Saturday, December 03, 2011

Xavier Uses 30-8 Closing Run To Take Down Boilers 66-63

Agonizing day
First, let's just hope Rob is okay. It appears that he was suffering from serious leg cramps and nothing knee-related. We don't know that for certain, obviously, but it was pretty clear they were working on areas above and below his knee. In truth, Rob probably shouldn't have come back into the game so quickly after his first cramping -- he must have been dehydrated, which isn't something you can fix quickly. But he knew his team desperately needed him and Coach Painter allowed him to return. One of many miscalculations by Coach in this one, which is not something we often say.

The keys you need to know are this: Purdue had a 55-36 lead after Rob Hummel his that deep three with less than ten minutes left in the game (if memory serves correctly -- I'm writing this immediately after the end of the game). From then on, Xavier remembered how to shoot and caught fire, going on a 30-8 run. They started hitting free throws and stopped turning the ball over so frequently. It also didn't hurt that they were into the double bonus very early and Purdue never got there. Foul count (unofficial) was 25-17, with Purdue on the higher end. It wasn't so much the fouls that were called that bugged us but the fouls that weren't. Xavier may change coaching staffs through the years but their thuggish style has never wavered. Lots of scuffles, wayward elbows and forearms, fouls that were trips or shoves to the back, etc. This is not a one time thing, either, and it's not with sour grapes. X has always been dirty in that way. And Jimmy Dykes loves them.

Dykes also loved him some Tu Holloway today and Holloway was the key at the end. Why wasn't Kelsey Barlow guarding him? We don't know, either.

Travis Carroll must be addressed here, as well. As you likely know, we don't like taking digs at the players, but Travis was clearly not ready out there. I don't know why and I don't know if it's a sign that he will never be ready, but we're hopeful Coach Painter learned that Jacob Lawson should be getting those minutes right now. I know he's a freshman, but Lawson (at least to this observer) looks composed and he's a guy who makes things happen. Carroll missed several gimmes and turned the ball over twice, including a backbreaking traveling violation late in the game that poured more gasoline on the fire. Lawson, on the other hand, played 14 fewer minutes than Carroll (23 to 9) but had twice as many points (4 to 2), had no turnovers and had two steals. Not a bad line for a mere 9 minutes. I'm not afraid to say it -- Lawson should be playing more... now.

Lew was all over the stat sheet in this one, scoring 12 points, going 6/9 at the line, grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing 4 assists, nabbing 4 steals... but also having 6 turnovers. Lewis also had what might be the last dunk attempt we'll see from him. In the first half, with Purdue up 29-15, Jackson stole the ball and in what looked like a replay from the Western Michigan game, he checked his six and then made his attack at the basket....only this time he didn't get up quite high enough and missed the dunk. Uncharacteristic of a Purdue team, uncharacteristic of Lewis and I think probably unlikely to be seen again, as you could immediately see how upset Lewis was with himself. And so for those of you who want to criticize him, yes, he should have just laid it in -- but a lot of showboats out there wouldn't have even looked slightly contrite. Lew was pissed at himself. We like that.

Ryne Smith had only 8 points on 2-4 shooting (all shots from 3), yet somehow -- with Rob Hummel in a heap on the sidelines -- did not get the ball into his hands at all on the final possession. Now, DJ Byrd also got mugged by multiple Musketeers on that possession but if you watch the replay, you can see Ryne waiting...almost cocking the gun... and open, ready to shoot. The guy's the ranking shooter on the floor in that situation, in my opinion. I wanted him to have a chance at the tie.

I will say that I don't like some of the buzz I was seeing immediately after the game on Twitter, with some Boilers saying our boys "choked." I mean, I guess you can call it whatever you want, but Xavier is good, the refereeing took Purdue out of their game and it's hard to call a loss a choke job when your opponent goes on that kind of aforementioned run. But hey, as I said, you can call it what you want.

It definitely hurts and is a bad loss in the sense that when you have a 19 point lead 3/4 of the way through a game, you should be able to hold it, no matter who it's against. As we often say, let's hope that our guys learn from this one and store it away to be used as motivational fuel.

12 comments:

Scruffy_P said...

I know they don't count as turnovers, but twice in the game carroll also put up possibly the weakest shot attempts I've ever seen from a 6'9" guy in the paint. Both of them missed (of course, because he never leaves his feet and never does anything decisively) and were immediately rebounded by a Xavier player. I count these as 3/4 of a turnover each for how pathetic they were. My buddy and I watching agree that if we were that tall it'd be a dunk everytime we got the ball in a position like that with a clear path to the basket. But not Carroll... maybe Danny will need another new TE next season...

greg said...

