trouble, then scored a career-high 26 points yesterday as third-ranked Purdue beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 94-79, in South Bend, Ind., in the first round of the Midwest Regional. With the win, Purdue (28-3), the top seed in the Midwest, set a school record for victories in a season. The win also marked only the third time in coach Gene Keady's six trips to the NCAA tournament that Purdue has made it past the first round.

Please understand if Michael Lawrence seems a little dazed. He has experienced an incredible 21/2 years. The 6-5, 265-pound Lawrence, who didn't play organized football until 1997 at George Washington High and was inactive last fall, will enroll next week at Purdue as a signed-and-sealed recruit. Lawrence spent the first semester of this school year at Delaware Valley Prep in the Northeast, improving his grades in core subjects. He'd first caught Purdue's eye in '98, when teammates Bruce Perry, Scott Smith and Jafar Williams were playing well enough to receive scholarships from Maryland.

Collingswood High senior wide receiver Brandon Whittington, a onetime soccer player, has made an oral commitment to attend Purdue on a football scholarship. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Whittington, who is one of the area's most acrobatic receivers, was the top scorer for Collingswood's varsity soccer team when he was a sophomore. He has been an outstanding receiver/defensive back the last two seasons. "He visited Purdue over the weekend and made the commitment before he left," Collingswood coach Bob Barikian said last night.

The St. Joseph's women didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or continue staring in disbelief. They went into Saturday's 73d annual Aderdeen Dad Vail Regatta expecting to win the varsity heavyweight eight open final. However, the Hawks' expectation turned into a disappointing reality in less than seven minutes on the Schuylkill. The team of bow Gabriella Parker, Moira Schanne, Colleen Smith, Danielle Brady, Angela Acuna, Felicia Gojmerac, Bridget Dempsey, stroke Brianne Kammerman, and coxswain Clare Burns finished fourth in 6 minutes, 45.19 seconds.

Too many turnovers in its diet spoiled Christmas weekend for Purdue. The ninth-ranked Boilermakers committed a season-high 27 turnovers and paid the price with their second loss of the season, an 87-82 setback to unranked Providence yesterday in Rhode Island. The loss snapped an eight-game Purdue win streak and dropped the Boilermakers to 12-2. "The keys to the game were [Providence's] quickness, toughness and getting after loose balls," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "They had 94 possessions.

The Purdue Boilermakers needed only 20 minutes of remarkable basketball to put six years of tournament frustration behind them. "This is a new feeling for us," coach Gene Keady said yesterday after Purdue scored 62 second-half points to overwhelm Memphis State, 100-73, in the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional in South Bend, Ind. It marked the first time in Keady's six straight trips to the NCAA tournament that his team had...

JaJuan Johnson had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 Purdue beat No. 6 West Virginia, 77-62, yesterday in a matchup of unbeatens. Robbie Hummel scored 18 points and E'Twaun Moore added 15 for the host Boilermakers, whose largest lead was 26 points. Purdue (13-0) completed its nonconference schedule and is one of five unbeaten teams in the nation. The Mountaineers (11-1) were bidding for their first 12-0 start since the 1957-58 season. Da'Sean Butler had 17 points for West Virginia and Devin Ebanks added 11. In other games: At New Mexico, Dairese Gary's 18 poined led the No. 19 Lobos (14-1)

During two days of competing in the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, Purdue had to endure "a lot of hiccups," in the words of its coach. The Boilermakers sat their No. 3 seat on the men's varsity eight boat because of illness. They brought up a substitute from the junior varsity, which affected the JV. And in the varsity eight race, their boat struck a log in the river, knocking off the rudder and forcing the coxswain to stick his arm into the Schuylkill to make the turn at the Strawberry Mansion Bridge.

Eagles Day 3 Draft Picks BRANDON BOYKIN CB, Georgia, 5-9, 182 His stock fell because of concussion concerns and a broken leg at the Senior Bowl, but the athletic corner projects as a slot man who can contribute immediately as a dynamic punt and kick returner. DENNIS KELLY T, Purdue, 6-8, 321 The massive lineman flew under the radar despite starting at Purdue, but Howard Mudd sees someone he hopes to develop. MARVIN McNUTT WR, Iowa, 6-3, 216 Tall and productive, with 18 touchdowns the last three seasons, McNutt is a former quarterback still learning the finer points of receiving.

