Robbie Hummel upset thousands of other Germans in the Kohl Center Saturday night by scoring 21 points over Krabbenhof & Steimsma, How about that, how about that?!?!
In the first win versus a top-10 opponent on the road since 1998, Purdue showed how much they continue to improve each game. I'll be honest, I thought Purdue would play the Badgers tough for 30 minutes and allow it to get out of hand at the end. I was wrong, very wrong. The game felt a ton like the Clemson contest from earlier this season- ranked opponent full of veterans...good offensive production by the Boilers and slowly, but surely, the home team fought back into the game. But this time, unlike the Boilers' game in South Carolina, Purdue closed out a very good team that has been nearly impossible to beat at the Kohl Center. How tough is it to beat Wisconsin at home? Here's how tough it is:
Only one other school to beat Wisconsin at home since 1998 is Illinois (in back-to-back seasons). That's it, that's the list. That's three losses in ten seasons.
Bo Ryan is perpetually angry at officials in spite of the fact that the Badgers shot 33 free throws and Purdue only shot 22So, what did Purdue accomplish? First, they are now solidly in the NCAA tournament. The Wofford loss has now officially been erased...Purdue has too many quality & road wins not to be invited to the ball. I don't give a damn if ESPN has them as an 7 or 8 seed again and has reservations about Purdue, the committee will not. Second, they brought Matt Painter even closer to being COTY in the Big Ten and possibly nationally. Lastly and most importantly, they have put themselves in a position to control their own destiny in the Big Ten race. With MSU coming into a hostile Mackey on Tuesday night, our Boilers can make things awfully difficult for IU & the Badgers down the stretch...and they can finish off the Spartans by winning their 10th straight conference game. (Sidenote: Thanks to a friend of my sister-in-law, I'll be in attendance, sitting in the lower level for that contest...sorry, had to gloat.)
I told you guys that Purdue could not hope to win the BT title without shooting better or playing even better defense...Tonight, Purdue shot 53% from the field (42% coming into the contest) and held the Badgers to 17% from behind the arc. I'm pretty sure Coach Painter is a regular visit to BS and my insight helped him focus his young team on taking better shots...Thus, you're welcome, Coach- Anything I can do to help my alma mater's team.
So who's my player of the game- Many say that's an easy choice, as Hummel scored a career high 21 points. I don't know if it's that easy since once again this team full of guys who are willing to play a role did just that once again. JuJuan Johnson had a big time drive with Landry guarding him that drew a foul and stabilized Purdue as Wisconsin was getting back into the game...Calasan scored the first 8 points (I think) of the game...Kramer also was huge during a 5 minute stretch late in the second half when he pretty much took over. All that said, I'll still give the nod to Hummel.
Thanks for nothing.
I just got finished watching ESPN's piece of crap college basketball show "Midnight Madness". Since Purdue made Wisconsin the highest-ranked team to lose on Saturday, at home no less, I was sure they'd be, if not THE top story, one of the top stories. No, no, instead, I had to wait until 22 minutes into the show to see Purdue highlights. It's funny, NO ONE on the ESPN college basketball team predicted Purdue to win tonight, but after it happened, it was treated as if it wasn't that big of a deal. Suck it, ESPN...Suck it, Digger Phelps.
No matter, keep winning and even Phelps will be forced to talk about Purdue basketball in all of its glory.
So long, Paint City. We hardly knew ye.In a typical Purdue administrative move, the new tradition of a city of tents outside of Mackey Arena has been banned by the Purdue Athletic Department and the Purdue Administration. As students set up their tents on Friday afternoon, they were warned by members of the athletic department that the Police would get involved if they weren't off of the premises by 5:00 pm. Coach Painter loved it, ex-coach Keady loved it, the students were having a great time with it...of course it gets torn down. Perfect. That stinks.
I've heard it's academic concerns (funny, those slack-jawed Duke students do it) or fear of the cold weather (MSU students have a similar tradition in balmy East Lansing) that caused the Janet Reno-esque handling of Paint City by Burke, Cordova & Co. While it doesn't surprise me, this move by "the man" at Purdue pisses me off.
