That was one they needed. Plain and simple.
A lot of things happened tonight that you should be somewhat optimistic about as a Purdue fan. Sure, the Boilers went long stretches without scoring, seemed befuddled by the officiating at times, and allowed Wisky to almost pull a late come-from-behind. But despite those things, the Boilers rose to the occasion and pulled this one out. Let's assess some of those issues...
Marginal offensive output -- You might be concerned about the offensive output. But let's be honest; they were playing a Bo Ryan team. Let's give credit where it's due and acknowledge that Bo Ryan knows how to coach and knows how to slow down the Boilers. This happens almost every time they play. The great part, though, is that Purdue is able to slow them down, too.
Officiating confusion -- No, you weren't seeing things. And neither were Musburger and Lavin. This game was inexplicably called very differently in the second half. I cannot figure out what happened, except that maybe someone got into the zebras' ears and convinced them to start calling every bump and hand check. It was ridiculous -- there's not much else to say about it. Probably as pissed as Matty's been at the refs this season.
Closing the game -- Purdue was not their usual second half selves tonight. They started the second half by letting Wisky go on a run.... well, okay, it was more like a jog.... but the Boilers didn't score a point in the second half until almost six minutes in. That's ludicrous. But the steady defense and solid rebounding by our boys (Ostrich cashing in with 13, as the Boilers outrebounded one of the best Big Ten rebounding teams, 34-20) kept it close, as per usual, and in the end the scoring came back. Yes, they had trouble at the end -- again -- but Smooge sliced through the lane in the final minute and put them ahead, where they stayed after withstanding a couple of late attempts from the Badgers.
On to some other thoughts....
The return of LewJack -- Lewis Jackson returned tonight to a loud ovation and he got things moving immediately. He didn't play very many minutes and only hit one shot, but he showed flashes of the guy we all remember. You know, a true point guard... but a flawed player, as well. Lewis still only has one season of college hoops under his belt and he had a couple of his trademark moving-too-fast turnovers....but all-in-all, we're happy to see him back. I spent his whole time in the game worried somebody was going to "accidentally" step on his foot. Not that Wisconsin players would do anything like that.
Nankivil out of his gourd -- Let's also keep in mind that Wisconsin was in this game because of an unreal performance out of the other Keaton in the Big Ten. Nankivil, who averages under 8 points a game, went berserk, hitting 7 of 8 threes and scoring 25.
Smooge = Mr. Consistency -- Once again, the most consistent guy on the team this year, E'Twaun shot 9 of 15 for 20 points, including the game-winner.
Boilers from three -- Only five attempts. Yes, you read that right. Hummel was 0-1, Smooge was 1-2, KG was 0-1 and Johnny Hart was 1-1. So 2-for-5 overall. 40% isn't bad, of course, but....only five attempts? Was this a concerted effort to try something different? Hard to say. We'll see if it continues.
JJ misses a start -- Yes, the word on the street is that JJ was late to the game tonight and docked one start. In his place was Bade. Yeah, let's be on time from now on, okay JaJuan?
CK very quiet -- How much is the ankle still bothering him? Hard to say. He looked like he was moving alright, but had no points, 3 rebs, 1 assist and 1 steal. Have to assume he's moving gingerly and isn't himself. No noticeable floor-burn hustle plays come to mind, either, so that's a good indicator that all is not well in Kramerica.
Purdue Owns Wisconsin -- Let's just say it, folks. The Boilermakers are now 5-1 against Wisconsin in the Smooge-Ostrich-JJ era.
The Boilers remain three games back of Michigan State, with two still to play against the Spartans. Someone needs to knock them off so that Purdue at least has things in their own hands.
Can our guys run the table? That might be what it takes... and a big hurdle was overcome tonight.
A lot of things happened tonight that you should be somewhat optimistic about as a Purdue fan. Sure, the Boilers went long stretches without scoring, seemed befuddled by the officiating at times, and allowed Wisky to almost pull a late come-from-behind. But despite those things, the Boilers rose to the occasion and pulled this one out. Let's assess some of those issues...
Marginal offensive output -- You might be concerned about the offensive output. But let's be honest; they were playing a Bo Ryan team. Let's give credit where it's due and acknowledge that Bo Ryan knows how to coach and knows how to slow down the Boilers. This happens almost every time they play. The great part, though, is that Purdue is able to slow them down, too.
Officiating confusion -- No, you weren't seeing things. And neither were Musburger and Lavin. This game was inexplicably called very differently in the second half. I cannot figure out what happened, except that maybe someone got into the zebras' ears and convinced them to start calling every bump and hand check. It was ridiculous -- there's not much else to say about it. Probably as pissed as Matty's been at the refs this season.
