Reporter Stacy Clardie of FORT WAYNE JOURNAL-GAZETTE has this comment from Purdue basketball player Kelsey Barlow after the Boilermakers beat Illinois 84-78 on Tuesday night:

(EA covering Purdue hoops game. Inset: Kelsey Barlow)

When asked whether he’d trade his night and the first start with redshirt freshman John Hart, who got the coveted post-game interview with ESPN’s Erin Andrews, Barlow balked.

“That’s a very good question,” Barlow said with a smile. “I don’t know, man. She’s engaged. So I’m going to have to say I’d rather start. Both are good options.”

So who’s the lucky guy? Barlow’s claim, as recorded by reporter Zach Langdon of the student PURDUE EXPONENT, might give us a clue.

That provided Barlow, who recorded the first start of his career, an opportunity to answer the often-wondered question of which is better: having a career game and scoring an Erin Andrews interview or starting for a top-15 team?

“She’s engaged, unfortunately, to some little baseball player, so I’m going to say I’d rather start, but they’re both really good options,” he said.

Clardie apparently edited out the “little baseball player” comment but left in Barlow’s comment about an engagement.

For all I know, Barlow was kidding or making a guess based on past internet reports - all of which Andrews has denied on the record.

I’ve got messages into Purdue, the Journal-Gazette and the Exponent to see if Barlow was joking or not. I’ve also got a message into ESPN if Andrews or the network wants to respond to Barlow’s comment.

For all of you wondering why I’m reporting this, since Barlow’s comments are showing up on Google and Yahoo News, it would’ve been reported by other outlets/blogs eventually anyway. I’ve contacted all parties to set the record straight as soon as possible to prevent misinformation from being spread.

That isn’t fair to Andrews, who deserves her privacy, but that’s the reality of how online media works.

UPDATE: This from Zach Langdon, the Purdue student who reported Barlow’s comments: “I don’t think Barlow knows for sure that she is engaged. I think he was just talking about what he had heard in the past. It was a pretty lighthearted question and answer.“

I’ve also heard back from the Purdue SID and ESPN, so we should be getting some accurate info on what’s going on shortly. Stay tuned.