GoldandBlack.com and Analysis: Purdue's loss at Maryland

If there's any modest silver lining to Sasha Stefanovic's three-game absence — during which Purdue went 1-2 after Tuesday night's coin-flip loss in College Park — it's that perhaps Jaden Ivey is a little better off now having been a little more empowered.

The freshman already was trending upward when Stefanovic tested position — he'd made the game-winner at Ohio State just hours earlier — but on Tuesday night, Ivey had the ball in his hands with a Big Ten win on the line, perhaps accelerating his growth into not just a good player, but a star.

Purdue and Ivey alike didn't quite get it done, coming up empty on those last few possessions offensively, then not getting needed defensive stops, but the fact those moments were so high-leverage was largely Ivey.