50 Shades of Gray -- Boilers Manhandle WVU in Silver Unis

The love affair continues...

The Boilers penetrated the Mountaineers and forced their will upon them. WVU was pinned down all game long and, at times, maybe they liked it just a little bit. The Boilers dominated and owned the Mountaineers, and the thrashing lasted for several hours. In the end, they parted ways with little more than a bro-hug.

Sorry, that was my best attempt at a 50 Shades of Gray passage. Which, given that I've never read them but have only heard about them from my wife, I think wasn't half-bad.

The Boilermakers certainly did have their way with WVU today in West Laffy, winning 79-52 in a game that actually wasn't even that close. The Boilers got up by as many as 32 (66-34 was what I noted as the high water mark) and quite simply did a lot very well today. They played good defense, they forced the Mountaineers into shots they didn't make, they shot the ball very well, they rebounded, they moved without the ball and they didn't let up... for a change, Purdue took a big lead at the half and made it even bigger in the second half.

We've talked before about the recipe being even simpler than we often think -- shoot the ball as well as or better than the other team, make your free throws, rebound the ball and don't turn it over too much. Those are -- obviously -- always keys, but making sure you do most of them better than your opponent will almost always lead to victories.

Today, the Boilers show a tidy 49.2% from the field (to WVU's dreadful 29.3%) and a blistering 73% from three (to WVU's sickly 17%). The Boilers outrebounded WVU 39-27 and out-assisted them 17-6. The Mountaineers had more steals than the Boilers (11-6) and turnovers were almost even at 17-16. From the line, Purdue seemed to regress slightly, shooting 62% to WVU's 75%.

Purdue had a 14 point lead at the half that they quickly extended to start the second stanza and the Boilermakers truly never looked back. Once the game was way out of hand, Coach Painter began giving lesser-used guys more minutes and ultimately emptied the bench at the end. Neal Beshears had a three attempt miss but Dru Anthrop drained his.

The Boilers did a nice job of spreading the scoring around today, with four players getting into double figures. Byrd led the way with 17 points on 5/8 from the field, 4/6 from three and 3/3 from the line. He also had five rebounds, four assists and a steal, if you're into that sort of complete game.

Raphael Davis continued to mature before our eyes and had 16 points on 5/6 shooting, including 2/2 from long range, and 4/6 from the line.

Anthony Johnson had 12 points off the bench on 5/9 shooting and 2/3 from the line, and Terone had 11 points on 5/9 shooting.

It wasn't all roses for the Boilers as AJ Hammons had an off-day, scoring just four points on 2/6 shooting from the field. He did contribute with five rebounds and three blocks, though. I'll chalk this up to the fact that Purdue's shooters were shooting and AJ's inside presence wasn't as needed today, but I hope to see him continue to clean up with 18-20 point games as we go through the Big Ten season.

There will be those who disparage this win for Purdue, since WVU is clearly not having a typical Bob Huggins type season. However, you play the games on your schedule and, like it or not, this is a team from a power conference. Purdue now has this decisive home court win to go along with their beatdown of Clemson in December and a win over a top 11 team in Illinois earlier this month. The Boilers are clearly growing up and playing better basketball together and it's something you can see every game. The confidence among these guys is also growing and it's enjoyable to watch. It might still be hard to dream of playing in the tourney, but Purdue is winning games this month that they would have lost last month and now even blowing teams out once in a while.

Next up, their toughest test yet, as the Boilers travel to Ann Arbor to play #5 Michigan.

Choo-choo. The train is coming.

On-the-Scene Take From Mugging in MSG

I wish I was writing about the team itself more and I'll try to do that, but the travesty of officiating in last night's loss is still fresh for me and still infuriating. Being only about ten rows from the slickster Jay Wright made it even worse.

I've had an epiphany in recent years around sports -- maybe because of the birth of my son, I don't know -- wherein I don't let things affect me as much as they used to. It also could have to do with getting older and wanting my heart to not explode. Details.

But this one is sticking with me because I am tired of this same shit happening to Purdue over and over. I also am less of a blame of the officials guy than even my co-editor-in-chief here is (not to say he blames them too much at all -- but he gets more irritated at them then I tend to)...and I think things that are fresh tend to feel more significant, of course, but I think this might well be the worst series of officiating I've ever seen. Definitely in person.

And let's get something straight here -- all of you beanheads who tell us via twitter and on here that, "Dur, make your free throws and this isn't an issue" or some variant of that...yes, we know that. We allllll get it. If you make all your free throws, it's not an issue. And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.

Sports don't work that way. It's just one of those things people say after the game to fill talk radio time, press conference answers or to justify an outcome to yourself. Yes, if Purdue took advantage of all their opportunities, it's not an issue. But the same can be said for Nova. They shot a dull 24 of 64 from the field, for 37% -- if they shoot just a bit better, Purdue probably is not able to take over for that 8-10 minute stretch in the second half. Who knows?