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20 comments:
The vaunted North Dakota State Bison have also won at Wisconsin a couple years back, but Illinois had been the only Big Ten team to win there since '98. Nevertheless, I had to work during the game, so I had it updating on my computer. Needless to say, productivity took a hit.
WOW. That is 100% pure bull$hit on Purdue's part...kind of like how sledding on Slayter hill has been banished by the cops. Leave it to administrators at all levels and fields to take something harmless and really fun and ruin it.
Hats off to Calasan in those opening minutes. I doubt the gameplan was to revolve that heavily around Nemenja, but he sure didn't let any pressure get to him.
I wonder how much of his, Moore's, and Hummel's performance had to do with not having lost (let alone played) at Madison before?
AND! The excuse of academic concern is also pure bull$hit! My junior year I had to skip classes to get in line to pick up my Paint Crew tickets, football tickets, etc. Also, did they not think that most people aren't loners and go to the game with friends, who can switch off manning the tents while others go to class?
@Ross...Like Keady said on the BTN postgame show, these kids are so young, they don't even know how to be scared on the road yet. They just play damn good ball.
My thoughts on the removal of Paint City. It's all CYA.
http://badideabluejeans.blogspot.com/2008/02/paint-city-has-no-room-for-litigation.html
I was yelling at the computer every time they went to the line. If they had hit 75% of their FTs it wouldn't have been a contest.
I noticed Martin didn't play. How bad is his ankle?
Oh, and I was one of the people saying that they wouldn't win 20 this year and might make it to the NIT. I'm smart...
Don't forget that Marquette won there earlier this year. But Ryan is right, the oft-cited record of Wisconsin under Bo Ryan at the Kohl Center was during conference play. They have now lost three games to Big Ten opponents there, and Purdue consists of 33 per cent of those games! :-D
--Eric
Congrats on a big win!
As an I.U. grad and hoosier fan, my hats off to the boilers. Great team play and coaching! I wish we played as well as you guys. Perhaps, we'll get it together. Again, congrats. Travis (IU)
The impressive Big Ten home record for Wisconsin dates to Bo Ryan's first season of 2001-02, not the opening of the Kohl Center. Ryan has lost only to Illinois (x2) and Purdue, but Wisconsin lost other Big Ten home games from 1998-2001 under Bennett and Soderberg (they were a combined 19-11 in Big Ten home games at Kohl).
Not that it in anyway diminishes a really impressive win by Purdue last night against a team that has been nearly invincible at home for the last 7 yearfs.
I'm amazed they allow students on campus anymore. They might get hit by a falling building or something.
ESPN Blows. If you aren't UNC, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, or Kansas you don't exist. I was watching College Gameday basketball during the day and they didn't give Purdue or Wisconsin a bit of airtime. They showed no big ten highlights all day long. I think they are shutting the Big Ten down b/c of the new network. Either way, I'd love for a few of our teams to show up to the tournament running underneath the radar, creating upsets with great defense and pushing deep into the tournament. Then we can say, eat that ESPN.
you can't sled on Slayter Hill any more? I thought we won the Cold War!!!
Yeah, last year (my senior year) they outlawed it. I had been been going every year but, "too many people were getting hurt."
"Only one other school to beat Wisconsin at home since 1998 is Illinois (in back-to-back seasons). That's it, that's the list. That's three losses in ten seasons."
Not true. Illinois is the only Big Ten team to beat them in that stretch.
Yeah...Friday night is a big night for studying and other academic activities. Ridiculous.
So how early on Saturday morning can people line up?
Matt- My brother (current student) says you can begin lining up at 8am on weekend gamedays. Noon on weekdays.
However, there were kids camping out 6 days before this Tuesday's game. That is a bit much, however, now the administration has over-reacted.
The whole thing is crap, there is a "lottery" at some point (i don't really understand it) and really takes the great passion away from the most dedicated fans!
I'd say a fair compromise would be 48 hours prior to tip off...gameday morning isn't good enough and doesn't let the kids "pitch tents" for the basketball team.
I said pitching tents...
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