Purdue’s coach still says Haas unlikely

DETROIT» There’s now a bit of mystery surrounding the status of Purdue center Isaac Haas.

That could be encouraging news for the second-seeded Boilermakers, who announced Friday that Haas would miss the rest of the NCAA Tournament with a broken elbow. On Saturday, a CBS reporter tweeted that Haas had practiced with the team, although coach Matt Painter tried to keep expectations low for a possible return by his star.

“He ran up and down today, did a few things and worked out,” Painter said. “I don’t see him playing.”

Still, Painter said he thinks Haas will dress and go to warm-ups for Sunday’s game against 10th-seeded Butler.

“I would think he wants to do that to stay connected and stuff,” he said.

Haas fell to the floor during Purdue’s victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday, and he appeared in a good deal of pain, but he left the game only briefly before returning. So it was a surprise afterward when the Boilermakers ruled him out.

Painter said Saturday that Haas will still need surgery at some point, and if he were to play, he’d need to have a brace approved.

“He’s fractured his elbow. So he can go out there and get in warmups and do things but I don’t think he’s going to play. I’m obviously not a doctor,” Painter said. “But I’ve been able to look at it and see — he just went through things today and just getting loose and everything. His legs aren’t broke. So you’re allowed to still run when your elbow is fractured.”

South up for grabs.

First, Buffalo sent No. 4 seed Arizona packing. Then Maryland Baltimore County dispatched of No. 1 seed Virginia in the biggest surprise of all.

Consider the South Region officially up for grabs.

“Anybody could win it,” Cincinnati guard Justin Jenifer said. “It could be us. It could be anybody else.”

The highest seed remaining is Cincinnati, which earned the No. 2 seed and faces seventh-seeded Nevada (28-7) on Sunday. In Sunday’s other South Region matchup, No. 9 seed Kansas State (23-11) meets 16th-seeded UMBC (25-10) in Charlotte, N.C.

Cincinnati (31-4) hasn’t reached the regional semifinals since 2012 and has lost in the round of 32 two of the last three years. So the Bearcats certainly aren’t taking this second-round matchup for granted as they chase their first Final Four berth since 1992.

“If you look past anything, you could fall short,” Cincinnati forward Kyle Washington said.