My point is that yes, you obviously want to make your free throws, but games get to where they get to because of a variety of factors. Every game is different and they all have their own ebb and flow -- that's why we watch them. Not to show up and see free throws made, high five each other and go home. We want to see what happens... and what happened to the Boilers last night was nothing short of an embarrassment on the officials' part.

Painter is too much of a gentleman, but he should complain to the NCAA -- ask them to review the calls and the inconsistency and, perhaps most importantly, the egregious thuggery that Villanova was employing throughout the night. A hockey writer that I like on Twitter was covering the game (because, no hockey, why not?) and he really pissed me off with his ignorant rants about Purdue embarrassing themselves and choking it away. But he also throughout the game was tweeting about how he was going to have to watch to the end to make sure nobody was killed, as the two teams weren't even trying not to tackle one another.

It was definitely chippy and being in the arena and being close to the action, you see a lot more than the cameras show you, as most of you know. And I saw DJ Byrd get visibly pissed off several times, almost always resulting in him committing a foul, almost as though he just thought he'd do it to stop play and give him a chance to talk to an official. On one of his threes in the second half he was knocked hard to the floor and got up with his hands in the air, pointedly looking for a while at official Brian O'Connel, who was already busy chugging down the floor the other way, not even looking back at the action and unwilling to look Byrd in the eye. On the replay, it was confirmed that Byrd had serious contact made with him, confirming what was obvious during live action. Sometimes it's hard to see and we can all agree the officials have a tough job -- this was not one of those times.

72-66, 62 seconds to go

Speaking of the officials by name, get to know these guys:

Brian O'Connell 
Bert Smith
Bo Boroski (you can just call him BoBo)

We will remember you three clowns. I hope the Paint Crew remembers them, too, in the event that any of them venture to Mackey this year.

As for other observations....

Yes, I had the J Money Signature Cocktail (premium vodka, rocks) and after she filled it halfway, I asked for a full one since I'm a big boy. She told me that's technically a "double" and would cost me $22. Sweet. I do love New York.

Standing in line for my $22 cocktail, a very attractive young woman (who definitely appeared beyond college age, as college kids look like zygotes to me now) and I began talking, mainly because I took a dig at her wearing Oregon State attire. She told me she was "friends" with a player on the team -- "the only native American" -- number 11, Joe Burton. Then, right after we were all back at her seats, a cameraman agreed with my assessment and put her on the screen. Though with fewer than 7,000 peeps in the house, all of our odds increased of getting on the 'tron.

I met the President of the Purdue Alumni Club of NYC (I'm a member of NJ) and she wholly encouraged me to join the NYC since I work in the big city and, as she put it, "we're cooler anyway." I stopped to talk to her because she had on a Purdue-themed "I love New York" t-shirt, but with Purdue Pete instead of the heart. I have to have one and she said they'd be ordering more soon to sell. Thanks, Michelle! (I think. I had a double, remember.)

I started the night at Stout, a bar on 33rd across from the Garden. There was an impressive contingent of Boilermaker alums and we had our own bar area in the basement, complete with two 'tenders, several TVs, darts, etc. I met a few alums, including two from the class of '11. One, the gentlemen, asked if I knew his brothers and said he "asks older alums this" since they graduated a while. Thanks, dude. The other was a bubbly, sweet girl who was wearing an old-school looking Purdue basketball jersey with #22 on it. "Cuonzo Martin?" I asked. "No, Stephanie White," she replied, "She won a national title at Purdue back..." "Yes, I remember," I said. "I was there when they were burning things in the middle of the street in front of the Quad."

On the floor, I'm excited by this team. Seeing all these young players getting important minutes, seeing a center in AJ Hammons who could be what this program has been missing for a while (a true, talented big man) have promising ability even as a freshman...seeing guys like Ronnie Johnson look already polished.....seeing Lawson continue to look like the most athletic guy Purdue has had in a while...seeing Terone quickly and confidently growing into his role as the scorer...Anthony Johnson clearly looking more confident an integrated into this team... and speaking of the Johnson boys, the court vision was something else I kept noticing as I watched this game from the baseline seats. From there, you can see plays develop and sort of see what the PG is seeing as he comes up. Some of the passing really impressed me -- these guys already know each other and are showing flashes of excellence and impressive court vision that will only (hopefully) get better. They'll have to fight through adversity like last night's game, but with the coaching staff on them to continue getting better, this team has be practically giddy about the future. It is indeed bright for these guys.

