Frustrating WinAn ugly win is better than a pretty loss...if there is such a thing. But make no mistake, this was ugly.
My keys to the game going in were pretty simple- LewJack needed to not allow NU to set up the zone and play at a fast pace...and Moore needed to shoot well. Moore shot well from behind the arc (4/8), but missed a lot of shots. He had stretches where he took the game over, but his free throw shooting (12/17) simply must be improved. But, 28pts, 5reb, 2blk is A-OK...if you're into that sort of thing. LewJack dished it out well- 5ast, 4pts, 4reb...only one TO. But JJ proved to be too much for the Cats- 22pts (7/9 shooting) and he made his free throws (8/9).
The rebounding was once-again a key- Purdue won the battle on the glass by just one, 30-29...but as you all know, when Purdue out-rebounds their opponent, they win. Also, when Matty's club shoots their free throws well, they usually win too- they nearly hit 75% of them...an important part of the 69-61 victory.
Grant shot poorly...but I'm going to step out in faith and say this wasn't a sign of things to come and look for a more solid performance, offensively, in the semis. He did have a cramp at the end of the game...but didn't look too fatigued, just was a touch off as he had a couple deep shot go in and out. Bade played a solid 10 minutes and showed a touch of what he might become next season...and hit a pair of big free throws. Hart had a few questionable fouls called on him and Smith played some valuable minutes...but man do the good guys need him to hit his threes.
Speaking of cheap fouls, here are the most-noteworthy stats, to me anyway- NU and Purdue combined to shoot 66 frickin' free throws. The two teams combined for 52 fouls. Most of Purdue's starters had 3 fouls very early in the second half. Northwestern had three guys foul out...Purdue had three players end the game with four fouls. This game was ugly...and unlike the MSU game, which was completely the fault of Purdue's poor shooting and ugly play by both Purdue and Sparty, the refs controlled the beauty of this one.
Many say that the best officials are those that you don't notice. If that's the case, these were some of the worst officials I've ever seen. They were obvious on nearly every possession. On one possession by the purple in the early second half, Purdue had three fouls called on them...KG had a great reaction to the third, by Smooge- he put his hands on top of his head as if to ask, "What can we do?" Later, JJ had a technical called for being mouthy...after NU was called for a foul. Makes sense.
This game was almost not basketball. And I don't fault any of the guys on the court with numbers on their backs. Paul Janssen, Curtis Shaw & Dan Chrisman were the story, plain and simple. Congrats for being mentioned, fellas. Print out this post, show it to your kids and Grandkids...and let me never hear your name again. You guys stole money tonight from whomever was foolish-enough to hire you as NCAA/BT officials.Hats off to Matty and co. for advancing. They'll face either MSU or Minnesota tomorrow afternoon around 4:30.
And for those keeping score at home, Matty and his scrappy, disrespected, 4-loss Boilers win another game in which they had the chance to avenge a loss. I've said it a 100 times, this team is damned-good when they're revenge-minded.
Thanks to the BTN in-studio personalities and the EsPN braintrust for making Purdue, the number 2 seed in the tournament, an underdog v. the Wildcats. And, according to almost everyone, it's a foregone conclusion that Purdue isn't deserving of any more than a 2 seed. From here out, fellas, no one expects you to win, but you. Fight your way to daylight.
3 comments:
It's gonna be Minny next. This may be another ugly game. Minny can taste the invite to The Big Dance. It's time to "just win baby".
Bade continues with the pointless fouls. Yes, the refs were way too touchy, but Bade (should be pronounced like the singer Sade until he can stop clutching at guys like a middle school girl) had one foul near half court if memory serves. He needs to stop trying to be Chris Kramer and more like a Craig Riley type from '91. Here hoping.
I don't know, from what I saw it looked like KG was laboring quite a bit late in the second half. He'd be all right for a minute or so and then have to go off and get stretched for a bit ... the one play where he got fouled, I don't think he could even bend his knees on the first free throw. Props to him for trying to gut it out, but it sure seemed to affect his time in the game.
I loved how they tore up Northwestern's zone at the beginning; it looked like an aggressive 1-3-1 trap? It lasted two possessions, maybe, and then Carmody said yeah, not working ... on the other hand, no one outside of the Big Two really had their shots working, and Purdue's complete inability to handle the trap at the end nearly cost them. (I guess the starters can't practice against a trap like that in practice if they are the trap themselves ...)
The officiating was predictably awful in all four games. We joked that the officials had a coin, and during a timeout, they'd flip it; heads, everything gets called, tails, nothing gets called. Once again, though, when the refs were calling everything, Purdue seemed unable to resist the stupid fouls (bumping someone going downcourt, Kramer's fourth foul, that kind of stuff).
Bade had a remarkable performance, 10 minutes and only 2 fouls, which with these refs was like 20 minutes and no fouls. When Painter was sitting Johnson a minute before the 4-minute breaks, Bade did a good job of coming in and, well, not screwing up.
Kramer wasn't looking for his shot again, and once he was in foul trouble he couldn't do much anyway. Barlow didn't have his usual couple of solid drives/tips, KG was ice-cold (but somewhat injured) ... I don't think they can rely on 50 from JJ and Moore tomorrow.
By the way, Northwestern runs this damn backdoor cut. A lot. Please defend it.
I am so glad this was against a bad team. (Northwestern showed why they are no longer on the bubble ... they had a chance to beat Purdue and completely fumbled it away.) Then again, Ohio State should have lost to a bad Michigan team, MSU lost to a questionable Minnesota team ... there is something to be said for not losing when you play poorly.
The Paint Crew did a fine job in the cavernous Fieldhouse. Even when things were at their worst and I briefly considered jumping from the balcony, I couldn't help but smile at "IU sucks!" They were even kind enough to stick around and chant for Minnesota. I'm sure other student sections were present and audible (from where we were sitting, we couldn't see some that well), but ours was most definitely in the house.
Win two more games and make the selection committee screw you over ... then prove them wrong in the tournament.
Its been said by everyone else. This was an ugly game by the officials. They were calling the touch files on the perimeter but a guy would drive in and get hammered and no call.
The intentional foul on mircovic was a real turning point of this game.
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