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| Run over. |
Unlike in the loss versus Northwestern, Purdue seemed to fight and play hard...but the discrepancy between Prudue and MSU at this point is not a gap, but a chasm. MSU has a system that the players buy into...and they have a ton of size, athleticism and talent.
Purdue continues to look discombobulated...has no chemistry or cohesion and a bunch of players wearing the same jersey who really aren't on the same team.
On a night that Robbie Hummel's number was put in the rafters of Mackey alongside Moore's, and Darrell Hazell was introduced to the fans, students and alums, the Mackey crowd was lackluster...but I'm not so sure I could blame them on this night.
Much like IU, UM, aOSU and even Northwestern last week, Purdue just doesn't look like it belongs with many of the teams in the B1G this season. Like I said, at least the effort was better overall, but Purdue isn't very good right now. Jacob Lawson, who hadn't played in the last few games played two minutes; which was good to see...Hale played solidly...Marcius played with energy, used his fouls up quickly (7 minutes, 5 fouls). RonJohn's 15pts, 8ast and 3steals were solid offensively, but he struggled mightily to slow down Appling. Hammons 13pts and 8 rebounds were solid, but he seemed to force his shots early. TJohn's 20 points led all Boilers...but Purdue couldn't really get the game into single digits for the majority of the second half. It was like MSU would just bat Purdue away if they got it down to 13...The final score of 78 to 65 really doesn't indicate how much command of the game that MSU had.
DJ Byrd attempted just one shot...and was in foul trouble for most of the game. His last foul and subsequent body language afterward showed his agitation with the game. MSU dictated the physicality of the game, the officials dictated how much they'd allow Purdue to do...and Purdue just kinda went along with it. Poor free throw shooting (just under 65%) made a difference in this one...but if Purdue had been making FTs, I feel like MSU would have just done something differently to push the game back out to a 15 point lead (or something close to it).
Purdue only shot 5 three pointers...and it's a good thing- they went 1 for 5. This Purdue team continues to be defined by poor shooting, regardless of the situation, awful offensive flow, mediocre defense and, at least they have this, solid rebounding.
With this loss, Purdue slips back to the familiar .500 (12-12)...but don't get comfortable with that fellow Boiler fans- the way this team is playing right now, they'll probably finish 5 or six games under .500. At this point, Purdue is what they are...and I don't know if I've ever said this sentence in my life- it would take a miracle for our Boilers to make the NIT.
Purdue travels to Assembly Hall this week to play an Illinois team that really wants to break their 8-game losing streak v. the Boilers...then on to Ass. Hall to play a horribly-coached and amazingly-talented squad.
Seasons like this have consequences...They're tough on the fanbase, coaching staff and team. Rumors are swirling about the futures of a couple of the players on the team. I've said it before, I'd like to see everyone return...But only if they're willing to buy into the system and work in the off-season. EVERYONE has work to do on this roster...and if they're not willing to do it, they should think about heading somewhere else. But if they use these ass kickings as learning opportunities, good things can happen in '13/'14.
That's a tough concept to swallow for a ton of reasons- First off, DJ Byrd's career is not going to end anything like many thought it would...that's too bad; I like Byrd and wish things were different for a myriad of reasons. BUT, if TJohn thinks that this will be his team just because he's a Senior next year, he needs to learn from what he's watched up close this year.
Little things like missing free throws send a bad message to under classmen...if 0 wants things to get back on track for the program, he needs to start doing little things now. That's a tall order for a guy whose effort (specifically on defense) has been inconsistent.
I feel like I'm being pretty damned negative- those of you who are reading probably didn't enjoy reading it anymore than I enjoyed writing it...and apologize for that. But this season has been a tough one to watch.
Keep your heads up.
10 comments:
There are so many problems with this team...
Recruiting is the major one. We have one solid upperclassman that belongs on a B1G team. One iffy role-player as a senior.
A bunch of MAC calibre talent to round out Jrs-Sophs, and a decent bunch of Frosh that could become quite good if they put effort into it.
Just think what we'd be with Dawson and Harris?
It's too much...I'm must going to cry myself to sleep...recruiting...recruiting...recruting...Crean has proven that you don't have to know what to do on the court as much as you have to know what to do in homes and bank accounts.
I'm serious when I say that if Purdue doesn't hit 70% FT, Painter should take a 50% pay cut. This is ridiculous...different players...same results the past 3 yrs.
Things are what they are. There's usually not too many good things you can say about a team playing like the Boilers are playing.
