Purdue knocked down to No. 4; Notre Dame thrilled with its 6 seed
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Purdue got the highest seed of the three Indiana teams that got NCAA Tournament bids and a chance to play in the Final Four in Indianapolis.
The Boilermakers were also the most disappointed after getting the No. 4 seed, lowered because do-everything forward Robbie Hummel was lost for the season to an injury.
"Our resume says we're a 2 or a 3," coach Matt Painter said. "You can't really get upset about reality and the fact that he's not playing. You would just sending your energy somewhere where it doesn't need to be."
The Boilermakers (27-5) will play No. 13 seed Siena (27-6) in Spokane, Wash., on Friday.
Horizon League champion Butler (28-4) got the No. 5 seed and will try to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 21 when it faces No. 11 seed UTEP (26-6) in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday. And Notre Dame (23-11) was ecstatic to be seeded sixth for its game against Old Dominion (26-8) in New Orleans on Thursday.
Painter said he wasn't going to begrudge the tournament selection committee for its decision.
"I think they did what they felt was best and I think it can serve as motivation to pick themselves up off the canvas," he said of his players.
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, chairman of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, said the injury to Hummel was a factor in Purdue's seeding. The Boilermakers were ranked No. 3 when he was injured, but went 3-2 after losing him.
"To have integrity in the field we needed to make certain that we placed them in a place where we felt was appropriate without Robbie Hummel," Guerrero said on CBS.
Notre Dame won six straight games before losing to West Virginia in the Big East tournament semifinal. The team was thrilled with its sixth seed, especially after it looked as if they might be headed back to the NIT when the Irish were 6-8 in the Big East and leading scorer Luke Harangody was out indefinitely with a knee injury.
"We thought it was a heck of a run we finished with, probably even better than we thought, to earn a 6 seed," coach Mike Brey said. "It's really powerful how we finished. I'm proud of that. It says a lot about what this group did to put us in that position."
The Irish thought they likely would receive either an eighth or ninth seed.
"To see us get a 6, that's tremendous," Harangody said.
Brey said the Irish will head to New Orleans full of confidence since switching to a slower-paced offense that led to a six-game winning streak.
"I'm glad we play Thursday instead of Friday. We get to get back out on the court, because we feel we're playing pretty well," he said.