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Big Ten Sunday Preview and Open Thread: Purdue is Standing in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off

Incredibly, of the 4 Big Ten teams in action today, only one is still undefeated after just over a week of games.

By A R Holmes
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

We've reached the second Sunday of college basketball, and the season has already been wild. #1-ranked North Carolina lost to Northern Iowa yesterday, #6 Virginia has lost to George Washington, #9 Wichita State has lost to Tulsa and early Big Ten favorite Maryland has looked vulnerable in two close wins against Georgetown and Rider. Elsewhere in our beloved conference, Ohio State lost to UT-Arlington, Illinois is 1-3 after a loss to Chattanooga, Penn State got blown out by Duquesne, and Michigan looked very "meh" in a home loss to Xaiver. Will today's results be a return to the status quo, or are more upsets in the cards?

Game of the Day: Purdue Boilermakers vs. Florida (5:30pm ET - ESPN2)

Purdue showed yesterday that they can be just as dominant defensively as they had been offensively in their first three games. The Boilers improved to 4-0 by holding Old Dominion to just 39 points on 14-61 shooting. That is the second-lowest amount scored by a Division I team this season. Matt Painter's team got a huge boost offensively from A.J. Hammons, who had 18 points off the bench in just his second game of the season.

The Florida Gators were in a dogfight with St. Joseph's until last couple of minutes before pulling ahead and advancing to the championship. Devin Robinson led his team off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Speaking of the bench, there is a new man in front of it this year for the Gators after Billy Donovan left for the NBA. Mike White is in his first season after leading Louisiana Tech to three-straight NIT berths. UF may struggle to match-up with Purdue's frontcourt as they have just one true center in 6'11" starter John Egbunu from Nigeria. Expect Purdue to continue to run their offense through the big men up front through Isaac Haas and Hammons. If the Boilers can also manage to get both their outside shooting and their defense going, it'll be a long game for the Gators.

The Rest:

Wisconsin Badgers vs. VCU (3:30pm ET - ESPN2)

Neither team wanted to be here in the consolation game, but Wisconsin lost by 10 to Georgetown on Friday and VCU gave up a halftime lead to #5 Duke. These Rams might not be led by Shaka Smart anymore, but they gave the Blue Devils a run and they won't be intimidated lining up against the other half of last year's NCAA Tournament final. VCU's Melvin Johnson leads the team with 19 points per game and is shooting 54.2% from three. Add in the fact that the Bronx native is playing close to home in Madison Square Garden and he is definitely the player to watch. For Wisconsin, they will need to find their rhythm and improve on the 31.7% shooting average they posted against the Hoyas. That won't be easy against a team that prides itself on disrupting opponents' offenses. If Bronson Koenig doesn't improve on his performance against Georgetown, the Badgers might be doomed.

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Texas Tech (2:30pm ET - ESPNU)

In another consolation round match-up, this time in Puerto Rico, the Red Raiders and Minnesota both look to improve to 2-1 in the tournament and earn a 5th place finish. Texas Tech started out their trip with a loss to #13 Utah, but bounced back with a narrow victory over Mississippi State. The Big 12 squad is led by senior guards Devaugntah Williams and Toddrick Gotcher, those are both real and awesome names. Williams averages 18 points per game, but hasn't shot the ball well so far in Puerto Rico. On the other hand, Joey King had a great game shooting the ball (6/7 from three) as he kept the Gophers ahead of a pesky Missouri State team. Oh, and there is some added intrigue in this one as former Minnesota coach Tubby Smith takes on his replacement, Richard Pitino.

Southeastern Louisiana at Nebraska Cornhuskers (7:00pm ET - BTN)

Tim Miles' team is coming off a solid 15-point victory over Delaware State. On the other side, the Lions notched their first win against Division II Mississippi College on Wednesday. Their first two games were huge losses to TCU and Texas A&M, so presumably the Huskers should have an easy time securing a victory. Senior  Shavon Shields and junior transfer Andrew White III have each had an impressive start to the season so far and should continue scoring in bunches. Finally, it appears Nebrasketball is going to be breaking out some throwback unis tomorrow:

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