Boilers Grow Up at Clemson; Win 73-61

"This way to victory."

DJ Byrd started and TJohn finished as Purdue got an important win versus a solid Clemson squad in the B1G/ACC Challenge...which ended in a tie after Wisky and MSU surprisingly lost tonight.

Byrd started off by simply shredding the nets from three, scoring 20 points in the first half alone.  Sure, he only finished with 22...but he had 7 reb, 2ast and 2stls to go along with his game-high points.

Purdue didn't hit everything from the free throw line, but hitting 71% of your FTs is a ton better than around 50%, which is what they had shot the last few big games...and the shoe was on the other foot, with the Tigers only hitting 55% of their freebies.

Purdue's lead got as big as 20 and our Boilers were in complete control for the middle 20 minutes...but the game got tighter, at least for a few mintes, late in the second half.  But each time it looked like Purdue might lose it's grip, the Boilers would pull down a key rebound or close out Clemson to keep them from getting an open look at the bucket.

TJohn had a couple clutch buckets and played cool under pressure...he ended the game with 13 and 6.  While his cool demeanor helped keep Clemson at an arm's length, both AJ and Byrd struggled a bit with Clemson's press...something that Purdue will see a lot of until they figure out how to beat it consistently. But RonJohn looked better against the trap than he did in NY...off the bench, he had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists...and just one turnover.  But overall, once again, Purdue had a few too many turnovers; 13.

AJ Hammons started the game, and had another good one.  His combination of size and strength will eventually make him nearly unstoppable...as for now, we'll have to deal with him being just pretty damned good.  He had 10 points, 6 reb, 2 ast, and 2 blocks.  The starting line-up of Hammons, Lawson, Byrd, AJ and TJohn was solid...the coaches might have found the combo as RonJohn was sixth man...and was solid in the role.

Purdue won the rebounding battle by 15 (38-23)...and the bench got a bit shorter as Painter only went 10 deep...and Simpson and Davis only played two minutes each.

While Clemson was without one of their starters, that wasn't the only story.  Purdue built a lead and forced Clemson to shoot the three more than they probably would've liked to...but unlike the games v. Oregon State and Villanova, Matty's boys were defending the three much better...and really were just playing better defense.  Purdue did a lot more correctly than they had been in their last two losses, and go figure, they end up getting a 12-point road win.

The six days between games clearly helped Purdue figure some things out- the half court offense looked very crisp at times...and Purdue seemed to show a match-up zone at one point in the second half.  Overall, they were solid and finished strong after building a big lead.  Who knows if this is just an uptick in a roller coaster season or a turning point...regardless, it was a much-needed win.

Next up, they'll host Xavier at Mackey on Saturday.

Hope's Last Hurrah Handsome Hour

Listen to the Handsome Duo and their beautiful guests, Brendan Murphy and Derek Schultz.

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(Sorry about technical difficulties...after the audio cuts off, jump over here to see/hear the awful exciting conclusion of tonight's show.)

It Only Counts When the ACC Wins: Boilers Roll v. Miami (76-65)

Coming into the game, Purdue was receiving votes in both polls that would place them someplace in the 30s.  The CCR* for our Boilers was 36 before tip-off.  Their opponent from the mighty ACC, Miami of Florida, has a new coach (Larranaga formerly at George Mason) and has some personnel issues they're trying to work through...in other words, this Hurricane squad is no world beater at this point.

They're kind of like a poor, poor man's aOSU from last season- they've got a bunch of guys between 6'4" and 6'6" playing different positions really just based on their girth and strength...with a couple of bigger guys sprinkled in.  In fact, their starting line-up was so vertically-challenged that Matty decided to try to run the offense through Sandi to start things off.

In the first three or four possessions, the good guys threw it into 55 each time...and he was looking to shoot.  One of the possessions earned him a a foul and one...another got him to the free throw line...then things got ugly.  The smaller, more-athletic 'Canes started doubling down on Marcius and just knocking it away.  He ended up playing only 11 minutes...and might not quite be ready to have the offense running through him.

Not a foul.

Hummel quietly led the team in scoring with 17 points, 5 rebounds and a block in 32 minutes...but hit 6 of 7 free throws; a few of those down the stretch that helped salt the contest away.  LewJack ran the point pretty well handling the pressure well for most of the night.  Most-notably, he was getting fouled each time he touched the ball in the last 5 minutes, and the refs simply refused to blow their whistles.  As 23 weaved through double and triple teams, he managed to get the ball across half court, fight through arm tackles and not turn it over.  He finished with 15pts, 4 reb, 2ast.

