By Paul Tremback
Sports Editor

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Purdue is aware that its opponent for tonight, Gonzaga, is as dangerous as any team left in the NCAA tournament.

Heading into tonight’s 7:55 match-up with the 10th-seeded Bulldogs (26-8) in The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M., the sixth-seeded Boilers (23-9) are cognizant of Gonzaga’s prowess as an underdog.

Although this is only Gonzaga’s third appearance in the NCAA tournament — the first came in 1995 — the team is not by any means a Cinderella. Any Boiler can verify that.

• Senior guard Jaraan Cornell said, "I don’t think they’re a Cinderella anymore. They’re not sneaking up on anybody. We know Gonzaga’s for real and they’ve got good players."

• Junior guard Carson Cunningham added, "They went to the Elite Eight last year, which is farther than any of us have been, and they have pretty much everybody back. So I think it’s kind of funny, really, to consider them a Cinderella story. They’re an elite team."

• Coach Gene Keady said, "Anyone calls them a Cinderella team is ignorant of what’s happened in the basketball world the last few years."

• Senior center Greg McQuay said, "A lot of people underestimate Gonzaga. They say, ‘Oh, it’s Gonzaga; we can beat this team.’ And that’s (the other teams’) downfall."

Purdue will not underestimate Gonzaga. According to Keady, the Bulldogs don’t get the respect that they deserve. They were seeded 10th once again this year despite last year’s run, when Gonzaga went to the Elite Eight and lost to eventual national champion Connecticut.

This year, under rookie head coach Mark Few, Gonzaga finished second in the West Coast Conference and beat first-place Pepperdine in the conference tournament’s title game.

A big reason for the Bulldogs’ success has been point guard Matt Santangelo. Although senior forward Richie Frahm leads the Bulldogs in scoring with an average of 16.8 points per game, Santangelo is the player who runs the offense efficiently.

"I think Santangelo is the best point guard in the nation," said Keady. "There are passing point guards, shooting point guards and defensive point guards; and he seems to have the whole package."

Santangelo averaged 12.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. More importantly, he made 6.5 assists per game — the 16th-best average in the nation.

Purdue’s Carson Cunningham will have the task of trying to limit Santangelo’s effectiveness. Cunningham said a good team effort by the Boilers is necessary for stopping Santangelo and the Bulldogs.

"We also need to get off to a good start and try to defend the 3-point line," said Cunningham.

Senior forward Mike Robinson said that every Gonzaga starter can shoot 3-pointers.

"We’re going to have to get up and play real close on them and make them put the ball on the court and do things they’re not used to doing," he said.

Robinson and fellow forward Brian Cardinal are also ready for a physical game. Their matchups with Frahm and Casey Calvary — the MVP of the conference tourney — are key to the game’s outcome.

Keady said the Boilers also have to make adjustments on offense as well. The Bulldogs limit their opponents to 39 percent shooting from the field. But Gonzaga is missing the conference’s defender of the year, Mike Nilson. The senior ruptured his Achilles tendon and is done for this season.

"We know it’s going to be a battle, and we’ve got to be sharp," said Cunningham.

The Boilers hope they can be as sharp as they were last season when they faced the Bulldogs, in the only other meeting between the schools.

That meeting was an 83-68 Purdue win in the preseason NIT. McQuay said the Boilers had somewhat of a tough time with the Bulldogs last season before beating them soundly.

"We can’t dwell on that," said McQuay. "We just have to beat them again."