It's back to the Garden later this afternoon for the consolation game versus the Oregon State Beavers (yes, I have all my drunken "Boilers Use Their Johnsons to Slap Around the Beavers" jokes all ready to go). I love seeing our boys in person, so it's something I will enjoy (me and the other 500 people who will be there for the first game), but as I said, last night's mess is still sticking with me. These guys deserved better -- whether you think they "deserved" to lose due to poor FT shooting or not, they fought hard and came back several times from 8-10 point deficits and looked like the better team during most of crunch time -- until it was taken away from them.
 

Bucknell Bounces Boilers at Mackey 70-65

There's no doubt that the 2007 Baby Boilers and the 2012 Boilers have some similarities...but they're different teams.  This squad is decidedly-bigger than that team, and this one has more offensive firepower with Byrd from the outside and TJohn slashing...but with Agent Zero out due to an ankle he sprained on Wednesday, the similarities become kinda striking.

That team only had a single Senior on the roster...this team has two, but one probably won't see significant minutes this season.  In '06/'07, the Boilers lost their two biggest offensive threats; Landry and Teague...and needed to define itself.  With LewJack, Hummel and Smith gone, Purdue no longer has much of a three point threat (especially without TJohn) and has no one single player that is a go-to guy like 4 was last season.

I didn't like this game too much before I knew that TJohn was out...but with him out, I thought these Boilers would struggle against the veteran-laiden Bison.  Bucknell has all five starters back from last season...but one of them was moved to be a sixth man late last season.  Three Seniors and two Juniors do the lion's share of the work for Bucknell...and tonight their experience showed.

Purdue kept them at an arm's length for much of the night; around a 4-5 point lead, but about midway through the second half, the tide turned slowly and Purdue seemed to lose its grip on the game.  But, the young Boilers squad didn't completely lose control...and the game wasn't really put away until the closing seconds following a missed three by Byrd that would have tied the game.  After two Bucknell defenders ran into each other and ended up on the floor, Byrd was given a wide open look from 22 feet that he didn't knock down.  A moment later, he was visibly upset by the miss.

But, Byrd hit a few big shots down the stretch that almost got Purdue over the hump.  Prior to that, it was tough to ignore an argument between he and AJ.  In fact Byrd was so angry that he had to be held back by Hammons prior to a Bucknell free-throw...and AJ continued to bark at Byrd as they lined up.  I kind of would have liked to see Painter bench on or both of them...but it didn't happen.  The conflict seemed to light a fire under Byrd as he went on a mini-tear afterward.

But I couldn't help but remember a similar argument last season between Hummel and AJ early in the season in which Hummel looked as angry as I ever saw him in a Purdue uni. I don't know if AJ just pisses people off or likes tries to motivate people this way...regardless, he's drawn the ire of two captains in two seasons...I don't know if I'll ever know why, but it's noteworthy.

Hale led the Boilers with 15 points and four rebounds.  RonJohn had 12 and six...and Byrd also had 12 points to go along with three rebounds and 2 assists. AJ had the most-complete game, in my opinion, finishing with 9ast, 8pts, 5reb and 2 steals. He seemed to pick up most of the slack left in TJohn's absence...but I expected more from Byrd.  From what I read in Italy, he didn't take charge in Italy, as he wasn't given a ton of chances.  And this pre-season, in the exhibition games, he was pretty inconsistent. Tonight, once again, it took him a while to get in rhythm.

Purdue held Bucknell to 27 points in the first half...and much of that had to do with the fact that Bucknell was missing a ton of open shots...but in the second half, Purdue's youth showed as stupid fouls led to free throws and Bucknell capitalized.  That said, the officials, who I didn't recognize from the upper ring in Mackey, were pretty damned awful...but they were far from the reason Purdue lost.

Purdue allowed Bucknell's big man to establish himself too many times.  His position deep in the paint led to a double-double...and the rebounds were pretty huge. But Purdue went 7-15 from the free throw line...And there is our game, really.

Not only did Purdue not draw enough fouls, especially for a team that drives to the bucket a lot, but when they had chances, they missed way too many freebies.  And while TJohn looked better in the exhibition games from the FT line, his little brother picked up where he left off last season...going 0-4 from the line.  That's gotta change if Purdue is going to win with regularity this season.

The '07 team was a much better defensive squad right out of the gate...They didn't allow 70 points until the seventh game of the season.  And if this Purdue team is going to make noise this season, it'll take consistent, hard-nosed defense, as the offense doesn't yet have an identity.

In the closing minutes Purdue had multiple opportunities to tighten up the game, but seemed very discombobulated.  I'm not sure if TJohn would have been the guy to hit the daggers or make a game-changing drive, but he probably wouldn't have panicked as Purdue's guards did as time wound down.

