The initial report from Fox Sports is that Purdue star Robbie Hummel has a torn ACL, suffered in Wednesday night’s win at Minnesota. Hummel suffered the injury in the first half after his leg slipped while driving to the basket.
Source: Robbie Hummel Has Torn ACL; Purdue’s Title Hopes Take Huge Hit
This is obviously a huge loss for No. 3 Purdue, a team that was contending for a No. 1 seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament and had realistic Final Four hopes. Our Purdue site, Hammer And Rails, writes that without Hummel, the Boilermakers are merely good, but can’t be great:
No one does all the little things that Robbie does. If Kramer is the heart of the team, Robbie is the brains. He grabs a rebound here, hits a three there, has the perfect pass at the right time. He closes games at the line. He sets screens. He moves without the ball. Look at the Illinois game: His shot wasn’t falling, so he willed his way to the line. He is a mismatch for almost every team we face offensively and defensively he is underrated. We’re still a good team without him, but with him we are great.
Purdue still has a solid line-up, with guard E’Twaun Moore and center JaJuan Johnson, but taking out a 15 and 7 player, who also happens to be the team leader, is a massive blow.
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