As a member of the powerful Big Ten Conference, 18th-ranked Purdue traditionally has plenty of elite November tournament playing opportunities.Maui. The Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico. Las Vegas. And now, the eight-team Cancun Challenge in Mexico.Matt Painter, in his 12th season coaching his alma mater, watched his team rally to beat Georgia State on Friday night in an on-campus, opening-round game.At 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday night, Purdue (2-1) will play Utah State (3-0) in the Riviera Division game. Auburn (3-0) will play Texas Tech (3-0) at 6 p.m. . Tuesdays winners will play for the championship at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.In the Mayan Division, Georgia State (1-2) will play The New Jersey Institute of Technology (2-2) at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, followed at 3 p.m. by Eastern Kentucky (1-3) vs. Idaho State (0-3). Tuesdays winners will play for that championship at 3 p.m. Wednesday.Consolation games in each division will be played at 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday.Painters 2009 team won the Paradise Jam in The Virgin Islands, and last seasons team won the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Connecticut.While Painter is selective about November events, there are specific criteria he seeks.First of all, you make sure you are going to have quality opponents on a neutral court, Painter said, Last year, we played Old Dominion and Florida, and those were two very competitive games on a neutral court, which really helped our team grow.That is what we want this year in addition to the two Cancun Challenge games we have at home. In Georgia State, we played a team that is only two years removed from the NCAA tournament. The most important thing is the quality of the event, and the warm weather is just a bonus.After dropping an exciting 79-76 decision to then-No. 3 Villanova on Nov. 14, Purdue was flat and trailed Georgia State 56-44 with 7:08 remaining Friday night before finishing the game on a 20-0 run for a 64-56 victory.Utah State, led by 6-foot-9 senior forward Jalen Moore (18 points a game), is averaging 83.3 points and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field. Painter knows that another poor effort could result in defeat.When you have a mature team, you think you will be ready to play, Painter said. Right now, weve got some guys who are missing shots and then not moving onto the next play.We really have to have a sense of urgency. On Friday night, Georgia State outhustled us and deserved to win the game.Purdue is led by 6-8 sophomore forward Caleb Swanigan (20.7 points, 13 rebounds) and by 7-2 junior center Isaac Haas (18.3 points, 3 rebounds), but junior guard Dakota Mathias saved the day against Georgia State with two late 3-pointers.Mathias knows the effort must improve in Cancun.Weve got to bring it every night, Mathias said. To be able to win like we did Friday night, weve got to continue it going into Cancun.Fifth-year Boilermaker grad student guard Spike Albrecht believes the Georgia State game will serve as a good lesson.We definitely want to learn and grow from (Georgia State), Albrecht said.No matter if Purdue plays Auburn or Texas Tech on Wednesday, there are interesting ties.Auburns Ronnie Johnson was the Boilermakers starting point guard for two seasons before transferring to Houston. As a fifth-year graduate student, Johnson now plays for Auburn.Texas Tech first-year coach Chris Beard was at Arkansas-Little Rock last season and coached his team to an NCAA Tournament overtime victory against Purdue in Denver. Charlotte Hornets Gear . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. David Wesley Jersey . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. https://www.cheaphornets.com/365l-gerald-wallace-jersey-hornets.html . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Nicolas Batum Jersey . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Bobby Phills Jersey . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask.Ben Stokes has expressed his sadness at news James Taylor has had to retire from cricket because of a serious heart condition. Scans revealed the Nottinghamshire batsman has Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) on Monday.It is a condition to that suffered by former footballer Fabrice Muamba and Taylor will undergo surgery in the coming days. Having played with Taylor as a youngster and more recently with England during the winter tour of South Africa, Stokes says the 26-year-old is a loss to the game.He told Sky Sports News HQ: To have a career to end like that is a massive perspective on life, not just in cricket.Hes a young age and such a good player and has just established himself in the Test team and the one-day team. Taylor celebrates reaching his century with Jonathan Bairstow during an England ODI with South Africa in January The only nice thing to come out of it is hes still going to be able to live.dddddddddddd Some people arent fortunate enough with the disease hes got.Ive got quite close to James over the years. Ive played a lot of Lions and England stuff with him and its quite hard to deal with. Its devastating news for English cricket. Also See: Taylor forced to retire Taylors key moments Taylor robbed of peak years Cook hopes for Taylor legacy ' ' '