Nothing surprised me tonight except for Hale's ability to consistently find the hoop.  I take that back- Lawson's two 19 footers kinda shocked me...but accept for those and a big swat, he was pretty quiet on the night. Hammons looked uncomfortable with the ball- I think he'll settle in.  But, he had a 6'11" guy guarding him who many say is an NBA prospect, and there's no denying that his size and strength will create problems for some teams.  He fills a lot of space and has soft hands; he'll improve.  Simpson's footwork looked very good to me, but following a few nice plays he looked gassed as he stood in the corner as if isolating on an NBA. I think he might be a lot like TJohn the last few seasons...the next month and one half could be hard for him as he struggles to get into game shape.

RonJohn is going to be good.  He's very smooth, has good vision, plays great on-ball defense and finishes improbable drives a la LewJack...but without the tremendous amount of contact at the end of each play. Carroll, Marcius and Simpson all played limited minutes as Purdue played a fast-paced offense for much of the game...but when forced into the half court, Purdue struggled to score.  Davis didn't play as many minutes as I thought he would...but had a great, athletic finish.  I thought he might be the guy to step into 0's minutes, but that wasn't the case.

I'm not sure when TJohn will return, but I don't think he'll be playing in Sunday's game v. Hofstra...But we do know that Matty will need to get his short-handed, youthful Boiler squad ready to play quickly.

Looking for Chemistry: Painter played 12 players as he tried to find the best combo

Purdue Basketball: Oh Exhibition Games

Purdue Basketball opened up its season in an exhibition against the mighty Montevallo Falcons. Although you've probably never heard of this tiny school, you do need to know that they were the division two runner up just a season ago. 

With the lack of returning experience it is easy to see why the Boilermakers struggled in this 70 to 61 victory. I know a lot of you might doubt this squad due to the small margin of victory, but if it makes you feel better Ohio State only beat Walsh by 12 tonight.

Although it’s really early to be drawing conclusions, I liked what I saw overall tonight.  It was a close game almost throughout and the team played hard, especially the young guys. 

A young squad doesn’t necessarily mean an unsuccessful squad; I thought that Ronnie Johnson played great tonight. He played well on defense and had 11 points and six assists.  He is going to be a great asset to this program, but we knew that coming in.

Terone Johnson picked up where he left off last season scoring the game high 24 points.  Although Terone put on a decent performance, his decisions were still questionable and some of his drives were a bit uncontrolled, but that’s Terone, he did however only miss two free throws tonight. 

A.J. Hammons looked good tonight as well. He was 3-3 for 7 points and had five rebounds. We saw something from him we haven’t seen in a while, a post up.  Hammons is already a big guy and will just continue to develop. With the lack of depth at the center position, I expect Hammons to get a lot of starts this season if he continues to develop into the player he could be.

Donnie Hale is another guy worth mentioning. He was 4-9 from the field for 8 points.  When Purdue was in a draught, it seemed to be him that got it going again.  When the Falcons went into a zone, Hale was able to consistently hit the shot from the elbow, something that is essential against the zone.

Raphael Davis was off tonight, maybe it was the first time on the big stage, but he did have a nasty block that got the crowd pumped.  Jay Simpson looked tired out there.  He is going to be a good player, but after the performance I saw tonight I would have to key him as the guy to redshirt.  He just does not look like he is in shape.  He was noticeably gassed on a few occasions.

Carroll and Sandi looked like Carroll and Sandi. Sandi had a decent game on the boards grabbing seven rebounds but had only four points on the night. Carroll had one rebound tonight and just looked slow, as usual.  Although there were high hopes for Sandi entering this season once again, I just can’t see it really playing out. Hammons is the guy and soon Painter will realize that.  Purdue needs either Carroll or Sandi to come off the bench to support him because he will get into foul trouble this season, after all his name isn’t Zeller or Sullinger (that also means he won’t be whining, we can hope).

Anthony Johnson played well tonight as well. He was 4-9 from the field and 2-4 from the three point line, a place where the Boilermakers struggled as a team shooting only 27.8 percent from beyond the arc.  His defense was stout mostly, although he does have some work to do coming off screens and what not.

Byrd wasn’t out there much tonight and his stat line showed it.  He didn’t have any points but pulled down a few assists and rebounds.  It seemed as though he could never really get into a rhythm, something that should be of concern for the Boilermakers. 

The eight blocks in the game were great and the turnover margin was of course positive as it usually is under Matt Painter. 

Overall I liked the teams performance, it was nice to see the young guys finally and it showed what a bright future the Boilermakers have.  I’m not sure I buy into the Cliz proclaiming that this team isn’t in rebuilding mode, but I do believe this squad could cause some serious problems for the Big Ten this season.

It’s hard to really know what this game says about the team other than individual performances.  Painter used the game as a way to figure out line-ups as he should.  My favorite line-up of the night was Anthony, Davis, Ronnie, Simpson and Hammons.  They were running up and down the court and had a ton of energy, something that was very promising for me. 

I expect to see Byrd a little more in the next game trying to develop some momentum going into the season, but other than that I expect much of the same.  