Closing the game -- Purdue was not their usual second half selves tonight. They started the second half by letting Wisky go on a run.... well, okay, it was more like a jog.... but the Boilers didn't score a point in the second half until almost six minutes in. That's ludicrous. But the steady defense and solid rebounding by our boys (Ostrich cashing in with 13, as the Boilers outrebounded one of the best Big Ten rebounding teams, 34-20) kept it close, as per usual, and in the end the scoring came back. Yes, they had trouble at the end -- again -- but Smooge sliced through the lane in the final minute and put them ahead, where they stayed after withstanding a couple of late attempts from the Badgers.
On to some other thoughts....
The return of LewJack -- Lewis Jackson returned tonight to a loud ovation and he got things moving immediately. He didn't play very many minutes and only hit one shot, but he showed flashes of the guy we all remember. You know, a true point guard... but a flawed player, as well. Lewis still only has one season of college hoops under his belt and he had a couple of his trademark moving-too-fast turnovers....but all-in-all, we're happy to see him back. I spent his whole time in the game worried somebody was going to "accidentally" step on his foot. Not that Wisconsin players would do anything like that.
Nankivil out of his gourd -- Let's also keep in mind that Wisconsin was in this game because of an unreal performance out of the other Keaton in the Big Ten. Nankivil, who averages under 8 points a game, went berserk, hitting 7 of 8 threes and scoring 25.
Smooge = Mr. Consistency -- Once again, the most consistent guy on the team this year, E'Twaun shot 9 of 15 for 20 points, including the game-winner.
Boilers from three -- Only five attempts. Yes, you read that right. Hummel was 0-1, Smooge was 1-2, KG was 0-1 and Johnny Hart was 1-1. So 2-for-5 overall. 40% isn't bad, of course, but....only five attempts? Was this a concerted effort to try something different? Hard to say. We'll see if it continues.
JJ misses a start -- Yes, the word on the street is that JJ was late to the game tonight and docked one start. In his place was Bade. Yeah, let's be on time from now on, okay JaJuan?
CK very quiet -- How much is the ankle still bothering him? Hard to say. He looked like he was moving alright, but had no points, 3 rebs, 1 assist and 1 steal. Have to assume he's moving gingerly and isn't himself. No noticeable floor-burn hustle plays come to mind, either, so that's a good indicator that all is not well in Kramerica.
Purdue Owns Wisconsin -- Let's just say it, folks. The Boilermakers are now 5-1 against Wisconsin in the Smooge-Ostrich-JJ era.
The Boilers remain three games back of Michigan State, with two still to play against the Spartans. Someone needs to knock them off so that Purdue at least has things in their own hands.
Can our guys run the table? That might be what it takes... and a big hurdle was overcome tonight.
30 comments:
I saw more of the Chris Kramer I remember tonight, not the imposter we've had the last couple of games. Was he 100%, probably not, but late in the second half it looked like he got the 'Kramer look' back and started pressuring the ball-handler really well.
nothing on LewJack's return?
Given the players' talk in the run-up about the importance of beating Wisky, disappointed to see JJ cause a distraction.
Nice to see LewJack's return.
Yeah, I'm an idiot... had it in my notes and forgot to tap it out on my keyboard. Durrr..
All better.
1. Loved to see Lew Jack back!!! Great!
2. 3twaun was big. Definitely Mr. Consistency and Moooore.
I like Kramerica. How about Captain Kramerica. Was his only steal in the game on the last inbound prayer pass by Wisconsin? Isn't that 13 more steals now until the captain catches cardinal for all-time lead?
13 wins in a row to start
3 losses in a row
3 wins a row now
Let's beat PSU and make it 4!
E'Twaun is becoming one of the most consistent players in the entire country. He hasn't scored less than 15 in over a month. Also, something is definitely up with Kramer. He made two boneheaded plays at the end of the game that almost cost us. As a senior, he needs to be more cautious with the basketball.
Great game. Wouldn't have been so close if Nankavil hadn't caught fire like he did. When LewJack came in the game you could tell that he can't wait to take over the PG position, he was directing traffic, setting picks, and communicating with his teammates. The only thing that bothered me about this game is that we didn't post up JJ at all, the man is a force inside let him do work!
I was very concerned after Nankovil hit his third in a row. They set high pick and rolls with him and hughes (who didn't make much noise) all night. I would have liked to have seen our boys adjust a little bit.
Do you fault JJ for not getting out on Nankivil or the coaching?
I wouldn't say that we own Wisconsin. I'd say we've been very lucky when you consider this win and our last two wins up at their place.
My wife and I went to Bruno's after the game. In the "Swiss Inn Room" that is to the right when you walk in, Gene Keady was having a private party. Anyway, my wife and I are leaving and bundling up to prepare for the freezing cold in the entrance hall and Gene comes walking out to ask the owner a question.
He first says to us, "How we doing gang?"
My wife says, "Great".
Gene goes on to ask the owner his question and then my wife says back to him, "At least we got to leave the game happy tonight."