Sept. 1              Ohio Sept. 8           at Virginia Sept. 15              Navy Sept. 22           Temple Sept. 29        **at Illinois Oct. 6     *Northwestern (Homecoming) Oct. 20        *at Iowa, 8 p.m. (Big Ten Network) Oct. 27       **Ohio State, 6 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2) Nov. 3        **at Purdue Nov. 10        *at Nebraska Nov. 17        **Indiana Nov. 24        **Wisconsin (Senior Day)

Devereaux Peters had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks to lead third-ranked Notre Dame (29-2) to a 69-54 win over DePaul in the Big East quarterfinals in Hartford, Conn., on Sunday. Notre Dame will face West Virginia (23-8) in Monday's semifinal, after the Mountaineers upended No. 12 Georgetown, 39-32. Maryland 68, Georgia Tech 65 - Alyssa Thomas scored 29 points and the No. 6 Terrapins (28-4) beat the No. 15 Yellow Jackets (24-8) to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Purdue 74, Nebraska 70 - KK Houser had 19 points to lead the No. 21 Boilermakers (23-8)

Elena Delle Donne had 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 8 Delaware to a 79-53 victory over William and Mary on Wednesday night in Williamsburg, Va. The Blue Hens (27-1, 18-0 Colonial Athletic Association) became the first team to finish undefeated in the conference since Old Dominion in 2001-02. Drexel 73, VCU 63 - The Dragons used a big second half to earn the third seed in next week's Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Senior Kamile Nacickaite led Drexel (16-12, 12-6)

THERE'S NO LIST on any bulletin board designating which Syracuse player should be the one to make the big play. The second-ranked Orange is comfortable with its depth and lack of star power and they looked that way in a 74-64 victory at Rutgers yesterday. "This team's made plays when games have been close late," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "Veteran guys make plays. Everybody's said all along, 'OK, who's going to make plays?' We got a lot of guys who makes plays. I think that's going to be a good thing.

Corbin Miller scored 14 points and Keith Wright tallied a double-double to help Harvard complete a regular-season sweep over Brown with a 69-42 home win Friday night, keeping the Crimson in first place in the Ivy League. Wright had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Harvard (22-3, 8-1), which used a 22-2 run in the first half to put this one out of reach early and solidify its standing atop the conference. Harvard, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, led by 21 points at the break and outscored the Bears 32-26 in the second half to seal this contest.

1. Crazy doings The Big Ten Conference race has turned into a slugfest in which teams get knocked down and then bounce back. Michigan's clutch victory over Michigan State enabled the Wolverines to enter the weekend in first place with a 5-2 mark, but four other teams also own two losses. Two of them, Purdue and Michigan State, will meet Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. Wisconsin, which is 4-3 in the Big Ten, is trying to steady itself after some shaky games, and Indiana (3-4) is reeling from three consecutive defeats.

Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush took the final snap, sprinted to the sideline, and handed the football to coach Danny Hope. Perhaps empowered by getting a contract extension recently, Hope made the gutsy decision to go for two onside kicks in the first half, and both gambles paid off for the Boilermakers in a 37-32 win over Western Michigan (7-6) on Tuesday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit. Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, third-string running back Reggie Pegram scored the first two TDs of his career, and Carson Wiggs made two field goals to give the Boilermakers a 27-15 lead at halftime.

Purdue extended head football coach Danny Hope 's contract for two additional years, through Dec. 31, 2016, the school announced Friday. Details are being finalized. Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke said in a statement that Hope has done a good job of developing players on and off the field. Purdue went 5-7 under Hope in 2009, then 4-8 in an injury-filled 2010. The Boilermakers struggled early this season, with early losses to Rice and Notre Dame. Purdue rallied and returned to postseason play for the first time in four years.