This is a young squad that is going to have some growing pains, they will probably lose a few games they should win, but this team will fight to the end.  These “ New Boilers” are being overlooked due to the class down south, but they will contend with some talented squads this season, so don’t count them out.

Boilers Use Johnson Penetration To Overpower Gaels, 72-69

The Boilers did a nice job of recreating their season in handy, capsule form tonight. Starting out well, the Boilers methodically built themselves a lead as the Gaels of St. Mary's refused to believe they should try something other than three-pointers.

Eventually, Purdue fans began to feel a bit comfortable as the game was taking on a look of some of those Purdue games down the stretch, where an opponent would begin to creep back in but then the Boilers would stretch it back out again. And they did do that throughout the second half, until about three minutes remained and the good guys were up 66-55. Then the Gaels churned out a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the game with less than a minute remaining, 69-68. It was happening again.

I think it's safe to say nearly all of us thought about Xavier and Butler and the fact that just minutes earlier, we were smiling inside thinking about Rob, Lew and Ryne advancing in their final NCAA tourney. Now it was suddenly, cruelly, about to be ripped away from them. But at least Terone Johnson had the ball... Terone was a man again tonight, pouring in 21 points and dishing five assists (if this was IU, Jeff Rabjohns would be hyperventilating -- but it's not IU and Terone isn't white, like Jordan Hulls). But then Terone turned the ball over. St. Mary's had the ball and the lead and just over a half minute to go -- it was over for Purdue and that sinking feeling was upon us.

If you're anything like me, it almost wasn't hitting you full force yet -- mainly because the blowing of this lead happened so damn fast. Literally in a span of a few minutes, the Boilers went from up double-digits to losing. Alas it was the only three minutes the Gaels would be able to put together, as they then traveled on the baseline attempting to inbounds it and it came back to the Boilers. And, again if you're like me, you suddenly felt a lot of hope. I didn't think Terone would make another mistake and I knew Purdue had seniors on the floor who weren't ready to go home.

Sure enough, Lewis Jackson took the ball towards the basket and was fouled. He then made two to complete is excellent 18 point night, including 6/8 from the line. Strangely, Lew was credited with zero assists -- the only time this season that has happened and only the third time in all of Lewis Jackson's college games ever. Very strange, but assist crediting can be very subjective.

Anyhow, Lewis made both his free throws to give the Boilers the lead, which the Gaels responded to -- down one, remember -- with a long range three that missed everything terribly and went out of bounds. In fact, it may have injured a cheerleader it was so off-target. As I said, the Gaels were stubborn about that. (Their coach said at halftime that he figured they wouldn't shoot as poorly in the second half as their 1-15 three-point shooting performance in the first. Well, he was right: they went 3-10 in the second.) The Boilers inbounded to Mr. Rob Hummel, who was promptly fouled and I -- like many others, I am sure -- absolutely loved that it was Rob who was striding to the line to take the critical free throws. He nailed them both, as the Boilers shot 83% from the line for the night. Rob was quiet with only ten points overall, but he had those two very clutch free throws as well as a long range bomb of a three in the first half that would have made Boilerdowd proud back in his co-rec days.

The Boilermakers bench was as short as you might expect tonight, with only eight guys getting minutes, with one of those being Travis Carroll, who played just four. Sandi Marcius logged 16 minutes and must have thought Coach Painter forgot he was out there, as Sandi hasn't played that many minutes since November 23, in an 80-37 blowout of Western Michigan. That game versus WMU was also the last time Sandi exceeded his five points tonight. Finally, Sandi went 3/3 from the line, his best performance there to date. That's a good sign of what Sandi should be capable of. Maybe all those who have written off the sophomore as "useless" already were premature. We shall see.

Anthony Johnson also used his penetrating abilities to further excite Steve Kerr, who couldn't stop talking about "Purdue's Johnsons penetrating." It was almost like Steve had a bet with someone or knew a drinking game was being played. Anyhow, AJ had another solid game, with ten points in 20 minutes and made both his free throws.

The Boilers shot 46% overall and 31% from three. Not great, but not atrocious. They were outrebounded by 11, 36-25, which is going to be a serious problem against anyone with size in the second round. Like Kansas, if they're able to advance.

This was a good start to the tourney for Purdue, as on the day several very high seeds went down, the Boilers kept the nation's best first-round first-game winning streak alive at 14 straight now.

Does the train make a stop in St. Louis? We find out Sunday. Until then, enjoy.

Boilers Methodically Mow Down Huskers, 79-61

Purdue defeated Nebraska tonight in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, nearly without appearing to break a sweat. The Cornhuskers would get close -- and by "close" I mean within a half-dozen or so -- and Purdue would pull away again. This game was reminiscent of recent seasons where I used to often comment that the Boilers ground teams into a fine powder. It also reminded me of Purdue's late-season cohesion as a unit. Not even Nebraska's Hickory High-era uniforms could make a difference.

