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Following Purdue’s opening round victory over Cal State Fullerton in the NCAA Tournament, fans received disappointing news. Head coach Matt Painter announced that Isaac Haas had suffered a fractured elbow and would be forced to miss the rest of the season.
Obviously, this is a huge loss for the Boilermakers. The team was a two seed and coming off a blowout victory in the NCAA Tournament and now finds itself wondering how its lineup will look without one of its best players. That’s not the position that fans had hoped to find the team on Friday afternoon.
During this season, Haas averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. This included a nine point and 10 rebound performance on Friday in the team’s win over Cal State Fullerton. All told, he scored double-digits in eight of his final nine games with the program.
For Haas, this will be it with Purdue’s program. As a senior, he was hoping to extend his career by moving on in the NCAA Tournament, but that will not be the case. He will finish his career with more than 1,500 points, 600 rebounds, and 2,400 minutes played. Incredible marks for a program like Purdue.
More immediately, this is huge news for the Boilermakers. Matt Haarms will take the majority of Haas’ minutes, but there’s no denying that it will be a step back. Haarms hasn’t scored double-digits in a game since January 16th against Wisconsin at home. Jacquil Taylor will also likely see some real minutes behind Haarms.
Purdue will face the winner of Arkansas and Butler on Sunday afternoon. Fans will get their first real look at how the Boilermakers play without Haas then.