Barlow played solid again as he did a lot well.  He had 7pts, 4reb, 2ast, 2stl, a block and 0TOs.  When his head was in the right place, he was looking to attack Miami's defense...and finish at the rim.  When bad Kelsey showed up, he was accepting the three pointer instead of making it difficult for the 'Canses. TJohn and AJ combined for 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block without any turnovers.  TJohn probably played his best game of the young season...and AJ continues to be rock solid; both off of the bench. Carroll had three rebounds and played tougher and smarter than in the last few games.  Smith hit a couple threes early, but after cooling off seemed to decide it wasn't his night and just settled in to playing defense.  Jacob Lawson continues to impress defensively as he had two blocked shots, two or three altered shots and a steal.  Plus, he's playing important minutes each game and is averaging around 20/gm in the last few.  He still hasn't even started scratching the surface of his potential...but his impact is being felt.

Purdue donned the long-rumored silver uniforms with black numbers/piping...and I really liked them.  In fact, I like them a lot more than the white or black. They have a similar macho factor like the black unis from a few seasons ago as they are kind of no-frills, just business.

JJ was honored at halftime for his great career in God's Country...and although his number had already been added to the rafters, it was the night when he was formally recognized.  He was walking around in the concourse before the game like a normal, anonymous 6'11" guy prior to his Mom escorting him onto Keady court.

I also saw and spoke briefly to Siller and All-B1G Tackle KK Short in the concourse...they also had a difficult time blending in...but Siller was gracious as always as I thanked him for a great career.  Robert Marve was in attendance as well, but was followed by a crowd as he looked to go to grab something from the concession stand (I suggest the chicken fingers).  Turns out I'm not the only person who is a fan of Marve.

At the end of the night, the B1G was up 4-2 on the ACC with Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern and aOSU all winning, while Michigan and Iowa both got beaten pretty soundly.  It's kind of funny- a few seasons ago, EsPN couldn't help but break down the dominance of the ACC ad nauseaum pointing to the B1G's lack of athleticism and fall from grace in the college football world.  But this year, as the B1G dominates, these are just individual games.  Huh.

Honestly though, Duke v. aOSU is like evil v. evil to me...so I wish they'd both lose and my conference loyalty always comes back to my alma mater...I just think it's almost like the Entertainment network has some sort of bias in its coverage when dealing with their vested interests.

Suck it, EsPN.

Early Season Ranting
As my BS counterpart J sipped ice cold malt beverages out of frosty boot-shaped mugs in beautiful, always sunny** Houston, we spoke on the phone about our Boilers.  As we talked, the winter storm that was sitting over Indiana began attacking the BS offices in Fishers, IN.  The blizzard-like conditions intensified as the afternoon went on and I sent him a photo as the snow began to stick...and I thought aloud that the drive to God's country would be pretty lousy tonight...It was.

It usually takes around an hour and five minutes...but tonight, it was double that...but I never thought of not making the drive to see the Boilers play the 9:00 game v. Tha U (that's what the kids call 'em).  But, once again, the expensive seats sat mostly-empty...yet again...as the rich Purdue alums and donors continue to embarrass the university on TV.

I guess that's not completely true...because the BTN has done their best to make sure no one sees this Purdue team play.  That said, I've been to three games...and each time it's the same situation.  2/3-3/4 of the comfy, plush seats are empty.  I'm glad those people give money to the program...but their lack of real interest in the product is obvious.  On the boards and Twitter, the excuse of weather and the late-night tip-off were used.  The weather was bad, no doubt.  But, this is Indiana...I bet we'll see snow again prior to tip-off in December, January and February.  Sunny skies, weekend games with a noon tip-off? Same garbage. Heck, the seats weren't full for the re-dedication of Mackey.  Nice job, rich guys.

As is a tradition of mine, I attempted to move down in the arena and fill some empties (I've already done it twice this season) and enjoy a better view.  This time, my lawless behavior was thwarted by the Mackey Event Cops making sure the pristine seats wouldn't be littered with disgusting cheering fans.  Hats off to Morgan and everyone else who have decided to enforce this policy no matter what- It looked great on TV!!

By the way, I'm a small-time JPCer. 

*CCR stands for Composite Computer Ranking
**It wasn't beautiful today in Houston