The ball moved fairly well around the perimeter, though I will say the Boilers will need to be more crisp against Ohio State to have a shot tomorrow night. The shooting -- particularly in the first half -- was very sharp. For the game, the good guys shot 56%, including 52% from beyond the arc. Sizzlin'!

Five guys in black and gold got into double figures; distribution like that is always great to see, even if it is against a team in their first year of Division 1 basketball.

(Oh, what's that? Nebraska has been Division 1 for a long time? Oh, my bad.)

Anyway, Rob had ten points on 3/7 shooting, Ryne pumped in 15 on 5/8 (all from three-land) and DJ had ten on 3/7 shooting (and only 1/4 from the line). But those guys are expected to do that...at least. What I loved seeing was the continued emergence of the Johnson boys.

AJ was doin' work off the bench tonight. In 26 minutes, he had 17 points on 7/10 shooting. It was a season high in points for #1 and was only his second double-figure scoring game since the end of the non-con schedule. And let's not forget -- he's listed as a freshman thanks to his redshirt year. So....more to come.

Is it me, or has AJ begun to emerge without the shadow of Barlow around? I'm not suggesting he was stunted by Barlow's presence -- just that without Kelsey here, AJ has been able to spread his proverbial wings.

Anthony also hit a three, hit half his free throws, dished out four assists and grabbed six rebounds. That is doing work, my friends.

The other Johnson -- Terone -- continued his rise, starting the game and playing the most minutes, while going 6/11 from the field, 2/4 from trey, scoring 16 big points, snatching six rebounds and doling out six assists. 16, 6 and 6....is there any doubt some triple doubles are in Zero's future?

I also got this feeling that LewJack is gently passing the baton. No, he's not done yet, but games like these are a good opportunity to let the young bucks shine and drop the dimes. Lew had a quiet five points and three assists but that's fine. As B-dowd said on the Handsome Hour, we almost would have been fine with them not even dressing Rob and Lew. But we're selfish and love seeing them play, so we're glad they did.

As I said at the top, the best thing about this game was that the Boilers made quick work of the Huskers. The game was honestly never in doubt, and the cornholios never got in a groove where they could have thought they had a legitimate chance. That's the way we like it and it's the way good teams handle bad teams.

Make no mistake, Purdue is a good team right now. Tomorrow night, they'll face the rested and ready Buckeyes in a rematch of one of the best Big Ten games of the season. At least they're in Purdue's state this time, and let's hope that the Big Ten Tourney doesn't mean much to those guys. That kind of a slight edge might be all the Boilers need to kick the door down.

Tune in tomorrow night to find out. The Boilers will again be the nightcap, likely around 9 PM, this time on BTN. Word is live humans will be on hand to discuss the moving pictures we'll be watching. I mean, you know, assuming the BTN production truck doesn't explode or something.

"Bang bang! Your Big Ten career is dead, Doc!"

The Tale of Two Johnsons

Coming into yesterday's game, it was clear there was a good opportunity for Terone Johnson, Anthony Johnson and even John Hart to pick up some of the slack left in the absence of Barlow.  Hart was given four minutes to make his mark...and I only remember him having the ball in his hands twice- the end result was 0-1...so it's really not fair to put him in the same category as TJohn and AJ.

But for Purdue to win yesterday, it would have taken a sizable effort on both of their parts...and Matty got it, kinda.

TJohn started...and struggled offensively for the entire game.  He missed at least three shots inside 3 feet.  Sure, MSU's biggins had something to do with that, but really, it wasn't that they were altering his shot...physically anyway.  But, they were in Number Nil's head; there's not doubt about that.  In his 23 minutes of play, he went 1-8...and had four rebounds and an assist.  But, there was something very positive on the defensive side of the ball from TJohn, at times.  On a few occasions, he rotated well and played with the physicality that is his greatest advantage.  But on others, he had trouble finding his man through screens.  It's too late in the season to make TJohn a good free throw shooter and a lock-down defender.  But, with the tools at hand, I don't think it's too much to ask him to hit the close shots and play consistent and solid defense.  Really, if Purdue is to have a successful finish to the season, it'll take that type of effort from #0.

AJ played about the same amount of time as did TJohn- 24 minutes, and played his best game in a Purdue uniform.  He's averaging ten fewer minutes this season than what he played yesterday v. MSU...and the extra ten minutes allowed him to get into the flow of the game.  On offense he looked comfortable shooting within the system, and at the right times...honestly, that's more than what can be said for many of the Juniors and Seniors yesterday.  On top of playing well on offense, he played better on-ball defense than we've seen from him this season.  It's surely no coincidence that he was rewarded with more minutes.  Painter hates seeing bad shots...but more than that, he can't stand lazy defense in which a guy doesn't rotate, communicate and play fearlessly-hard. AJ will get better on the defensive side of the ball, but showed that his future is bright...but make no mistake, he's no Kelsey Barlow.  He'll never be able to finish like him, he's not as long-armed...but he's a much better shooter.

