Purdue's fans went to Happy Valley ready to celebrate.
After the final buzzer sounded yesterday, they held black and yellow placards that read, in bold letters, "Big Ten Champs."
JaJuan Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the seventh-ranked Boilermakers (26-4, 14-4) clinched a share of their first conference title in 14 years after holding off Penn State 64-60 in State College, Pa.
Victory was all the sweeter for the Boilermakers because top forward Robbie Hummel was lost for the season recently because of a right knee injury.
"I'm supper-happy we were able to come out here and get this win, especially for him," Johnson said.
Purdue and Ohio State each has a share of the conference title, and Michigan State can join them with a win over Michigan today
Chris Babb and Talor Battle each scored 17 points for Penn State (11-19, 3-15), but Battle missed the last six-plus minutes because of cramps.
The Nittany Lions finished last in the conference.
Purdue will be the second seed in the Big Ten tournament this week because Ohio State owns the tiebreaker. But Boilermakers coach Matt Painter was in no mood to complain, given that Purdue has gone the past three-plus games without Hummel, the team's leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
"Guys could have folded," Painter said. "You lose one of those major pieces, and it's tough. You can't feel sorry for yourself."
More Big Ten
Indiana 88, Northwestern 80, OT - Jordan Hulls scored a season-high 24 points, all on three-pointers, and Derek Elston scored five of the first seven points in overtime to help host Indiana (10-20, 4-14) beat Northwestern (19-12, 7-11).
The victory ended the Hoosiers' 11-game losing streak and kept the Wildcats from a school-record 20th win.
Top 25 highlights No.25 Xavier 93, St. Bonaventure 72 - Jordan Crawford scored 22 points as host Xavier (23-7, 14-2) won a share of its fourth straight Atlantic 10 title by beating St. Bonaventure (14-15, 7-9).
The Musketeers, who took control with a 26-6 opening run, shared the title with No.20 Temple, which beat George Washington 70-57 earlier in the day. Xavier is the second team in league history to win four straight titles - Massachusetts won five in a row from 1992 to '96.
Temple, though, will be the top seed in the conference tournament by virtue of beating Xavier in their only meeting.
No.2 Kansas 77, Missouri 56 - Marcus Morris shook off a scary collision with the scorer's table to notch a double-double and Kansas (29-2, 15-1) used two big runs in each half to beat host Missouri (22-9, 10-6) in a Big 12 game.
The Jayhawks led by 16 after a 20-4 run in the first half, then put together another 20-4 spurt after Morris hit his head on the table while going for a loose ball with 11:45 left. He remained on the floor for several minutes before gingerly walking to the locker room. Morris returned about six minutes later and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
No.10 West Virginia 68, No. 9 Villanova 66, OT - Da'Sean Butler scored 21 points, including the decisive basket with 5.8 seconds left in overtime, and West Virginia (24-6, 13-5) got a big boost heading into the Big East tournament by beating host Villanova (24-6, 13-5).
The Mountaineers trailed 29-16 at the break, their worst first half of the season.
South Carolina 77, No.13 Vanderbilt 73 - Devan Downey's three-point basket with 1:48 left broke a 69-all tie, and South Carolina (15-15, 6-10) held on to upset host Vanderbilt (23-7, 12-4) in Southeastern Conference action.
The Gamecocks erased a 10-point deficit in the final 9:20 to snap a six-game losing streak.
No.17 Pittsburgh 83, Rutgers 54 - Gilbert Brown scored 19 points and host Pittsburgh (24-7, 13-5) took control early with a 19-2 run to beat Rutgers (15-16, 5-13) and give the Panthers the No.2 seed in the Big East tournament.
Pittsburgh was picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches poll but now will get a double bye into the conference quarterfinals.
No.19 Georgetown 74, Cincinnati 47 - Six days after being taken to the hospital and learning he had diabetes, Austin Freeman scored 24 points for host Georgetown (20-9, 10-8), which clinched a first-round bye in the Big East tournament by beating Cincinnati (16-14, 7-11).
Ohio highlights Wright State 69, Detroit 50 - Ronnie Thomas scored 18 points for Wright State (20-11), which raced to a 21-point halftime lead and defeated Detroit (20-14) in a semifinal of the Horizon League tournament.
The Raiders will face Butler, which beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 68-59 in the other semifinal, on Tuesday.
Saint Louis 71, Dayton 66 - Chris Wright scored 15 points, but host Dayton (19-11, 8-8) ended a disappointing Atlantic 10 season by losing to Saint Louis (20-10, 11-5).