I understand Xavier's a good team, but if you're up by 19 with 10 minutes left and allow your opponent to outscore you 30-8, it has to be considered a choke job.

Anonymous said...

Should make for an interesting handsome hour next week. Agree with summary especially the Barlow comment and thought the shot selection in the last 6 minutes was atrocious. Personally I do not think the referees were a big factor. We just have to suck this up and move on. It may come back to haunt us with our March Madness seeding.
Can we pull the red shirt off Hale and give it to Carroll permanently? He looks like Bade with a jump shot from here.

Rick

CalTravelGuy said...

Epic. Collapse. Period.

Mommatried said...

Sorry J. I'm with Greg and Cal...that was a choke. I don't like dogging on the home team either but when you have a team throttled on the road for 30 minutes of a ball game, up by 19...and you lose...it is a bad loss- and absolutely a choke. I can't believe Marcius and Carrol on D1 players...I've seen NOTHING from them to substantiate that claim. Lawson should be a starter- period. He is hungry for the ball in the post, he defends pretty well, has sure hands- especially compared to Marcius and Carrol...it really is a no brainer to me. I trust Coach Painter- although this would have to go down as one of his most poorly coached games at Purdue IMO...but Lawson needs minutes NOW before B1G season starts. I know we ALMOST played well against a ranked team on the road- which is a good sign...but letting a 19 point lead slip away- hard to dust that off.

Row Boilers said...

Lawson cannot play many more minutes per game until he learns to play without fouling. 26 fouls (team high) in 127 minutes. Most are dumb fouls, being out of position or guarding with his hands in front of him instead of to the side or up high.

MNS said...

I admit was one of those affirming "choke" sentiment on Twitter. I consider sports tweets to be very heat-of-the-moment, usually irrational lashings-out. Nothing different today.

Upon further reflection, I still have to call this very, very bad loss, if not a "choke." You just can't let teams climb back in from 19 down with 10 to go if you plan to have a great conference campaign and go to at least Sweet 16 status in March. Carroll and Marcius are a big issue right now; we're missing that effective big man who can post up with zero drama; the ghosts of JJ and Scheffler, among others, are haunting the bench right now.

This one hurts, but it's still mighty early. Painter, Hummel, and this team lost it collectively today, and collectively they'll put the pieces back together and keep charging.

Bob said...

Please ad to Lawson's stat sheet that he had 4 fouls in 9 minutes. there was also NO WAY he could guard Frease. As was said earlier, Lawson's playing time will be determined by his ability to avoid fouls. I can't believe how many Purdue fans get so wrapped up in his admittedly surprising play but can't see he has a long way to go defensively.

Also remember that matchups will play a huge factor in who plays the 5.

Mommatried said...

I know Lawson has had foul trouble. But two things there- 1st) your mentality as a starter shifts a little bit. If you know you have to go 20-25 minutes you tend to tighten up a little bit. 2nd) Pick your poison. I think Lawson is STILL a better defender than Carrol or Marcius and he is more coordinated, hungry for the ball at the other end and patient- letting the game and open shots come to him. I am yet to see anything that says Carrol or Marcius is a legit D1 athlete. I don't like dogging on the good guys- but will call a spade a spade. Their effort is not getting done- combined for 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 turnovers. 5'9" LewJack DOUBLED the rebound production of Marcius and Carrol combined. And while Lawson had some petty fouls, his stat line says he played much more effectively with the opportunity he was given.

BoilerWhat said...

This loss embodies the recent history of Purdue athletics: injuries and epic collapses on national television. Tis the season for giving. Merry Christmas, XU. I'm glad we've got some cupcakes coming up to rebuild the team's confidence.

Boiler_Ditsor said...

Was at the game. Moved over and sat with the Paint Crew. Most exciting and fun 30 minutes of Purdue basketball I've witnessed in a long time, followed by the most horrendous and infuriating Purdue basketball I've seen in a long time.

Lot's of fans there and that was great to see.

What a tough loss - for lack of better words, this loss really, really, really blows.

The great thing about the Big Ten is there are plenty of quality opponents, and plenty of opportunities for redemption ahead of us.

Row Boilers said...

Further thought on Hummel, the cramps are probably a result of limiting his practice time earlier this year. Came back to haunt us at a very bad time.

Also, I agree that Lawson is the only one of the 3 bigs who is productive, all the more reason that his prolific fouling rate needs correction ASAP. Coach him up Matt.