Just like when Hummel went down, it took multiple guys to do what he does, the same can be said for Barlow.  It'll take Byrd and LewJack's defense and TJohn and AJ's offense to all get better for Purdue to go on and become a better team...but on the court is only part of the story.  It's a lot to ask a team to gel with a starter no longer on the team and in practice...but perhaps they can gel better since there will be no fly in the ointment...if a few guys can morn Barlow's departure in quick fashion.  Clearly there are a few guys who aren't happy with the decision.

We will see in the coming week how this team comes together.

Byrd, Barlow, Boilers, Blow their own foot off.

It's TJohn Time.

Shooting yourself in the foot is something this Purdue team has done all season- quick, stupid shots, lack-luster effort on the boards, poor rotations on defense...But now, This team has taken a 12 gauge, pointed it at their collective foot and pulled the trigger.

Here's what Purdue has to replace for Sunday:
40+ minutes of playing time, 20pts (B1G play), 6reb

Plus, both Barlow and Byrd were among the best free throw shooters on the team.

The starting line-up should look something like this:
Carroll
Hummel
Smith
Jackson
TJohn

Off the bench, we'll see:
AJ
Lawson
Hart
Marcius

The ironic part of Purdue being two men down prior to this game, is that both players would have probably matched up with Dawson...a guy that I want to see do nothing but fail while in a basketball uniform...especially at Mackey.

The long term ramifications of Barlow's sudden departure is that Purdue will probably want to sign another player in the class of '12...but I don't know if I see it happening.

Barlow's steady progression as a player would have made him a 10 or 11pt/gm and 4reb 3ast/gm player. Terone and Anthony Johnson's roles becomes even more important...both this season and next.

Dammit, I hate days like this.

Boilers Return to Defensive Roots Beat EMU 61-36 (and notes from the day)

"My Name's AJ.  No one outside of the Purdue family seems to know who I am...but they will soon."

It was a big sports day, and we'll talk about some of the other stories in a second, but first, here are my thoughts on what happened in God's country today.

First off, the problem from the free throw line is officially a trend.  Purdue was 250th in the nation in free throw shooting coming into the game...after today's 52.2% performance from the stripe, our Boilers will most-assuredly be even worse.  Good teams will make Purdue pay for these points left on the floor in the win-loss column, bad teams, like EMU won't be close enough for it to matter.

Coming into the game, I was a bit concerned with EMU's size as they have three players that are around 6'10" in their regular rotation...plus, they play a zone, which Purdue has struggled greatly against in the past few seasons.

The game started well with Hummel scoring on his first two attempts from behind the three point line...and that'll soften up a zone. But, after the first few minutes, Purdue's woes from behind the arc were pretty obvious. The good guys shot 32% from the line, and Smith was only 1-for-7.  But Purdue out-rebounded the outmanned Eagles by 8 and frustrated them time and time again.

Kelsey Barlow only had 5 points, 2 rebounds an assist and a steal...but his defense made his presence impossible to ignore as he completely disrupted EMU's offense time and again.  TJohn had 4 turnovers...but also had three steals. He missed five free throws...but made a couple shots when the game was a bit closer than it should have been in the first half.  He finished with 9 points and is improving, but isn't ready to start; yet.  AJ had another solid game and finished with 7 points and 4 rebounds...and had 0 turnovers while running the point a bit in the second half.  But if you didn't get to see his put-back dunk in the second half, you missed Purdue's offensive play of the year, in my opinion.  Click here for more.

Ryne Smith struggled from three, but still finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 0 turnovers.  Hummel was streaky, but lead the team with 13 points...but his 8 rebounds were my favorite part of his game.  He missed a few open mid-range jumpers, which bothered me a bit to see...but I don't think he's forgotten how to shoot the 15 footer. Byrd played scrappy and seemed to be in the right place over and over again as he scratched and clawed out 6 rebounds...Jacob Lawson showed some finesse around the basket finishing with 7 points, but only 2 boards.  I loved what I saw out of Carroll- only one point, but 5 rebounds...and three blocks.  Plus, he was just more resolute than he had been the last three games.  John Hart saw his first action of the season, playing the final three minutes of the game...but not getting many opportunities to show a whole bunch.

EMU is a pretty bad team, and Purdue treated them as such.  EMU's big men didn't look very athletic and weren't, their guards struggled to find space and shots against Purdue's pressure.  In other words, Purdue did what they should have done versus some of the other sub-par teams they played this year, and left no doubt.  I think the hangover that was around the heads of our Boilers following the X game was flushed out in this one.

