The forces of good wore black this evening in East Lansing while MSU's crowd matched the blanket of snow that seems to be covering a third of the nation right now. But 10,000 plus white T-shirts couldn't help defeat the motivated and well-prepared Boilers, as Purdue earned its first game in the left column at MSU since the late 90s.
We all knew this game was for a significant amount of smooth, shiny glass balls...but man is the conference race different now than it was this afternoon, thanks to the road dog Boilers (not to mention the Illini).
Van Pelt, who's one of the few EsPN employees who still has his own thoughts, has started calling Purdue's Junior class the Big Three. I like it. Back in '88, Lewis, Stephens and Mitchell were the Three Amigos...and that's no longer timely, so for now, the moniker will stick.
In the first half JJ flexed his muscle time and time again. On the shoulders of tremendous passing, Johnson was given some amazingly-easy looks at the basket. Whether it was Barlow, Jackson, Moore or Hummel, JJ was fed enough to keep him very full in the first twenty minutes. The second half started out much different as he had the ball knocked loose by smaller players quite a few times. After the blood sugar regulated, Johnson finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and three blocks.
The second of the Big Three, did what he does- hit shots when he had to, made a ton of plays with and without the ball and finished with 15 points, 5 reb. & 5 ast. When he was out of the game with foul trouble midway through the second half, it was felt as the lead shrank to 3...after re-entering, the match-ups became much more difficult for Izzo's squad and Purdue's lead quickly got back to double-digits.
Smooge was huge...the hugest of the Large Trio...He finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. He started off quickly and ended the game the same way as he hit a massive three pointer and then a signature teardrop to put the game out of reach for the green.
LewJack might have literally broken Austin Thornton's ankles on this play at the end of the first halfAtop of the Junior class, the rest of the team seemed to understand its role. Patrick Bade played a quiet few minutes to end the first half that helped keep any Boiler from fouling out. John Hart's energy was once-again tremendous and he was 1-1 behind 20.9. Lewis Jackson played valuable minutes and had a couple crossovers that made MSU defenders look perplexed, disjointed and tottering...but was once again quiet on the stat sheet. Keaton Grant played a solid 19 minutes as he hit a pair of big free throws down the stretch and was steady defensively. Kelsey Barlow showed some flashes of brilliance and nearly posterized a few MSU defenders...but settled for a few free throws instead. Kramer was hampered by foul trouble nearly the entire game, but had a key drive and finish in the second half that silenced the Spartan, yet capacity, Breslin Center crowd...and in the 17 minutes he played, seemed to be matched up with a 6'8" player for much of that time. I don't know of too many other wings that have to defend guys that are 6 inches taller than them on a regular basis, but Kramer does it well.
As predicted, Lucas played well on his bum ankle...but not well enough. I'm sure he'll be healthy in 18 days when MSU heads to God's Country.
Purdue did a lot very well this evening. For starters, they out-rebounded Izzo's squad played with purpose for most of the game and withstood a great run by Sparty in the second half as Erin Andrews and the Izzone watched from near by. They also had to endure what seemed to be an NBA officiating crew as these schmoes called at least three continuation fouls on Purdue that allowed, what should have been fouls on the floor, turn into 3-point plays. But no matter, crappy officiating is part of the deal, not just in the BT, but nationwide...Purdue's got to continue to keep the officials out of the equation by taking care of leads and closing teams out. The finished extremely-strong tonight, and won by 12, 76-64. Part of the reason Purdue looked so sound in the closing three minutes, in my opinion, is the rotation that had been up-in-the-air for most of the season, but is now clearly taking shape.
Next up, the Paint Crew gets to welcome home their road-hardened brethren and give them a pick-me-up before they head on to Columbus. Every game's important as we watch Matty attempt to do what Keady did so well- own February.
25 comments:
It certainly wasn't pretty towards the end, but a road win at MSU is a huge win regardless. It did seem like Lucas got about 5 touch fouls called for him at the tail end of the 2nd half, but we were able to push on. I really hope E'Twaun starts playing that assertively for longer stretches. He has an arsenal of moves that are difficult to defend. Bottomline, a W is a W and we got it tonight. Boiler up!
I wonder if the Boilers knew of Illinois's win at Wisconsin.
The first half was the best half of Purdue basketball I've seen in a long time. They got the ball down to JJ when he was open and they hit shots. It was beautiful.
And I really like that we are making more of an effort to get the ball in JJ's or Smooge's hands. It should be in their hands everytime down. I don't like to see Lewis Jackson shooting fadeway jumpers or Keaton Grant missing iron on a 3 pointer.
"Part of the reason Purdue looked so sound in the closing three minutes, in my opinion, is the rotation that had been up-in-the-air for most of the season, but is now clearly taking shape."
Very good point.
I couldn't agree more about the rotation shaping up. That certainly bodes well for the future.
I was getting pretty irritated with some of the calls. They called fouls in anticipation when Lucas got the ball. Also, we had two fouls where we ran into a pick...I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those called in my life. We need that win at O$U in so many ways. Boiler up!
What a great win for the Boilers - agree with the rotation shaping up, such a good sign; but basically E'twan, JJ, and Robbie have been playing better than ever. Boiler up!
"Also, we had two fouls where we ran into a pick...I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those called in my life."
