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Purdue’s Carsen Edwards battling back pain, says he’ll ‘be fine’
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Something has seemed off with Carsen Edwards over the last week. In Purdue’s last three games, the B1G’s leading scoring is shooting just about 25 percent from the field.
Edwards had another disappointing outing on Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the B1G Tournament against Minnesota. The junior guard had just 11 points on four-of-17 shooting as the Boilermakers dropped a 75-73 decision to the Golden Gophers.
It was another puzzling performance in a series of games in which Edwards hasn’t quite looked like himself. But after the game, the Purdue star revealed that he’s been battling a sore back, and it could be the reason behind his recent struggles.
“I’ll be alright. I’ll use this break I have until the tournament to get right,” Edwards told Nathan Baird of the Journal & Courier. “It’s in pain right now.”
This season, Edwards is averaging 23.4 points per game and was a first-team All-B1G selection. Scoring hasn’t typically been an issue for the guard throughout his career in West Lafayette, but it’s become a problem as of late.
Edwards’ inefficiency is a problem for Purdue as it heads into the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers desperately need their star player to be healthy if they hope to make a push for the Final Four.
If there’s any good that comes from Purdue dropping its first game in the B1G Tournament, it could be that Edwards gets to rest his back and get back to close to full strength before the NCAA Tournament begins next week.
Friday’s loss might’ve been a blessing in disguise.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB