In case you missed it...

Purdue lost to a good MSU team today...and Gary Harris played huge and shot well when needed.  But, if you're still a fan of Izzo, MSU or ambivalent toward Branden Dawson check out the video...

Watch My Points Keep Growing: MSU Haterade

Sometimes it's easy to remember what you don't like about an opponent. Other times it's harder. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, BS is here to help. In a new feature (and you know how well we stick to new features), we'll help you figger out why you should hate Purdue's next opponent, mainly using third grade playground insults and other such high-brow stuff you've come to love BS for. 


Up today: The Michigan State Spartans.

Have you seen the faces Tom Izzo makes? Sure, he's hard not to respect, but does anybody gnaw on officials more and still maintain his nice-guy image?

The Spartans hate America. How else can you explain the way they attempted to sink that aircraft carrier they played on with all those misguided bombs? (ZING!)

Their fight song proclaims that "Spartan teams are never beaten," yet Purdue swept the Spartans last season. So even the fight song has it wrong.

If that horn they blast at the Breslin Center to signify substitutions doesn't make you homicidal, then you're either deaf or a cyborg. Or a deaf cyborg, in which case you're programmed to be homicidal anyway.

Draymond Green only went to MSU because his name is Green.

Please feel free to add your own reasons below. 

High Noon, tomorrow. ESPN.

Tom Izzo Thinks a Lot of Other Teams Are Good

Tom Izzo was on the Dan Patrick Show this morning and discussed a number of topics. At one point, Dan asked him who the best team was he'd seen this year.

Izzo began by mentioning Texas (which is free-falling its way out of the Top 25 at this point, but which beat MSU so they must be good...right?) and then also discussed Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse.....

No mention of the number 3 team in the land, though. The team that took his squad behind the shed in their own house. The team that smoked his Final Four team by 18 last year. The team that he's got to go visit this Sunday.

The only mention of Purdue was when Dan wished him luck against Purdue this Sunday. No discussion of the Big Ten race. No talk about whether or not that's a big game.

We get accused sometimes of being hypersensitive to the lack of respect Purdue gets, but again, to reiterate -- it's not such a bad thing. Keep underestimating our boys.

Every Game Is "Big" From Here On

It won't be a walk on the beach the rest of the way for any of the Big Ten teams. (See what I did there?)

It feels like every time Purdue plays, I make a comment to the wife about how "this is a big game," to the point where I feel kind of silly saying it now. Yeah, it's a big game tonight -- huge, you might say. But strangely, I feel this is one of the few that it might be okay to lose from here on out.

Yes, to guarantee being tops in the Big Ten, our Boilers need to win out, but that's a VERY tall order. And winning in East Lansing is never easy. But here's the rest of the way:

@ MSU, tonight.
versus Iowa on Saturday
@ OSU on 2/17
versus Illinois, 2/20
@ Minny, 2/24
versus MSU, 2/27
versus IU, 3/3
@ defending national champion PSU, 3/6

So just for kicks, let's play the win-loss game. Being realistic yet optimistic (if you follow me), let's say a loss tonight, maybe a loss @ OSU (though Boilerdowd thinks Purdue will get revenge there) and wins in the other six games. That's a 6-2 finish for a 13-5 conference mark. To match MSU, they'd need to lose at least two more games besides the one win I'm chalking up for Purdue against them (and yes, for the moment, ignoring all those other teams clustered at 8-3 right now). Can that happen? Sure. Is it likely? Probably not. They have the following left after tonight's game: @PSU, @IU, vs OSU, @Purdue, vs PSU and vs Michigan.

Where do two more losses come from in there? Having PSU twice in your last six games is a nice little cushion. Sure, they'll be "upset-minded," but MSU will be "we're talented"-minded, and will dutifully wax the floor with the Nittany Kittens. I'd say the best shots are OSU and Michigan, though both of those are in East Lansing.

So, to sum this meandering analysis up, it looks like Purdue does either need to win out or, at the very worst, lose only one more game if they want to be the regular season champ. (And for those of you who think that means less because of the Big Ten tourney, don't forget these teams still all want to be regular season champs and, even if the conf tourney is your focus, you get the top seed.)

Remaining miscellaneous thoughts before tonight's game...

I love that Purdue and MSU are playing twice in an 18-day stretch in February, when everything is meaningful and building and everyone is battling.

I also love that they're our "rivalry week" matchup. It's hard to hate Izzo...and maybe that's a good thing. I kind of like having a rival who I respect and appreciate.

I won't feel bad for one second is Kalin Lucas is out, or that it minimizes the win if Purdue pulls it off. Nobody felt bad for the Boilers when Kramer's nose was broken, Hummel's back was broken and several guys had the flu last season... and nor should they have. Wins count, no matter what.

Purdue's last win in Breslin was in 1998 and was by a score of 99-96. But remember, everyone: the Big Ten is slow and plodding and boring!

I'm ready. Are you?

Speaking of Hoops

Rush The Court, a super-fine college hoops site, is so excited for basketball being just three months away that they're doing breakdowns on many of the top teams in the land. Today's team was Michigan State. Why do I mention this? Because they have some cool things to say about MSU-Purdue that are sure to get you amped.

The snippets, for those too lazy to click through:

Most Difficult Conference Road Test: This one’s easy- the late February tilt at Purdue will be one of the most anticipated games of the entire college basketball season. Michigan State and Purdue, much like last preseason, will be the subject of much banter with regards to the expected conference champion in 2009-10. Purdue once again has nearly every main cog back for another run under coach Matt Painter led by preseason Wooden award finalists E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel trying to lock up Raymar Morgan, scoring center JaJuan Johnson, defensive stalwart Chris Kramer, and point guards Keaton Grant and Lewis Jackson attempting to contain Kalin Lucas. Purdue features an intimidating home court, as well (Michigan State is well aware). This game could very well determine the conference title.

Most Anticipated Home Date: Since both the North Carolina and Texas games are on the road, and Gonzaga won’t be quite as feared as previous campaigns, the vote goes to Purdue. The Big 10 could very well be the best all-around conference in the land this season and these are the top two teams. I cannot possibly stress how huge these two February games will be.

It'll all be here before you know it, boys and girls. Big year for Purdue athletics on the horizon.

Hey MSU

Hey, Michigan State.... do you see those guys approaching fast in your mirror? Yeah, that's us... pulling alongside you now. Knock knock, we're back. And I bet you felt pretty good when we blew a tire out of the gate and started 0-2. Well, here we come.

See you in two weeks. We're looking forward to it.

You know what else? He's a good team mate too!

You've heard us singing the praises of Purdue's quarterback of the future, Justin Siller...He has the ability to sense pressure as the pocket collapses...He can throw a wide array of passes...he can run the ball...and his ego doesn't reflect any of it.

While Curt's shoulder heels slowly and Tiller calls him a girl for not playing, the coach still isn't ready to say Siller is the starter. I'd love to give Coach Tiller some credit and say this is gamesmanship, but I don't think it is. I think Tiller feels loyalty to Curtis; and loyalty is a good thing, but Siller has earned the starting job (and Painter has lost it)...for the rest of the season.

When Siller was asked about his wishy-washy status as the starter, he responded,

"Curtis is a fifth-year quarterback and he's proven himself. I understand that if he's healthy Coach Tiller would go with him."

You know what? That's precisely the right thing to say in this situation. Much like Painter, Siller seems to be a very good team mate in the fact that he doesn't disparage his brothers-at-arms in public. Part of the reason might be the fact that Siller has been watching and learning for the past year...and I mean soaking it up. Every timeout during the '07 season, you could see #5 ducking his head into the Coaches' sideline meetings with Curtis. So, while his delivery might be a little unorthodox and Z says he has a lot to learn, he seems to be mentally prepared to lead our Boilers. It seems that right now, the kid can do no wrong...Let's hope this trend continues in East Lansing on Saturday. Whether it's another sterling performance or not, his time on the field is yet another learning opportunity.

BS Reader Poll -- Game 10

After the first two weekends of November, we’re going to be downright sick of the state of Michigan. November 8 marks the second straight week against a Michigan-based opponent and the third of the first ten games. Enough already. We love you all the same.

Michigan State has been our pick here at BS to be the “surprise” team of the 2008 season, so this could be a tough one, especially since it’s on the road. Time is still TBA, but let’s hope it’s a day game and not one of those raucous night games at MSU in the cold rain in front of 80,000 nutcase (drunk) Spartys. It’s probably safe to expect an earlier start, though, unless both MSU and Purdue have been so good ESPN/ABC can’t ignore us. What do you think? Vote it up.

Game 10
November 8, 2008
Purdue at Michigan State
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