After a two-game absence due to the concussion he sustained at Nebraska, Purdue big man Matt Haarms will play Saturday afternoon against Central Michigan.

"It took about a week-and-a-half," Haarms said Friday afternoon, a day after his second "contact practice" in as many days, "but I'm back to normal now. It doesn't hurt, no dizziness, symptom-free. It feels good."



Without Haarms, who sustained the concussion when he hit the floor hard with about six minutes left in the loss in Lincoln, Purdue won at Ohio in Athens, then lost to No. 17 Butler in Indianapolis.



For the Ohio game, Haarms presumably wouldn't have traveled had Purdue not had to go straight from Lincoln to Columbus on short turnaround. He watched the game from the coaches' locker room at the arena, "lights off, brightness on the TV down."

"I couldn't not watch it."

Last weekend, he returned to Purdue's bench, but used ear plugs to manage the noise.

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