WTF was that about? Lewis Jackson got Krabbenhoft'd by Green and Jackson was called for the foul? WTF?!
WTF is up with Hubert Davis trashing the Big Ten at halftime last night? I was basking in the Boilers 14 point lead when Davis feels the need to tell viewers that no Big Ten team is "elite enough" to make a final four run. Really? I wonder which ACC team he thinks is "elite". It really sucks that ESPN has only ACC analaysts plus Digger Phelps. Davis is entitled to his opinion, but wasn't it weird timing with Purdue surging and beating a great team on the road. Why cut us down? It won't make North Carolina's record look any better.
It still bothers me that they let big leads slip away like that. Good to see them rebound and the juniors take over. There was some pretty passing in those last 3 minutes as well. Maybe they do have it figured out how to close games now, or rather, gotten it back from December.
I think the Illini will be ranked soon.
You knew State was going to make a run in the second half. What was impressive was the composure our Boilers had down the stretch. They made the biggest plays, won on the glass, and came out with the W and that is all that matters.
I think it has been mentioned at Boiled Sports before, but I feel the need to re-emphasize it here. E'Twaun already has a nickname, but he should be know as The Assassin. Just think about the last few games. The floater in the lane against Wisconsin to put the Boilers up by one. The runner to put them up six and essentially seal the game @IU. And then last night when State cut it to three, E'Twaun made three huge plays in a row: the three off the ball screen, the beautiful jump pass to a cutting Hummel, and then that driving scoop layup that he willed in the basket. Suddenly the three point lead had swelled back to ten and that was the game. The guy has really come into his own this year and is a first-team all-conference player in my opinion.
I strongly disagree with your assessment of Grant's play. I thought he was a real detriment tonight, especially on the defensive end during MSU's run. He continually was beaten by Lucas and because he was out of position was called for a foul or forced someone else to rotate who was then called for a foul. Whether the officiating was correct or not on these calls, his being beat is what led to these foul calls. I really think he needs to be sent to the end of the bench with Byrd and Smith... unless he wants to become the new Marcus Green and solely look to rebound, shoot put-backs, and is assigned to guard someone that is not very quick.
As for the game, I am really proud of the play last night. They looked to get the ball inside, really made an effort to rebound, and showed their maturity by playing smart and putting the game out of reach after MSU's run! Great game, my view of the season and what could be have totally turned around in just the past week. Hopefully, Painter keeps them focused on the upcoming game and the conference standings will take care of themselves.
I agree about Grant. He is a defensive liability against the quicker guards in the league.
"Spartan, yet capacity"
Don't worry, b-dowd, I saw it. I'm sure you worked a long time on that one.
i think it was also the fact that barlow wasn't in the game for that stretch were MSU came back. LewJack couldn't get teh 1/2 court going in the 2nd half.
It wasn't all white shirts... there were a few black shirts there last night too. As well as a few dark green shirts who apparently didn't get the memo...
Alec- I only said 10K white shirts...that's not the entire crowd.
Gal and Matt, Lucas had a forcefield of invincibility around him (read as referee protection). He beat LewJack, Keaton, Barlow, Hart and others off the dribble...don't put it all on 5. I think it's fair to be critical of him, but not sure if he deserves what you guys are serving up.
J, there were other gems in there...I appreciate the pat on the head, but there's gold in them paragraphs!
Hubert davis is pissed because his favorite team's going to the NIT...let 'em pout...let the mother ship continue to be mum on Purdue. I, for one, love it that way.
Paul, do you really not expect a top-10 team, coached by Izzo, to make a run???
To make a run - sure. To go from 18 down to only 3 in a short span? I want my team to smell blood and put the hammer down! Is that too much to ask? (sarcasm) I do realize the Hummel was sitting with foul trouble and that Lucas was getting all the calls, but the team seems to take the foot off the pedal a bit at times and let the other team claw back in. I did like their response though.
Hmmm...12 point win at MSU isn't enough?
Someone ask Digger Phelps is MSU can lose two in a row now.
Yeah who cares how it happened, a W is in the books. I can guarantee any Boiler fan would have taken a 12 point win before the game in any possible way. The game is 40 minutes. Purdue was the better team for all but about 7 of them. If Purdue would have been down by 10 and somehow came back to win we would all be raving about it. Now people are pissed because they didn't close well enough. I, for one, am thankful that our Boilers left East Lansing with a number in the left column.
b-dowd -- there was a lot of Paul's sentiment on boards and Twitter, etc., last night. Tough crowd, thinking a double-digit road win over a top ten program isn't enough.
I haven't gone back to watch the replay yet, but I believe Hubert Davis said that Purdue was "a 3 point shooting team that can't shoot 3s", or something along that line.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out that Purdue is 212th in the nation in 3PA/FGA. 30.6% of their shots are threes compared to the national average of 32.5%. Looks like Hubert really knows his stuff.
Excellent point, David.
But after all, Hubert Davis is a college basketball analyst who can't analyze college basketball, so perhaps he was projecting just a wee bit.
Purdue shot poorly from three early in the season and as a result their overall numbers are skewed. Remember how atrocious they shot for like the first half dozen (or more) games?
Hey, it's fine with me if people want to say Purdue's a poor shooting team. We'll just see them do what they did to MSU the other night -- dump it down low to JJ and while the other team has no answer for him, rain jumpers at a 60% clip. It's a good formula.
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