Poor ballhandling: 14 assists and 14 turnovers. RJ had nearly a season-high 8 assists with 3 turnovers (he had 9 against Villanova), but TJ had 4 assists with 5 turnovers and Byrd had 1 and 4 ... too many opportunities to give a team like the Spartans.
Poor non-Hammons free throw shooting: while the big man extended his success (7 for 9, although one miss was the front end of a one-and-one), the guards continue to struggle. Ronnie was a solid 5 for 6, but TJ (5 for 9) and Rapheal Davis (4 for 8) left a lot of points at the line.
Poor defense: MSU hit 23 of 43 from two-point range, significantly better than their offensive average and Purdue's defensive average in conference play. (And it wasn't from fast-break points, either: I only counted 2 baskets and a pair of free throws that were the direct result of turnovers.) MSU was credited with 11 layups by EsPN, nearly half of their two-pointers for the night.
Surprisingly, Purdue had 12 of their own: combine that with the reduction in threes taken and you get an improvement in shot selection. But they were only 12-20 from inside (MSU was 11-18) ... and 8 of 19 on two-point shots from farther away. The offense still isn't getting quality shots, which means fewer points and fewer fouls drawn - not that anyone other than Hammons is money at the line, but an offense that draws more fouls might have kept Harris or Payne on the bench longer, or maybe even put Appling or Dawson in foul trouble early enough to bring in the questionable bench guys Izzo tries to avoid playing.
Four wins against ranked teams this year? Probably not going to happen. We might as well watch AJ's assault on the Purdue freshman record book. He's well within striking distance of Joe Barry Carroll's record for rebounds (206 - AJ has 156). AJ is already third in Purdue history with 49 blocks - JBC is out of reach with 82, barring a monster game down the stretch, but he should pass Russell Cross' 60.
Cross is unreachable with 540 points, but Hammons will hit the top 10 shortly (Matt Waddell, 288) and could even threaten Kyle Macy (373) and yes, even Robbie Hummel (376).
I agree with Mark. How much longer is Purdue going to be known as a horrible FT shooting team? Who is accountable for that. There is absolutely no excuse to be a junior guard and shoot under 70%. None. I can shoot 75% free throws for crying out loud.
I'm really getting sick of losing to Izzo and MSU. Their twitter fans are the worst. They still don't know Dawson was bought. They still don't know Appling and Payne raped that girl in her dorm.
In a perfect world, Harris, G Rob III, and McGary are leading this Purdue team to a top 3 finish in the B1G. Those three should have been Boilers. Still don't want a thug like Dawson, he belongs at MSU.
Coulda, shoulda, woulda, Matt...what we know is that none of these guys ended up a Purdue; gotta deal with whatcha got, which isn't happening.
Z- good analysis...Hammons' rebound numbers would be a good post; too bad you don't have a website in which you can put something like that up.
*sigh*
I can take a closer look at Hammons. It'll be better than looking more closely at the offense - I think collectively we'd rather just not look at it at all.
No doubt about it...
What offense?
Unless this team seriously turns itself around, Hammons won't be here past his Soph year. Would you want to be a bottom-feeder in a conference where you constantly get embarrassed by good and bad teams alike when you could be making money with people who actually deserve to be on a court?
You see players leave teams early with NC-calibre talent and coaching every year, why would a potential star waste his time on this Purdue team?
At the risk of being labeled a blasphemer, Burke should really start making overtures to the representatives of those "other" postseason tournaments the CBI and CIT in case the NIT bid comes up short. I hardly think these lesser-known contests are basketball Siberia either-- look no further than 2012 CBI winner Pitt (currently ranked at #16) to see how these smaller tournaments with extra games and practice time can benefit rebuilding or young squads-- the teams are evenly matched and the games themselves are pretty darned entertaining to watch (as opposed to early Big Dance blowouts). Schools like Butler, Creighton, Utah State, Oregon, VCU, and Wichita State have been invited to the CBI/CIT tournaments in their down cycles, and have used them as launching pads to progressively better seasons. The 16-team CBI is arguably the one to key on, as the 32-team CIT caters almost exclusively to Mid-Major schools. And yes, there is a precedent from the CBI to occasionally select schools with sub-.500 records from major conferences, providing their SOS is good. Boiler hoops may be uncomfortable to watch right now-- but Painter and this squad are not the type to let this go on for long. Perhaps playing an opponent from a different conference may be the medicine these guys need to get their mojo back and set the table for great things in upcoming seasons.
I don't know...the last thing we need is to get blown out by a high scoring MAC level school.
We just can't score, and many smaller schools excel at it....which leads us to....
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