Now, Matty's boys get 6 days off before going to Indy to play Butler.  I think the break might be a great springboard for this team as they head toward the B1G season.

Special Note: From what I understand, BTN sent live humans to Mackey Arena to sit courtside and talk about what they saw as cameras rolled and the images were beamed to satellites and homes across America.  That's nice.

Boilers Nearly Fall to Low Point v. High Point (67-65)

Note:
I have no full box score to refer to in this game...so I'm writing this via memory and a patchwork of the few stats that are out there floating in the ethos.

Three-licious

Perhaps it was the fact that Purdue was coming off of an astounding weekend of sports...perhaps everyone was anxious since BTN cameras actually were in Mackey (thanks, network)...or maybe it just wasn't Purdue's night. Regardless of the reason, Purdue deserved to lose versus High Point tonight in the arena where they went undefeated last season, but stole a victory in front of an unusually-anemic home crowd.

The game started out the way the entire contest played out- Purdue played lazy defense on one end, accepted the three pointer too easily on the other end and missed a ton of free throws in between.

Purdue didn't pressure the ball full court, LewJack, Barlow and Smith struggled against Barbour and Smith (High Point's two offensive leaders) and High Point's zone defense seemed to perplex Purdue.  There's really not much more to say than that...oh, I guess there's one more thing- Ryne Smith's legs and back must be tired, because he simply carried his teammates in this one.

Smith finished with eight (8) three pointers and 26 points (and 3 reb)...and he didn't shoot that well in the first half.  But, as his teammates struggled to find space against the zone, Smith caught the ball in rhythm time and time again to keep Purdue barely in the lead.

Rob played well at times too.  But, late in the second half, Hummel missed three consecutive free throws (on two separate fouls) that would have given Purdue a touch of breathing room.  Hummel led the team by shooting over 90% from the line a few seasons ago, and is usually flat-out clutch...but not tonight.  He had one big three in which he side stepped a defender on the right side of the court and hit a 22 footer that gave Purdue a lead, but he looked clearly gassed in this one.  But a gassed Rob Hummel still scores 18 points, has 5 rebounds and 4 assists.  Hummel played all but a few minutes, and looked like a guy who hadn't played in that manner in a long time.

Bad Kelsey Barlow showed up in this one, especially in the first half shooting a few ill-advised three pointers...But, he made two free throws in a row- something NO OTHER Boiler did all night.  A few years ago, a pal of mine called Purdue 1-for-2 U...today Purdue would have been stoked to have done that.  As a team Purdue finished 6 of 19 from the stripe while High Point was 11 of 12.

Leaving 10 points on the floor is always bad...but doing so while allowing two of your opponents to light you up is worse.  Every time High Point needed a bucket, their guard tandem would get it done...they combined for 31 of High Point's 65 points.

Anthony Johnson played a solid game again tonight, especially in the first half.  He finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists in just over a half of play.

Versus Northern Illinois, Purdue looked like a team that was unstoppable...v. High Point, they looked extremely vulnerable.  Last game they also seemed to have a glut of players that couldn't be kept off of the court, but tonight, Marcius, Carroll, LewJack, TJohn and Barlow all played (at times) with a malaise that made it seem like they had other things to do.  Marcius had a three second violation, Carroll looked sluggish (but had some big boards down the stretch), LewJack didn't look like the quickest guy on the court and TJohn still is trying to get his legs.

Macho

Jacob Lawson looks very raw as a player, there's no doubt about it.  He seems to be thinking non-stop and not just playing the game.  But, in each game he'll show flashes of what will make him great at Purdue.  Like last game, he had two blocked shots...one was a thing of beauty...and almost had a nasty dunk in traffic; Almost.

DJ Byrd didn't play as he was injured in the game on Friday v. NIU.  He did dress and I expect him to play in PR...His energy was greatly missed.

I'm pretty sure most of the team had taken Dimetap and Benadryl along with their dinners of turkey and crusty rolls tonight because they looked sluggish...hell, even the usually-energetic Paint Crew was pretty quiet and Mackey as a whole seemed like it does during a Christmas break game.

The real positive out of this is a Senior-led team that nearly loses understands they need to improve ALOT before the next contest and play they way they're capable of playing.  I think this one will play like a loss in the lockerroom tonight and into practice tonight...and I expect a different Purdue team on Thursday v. Iona in sunny Puerto Rico.  The tip-off is at 1:00 and the game will be televised on EsPNU.

Duke struggled at home versus Belmont to start the season...UConn hasn't really blown either of their opponents out of the water...and both of these teams are considered the nation's elite.  The important thing tonight is Purdue is 2-0...and since no one was really covering this game, no one outside of the Purdue family cares too much about anything but the end result.

If lousy basketball becomes a trend, then you can be worried...for now, we can chalk this up to a hangover of a big weekend, I guess.