Big man sidelined

Boilermaker freshman big man Sandi Marcius broke his foot in practice Friday afternoon and will be sidelined an estimated four to six weeks, Purdue announced Friday night.

The 6-foot-9, 261-pound center fractured the second metatarsal in his right foot, just four days before Purdue’s exhibition season opener.

“This is an unfortunate injury because Sandi had really been playing well,” Coach Matt Painter said in a released statement. “Now he’ll turn his attention to rehab, and we look forward to having him back in 4-6 weeks.”

Purdue comes into this season with limited post depth and thus needing to remain healthy.

Friday’s news leaves the Boilermakers with freshman Patrick Bade and juniors JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel as the team’s only healthy options among those who might classified as true post players. Freshman D.J. Byrd is also likely to see minutes at both forward spots.

It’s unclear how many minutes Marcius would have claimed from the get-go, but with his extended loss, Purdue is without its biggest body and its most physically imposing presence on the boards and as a post defender.

The six-week projection, if it holds true, would have Marcius coming back sometime in mid-December, around the time of the Boilermakers’ Dec. 12 trip to Alabama or their Dec. 19 Wooden Tradition tilt with Ball State in Indianapolis.