Gene replies, "Yeah it was a great game," then pauses momentarily and continues with, "but the officiating was horrible." Then he just walked back to his table.
Classic Keady. I don't think he has ever watched a game where he was happy with the officials.
If Keady were coaching last night, he would have ripped his jacket to shreads! That 8 minute stretch of the game the refs just decided to take over the game. Poor...
I don't think I have ever seen an officiating flip flop like that, though it seems to happen a lot in Purdue games lately. I think there was one sequence where Purdue got 4 fouls called on one wisco possession, and on the following Purdue possession wisco got called for 3 fouls! What the heck is that??
Officiating was horrible. And sorry, but can't those idiots tell when the mohawk (Trevon) is faking contact??? Jeez, you could see it coming a mile away and he isn't even a good actor. Pathetic.
I've noticed that JJ doesn't really understand the "roll" part of pick and roll. It's become more obvious during Big Ten play. After the fata$$es next to us wouldn't move off of our seats after halftime, we found seats down low next to the tunnel. From this perspective, you could tell Moore was trying to get JJ to roll straight to the basket when Nankavil would switch and JJ was guarded by Taylor. This happened multiple times and eventually E'Twaun just started shooting over the big guy. It would be nice to see this worked on, as it seems there are multiple times each game that the pick and roll would work to perfection if JJ just rolled correctly.
Other than that, nice to see them pull out the win- I was starting to think they might not be capable of it.
Nice to see LewJack back, made some typical mistakes, but I am hoping that with some adjustment to the speed of being back in the game he will be fine. We definitely need him! John Hart has also become a solid contributor- bench Ryne!!
Matt -- "lucky" wins happen, for sure. but Wisky has one at Mackey something like once in the past 35-ish years, I think. Even when Purdue's bad, they beat Wisconsin. And Bo Ryan has lost ten games up at the Kohl center and at least two (maybe 3? help me out here) have been to Purdue.
Okay, so maybe "own" is strong, but Purdue has a lease with an option to buy.
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DavidS -- thanks for the story! Good stuff....
I think it's entirely fair to say the Boilers own Bo Ryan. Purdue is the the only team in the conference with a winning record against Ryan-coached Badgers.
There's a systemic problem- guys who aren't bigtime scorers have a tendency to go ape-crap v. Purdue...So, what's that mean?
I think it means there are one or two guys who are bad defenders...and their problems are masked by the great 3-4 defenders on the court all the time. Good coaches find the weakness.
I see that point for sure, but Nankivil was out of his mind last night. That wasn't bad defense, I don't think. I don't think he would make 7 of 8 threes unguarded in an empty gym on most nights.
The fans at the game are featured today at The Fan's Voice Awards and inspired new Fan Laws. (http://fansvoiceawards.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/giving-the-finger-fan-law/)
yeah a lot of those shots were not wide open. JJ was right in his face with his arms up.
While some of 52's three pointers were with hands in his face, at least three of them were wide open. His last one one sent me into a rage. How in the name of all things holy do you leave a guy who has hit 6 of 7 all alone at the top of the key when you're up by 2? I don't know if Painter failed to tell anyone to stick closer to the guy, or if JJ just didn't listen, but there was a SERIOUS failure somewhere in the system.
I am starting to think that JJ is just lazy. It is either a long jumper or a dunk. No battling down low. His rebounds consist of batting the ball around hoping it falls in his hands, instead of grabbing the ball with strength. The lazy outlet pass out-of-bounds towards the end of the game is inexcusable. He is so important to the success of this team, I just wish he would play like he wants that role. A good thing, he isn't helping his NBA stock with his play and should be forced to return next season to prove his worth.
What you all should have learned earlier in the week with my post about the aOSU walk-on is that ANY of these guys can shoot. If you give them open looks, they'll hit 'em...it really doesn't matter how deep.
Case in point, the Iowa game earlier in the season. If a guy is hitting from 25, guard him to 25. If a center is popping out and hitting from 22, you guard him at 22.
It's no fluke that teams shoot the three versus Purdue very well...it's a shortcoming of the system.
it's also hard to ask a center to guard three point shots. Not something they're often asked to do.
Dr. Venkman, we're honored you stopped by but that fan laws post looks like it was written by a drunk chimp.
Let's see- here are some of the teams that have used PFs/Cs to effectively shoot threes v. Purdue.
Tennessee, Wake Forest, Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin. Kinda sounds like it might be something to get used to.
And it's not like JJ is unaware that big men can have range. He hits one or two from 18 feet almost every game.
Can we get a consensus agreement? Is John "The Hitman" Hart good for everyone?
John Hart is the new microwave, stealing the name from vinny johnson. Instant offense. That's what zelt says.
"Can we get a consensus agreement? Is John "The Hitman" Hart good for everyone?"
Seems a little long and I'm not sure "hitman" fits. Hart provides hustle, pep, adds juice, a spark. Perhaps something along those lines fits better?
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