Boilers sMACked In Ypsilanti, 47-44

World-beaters

Only scoring in the 40s. Shooting 31% from the field. Shooting 42% from the line. Not a single player in double figures. How the hell can you expect to win?

Oh, wait, those were the numbers from the team that did win today in the Purdue-EMU heavyweight tilt. 

If you can't break 50 points on a MAC team, it could be a sign of trouble.

The Boilers went up to Ypsilanti today to play a rare MAC road game and picked up their fifth loss of the season, falling 47-44. EMU fans responded by storming the floor as though they'd just knocked off a ranked team.

For Purdue fans, it was more of the same -- sub 30% shooting from the field, only 60% from the line, and a complete inability to put away a team. Instead, the Boilermakers played to EMU's level and allowed a pretty mediocre Eagles team to hang around in the first half. The Boilers would push the lead out to something like 11-2, but then stall there and allow the Eagles to painstakingly -- and it was painful -- inch their way back. By halftime, it was a 20-19 game. Exhilirating.

For those of you who didn't get to see this since it was only available streaming via ESPN3, well, you didn't miss too much.

Purdue's leading scorers were Terone with 12 on 4/11 shooting (and 1/4 from the line), followed by Ronnie and AJ both having 11. That's all the double figures Purdue had, which I guess isn't that awful since they only mustered 44 points for the game. Mercy.

DJ Byrd has gone 1/15 from the floor, including 0/14 from three, since his 22 point performance against Clemson. Something is wrong and it's hard to tell what. Maybe we'll learn he has a nagging injury that's worse than we've heard. Or maybe it's all in his head at this point and he's just pressing, knowing the team is struggling and that he's the leader. Whatever it is, DJ needs to iron it out soon. There are just no two ways about it.

In this one, the Boilers couldn't hit free throws and couldn't hit anything, frankly, and yet still had a good chance to win the game. The Eagles were up by as many as nine (I think) in the second half, but the Boilers ground their way back. With a minute and a half to go, after a timeout, the Boilers struck quickly to make it a 46-44 game. EMU had a critical possession, which they squandered, and so Purdue had the ball back. After bringing it upcourt, Matty took a timeout to draw up the winning play.

That winning play turned out to be drawn for Terone Johnson, who got a clear look at a three-pointer (and hey, why not? Threes have been so good to Purdue lately) but bricked it. Naturally, despite rebounding being a strength this season, the Boilers could do no more than knock it out of bounds, giving it back to EMU with ten seconds remaining.

Even then, EMU hit only one free throw on the ensuing predictable foul by the Boilers, allowing our boys another chance to at least tie it. And in typical 2012 Purdue fashion, it's not enough to lose -- it has to be done in an excruciating manner. The boys brought it upcourt and then, before a shot could be taken, fumbled it away. EMU takes possession, game over, drive home safely.

There are significant concerns among the Purdue faithful about this year's team. I've seen remarks that they'll be playing in a half-empty Mackey the rest of the season, which, if you guys do that, you don't deserve to have tickets. I've also seen people saying Byrd belongs on the bench -- I can understand this sentiment and if it means young guys get more minutes and Purdue is that much better next season, so be it. But DJ is a Boiler, too, and he's been a good soldier playing out of position for most of his time at Purdue. It's also still only December 8. A lot of things do indeed look bleak right now and this was an awful loss, but there is a long way to go. The team that should have beaten Villanova and did put a whipping on Clemson still exists in there somewhere. Do you really think it won't emerge again as these youngsters get more minutes under their belts?

No, this isn't a tourney team right now. But I maintain that the future remains bright and that this season will still have some exciting moments. We need to try to stay positive. There's a long track ahead of this train.

First Place Boilers Upset in Columbus

In front of a Homecoming Crowd, aOSU squeaked out a victory versus our Boilers.

Cody Webster received BS' gameball after averaging 45.1 yds/punt on the day. We'll have more later...

Time to Regroup

30% from the field.

16 points in the second half.

44 points overall.

Outrebounded 44-16.

A terrible loss, 53-44.

This one stings. It stings for a lot of reasons and not just the obvious ones. It drops the Boilers into a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten. Assuming everyone wins out, it's a co-championship at best. But it's time to worry about more than that.

Purdue has somehow lost their identity, it seems. We never doubted or argued that Rob Hummel wasn't important. However, there's no reason for E'Twaun Moore or JaJuan Johnson to suddenly become a poor shooters (3-13 and 4-14, respectively, from the field). Or for Chris Kramer to turn the ball over five times. Or for the entire team to get outrebounded by such a ridiculous margin.

The only good I take from this game was that the Boilers can still play defense. They induced 22 turnovers by the Spartans and held them to just 40% shooting and 53 points, which, obviously were enough today.

The bench contributed absolutely nothing and Keaton Grant dipped back to single-digit scoring. All the talk about being #1 was indeed premature, though it is absolutely gut-wrenching that it lined up this way -- is there any doubt that a fully-healthy Boilermaker team doesn't go out and win today and at least get into the discussion for number 1? Painful.

It's time to regroup. The first goal was a Big Ten regular season championship. When the Boilers were 2-3 in conference and had lost three straight, and MSU was 5-0, that looked comically unattainable. Talking about it was verboten and we all said we should move on to other things. Then our boys reeled off ten straight wins to take control of the conference. That win streak allowed them the leeway to lose one game down the stretch and still at least tie for the conference title. That's still within their grasp, with games vs. IU and @PSU this final week. If OSU and MSU can both trip up and the Boilers take care of business, that Big Ten championship will be awfully tasty.

The second goal now needs to be intertwined with the first, and that is to learn how to play without Rob Hummel. Maybe it IS that big a deal and something that requires a complete overhaul of their approach and game plan. It looked like it today, as the Boilers started four guards.

All hope is not lost. The Boilers have their last two regular season games, plus whatever amount of B10 Tourney play they have to sort this out and figure out how the rotation will work and how they will get JJ and Smooge the looks they need to carry the bulk of the scoring. And if they can figure that out at least somewhat, this team is not in dire straits. They can still play defense and you can advance a couple of rounds in the NCAA tourney based on your defense alone. This is not a team that's going to be outworked or outhustled -- if the scoring adjustments can be made, this is still a dangerous team. A wounded, dangerous team.

I'll admit, today was unnerving. But this team just lost for the first time since January 16. They're 24-4. All of their ability did not evaporate with Rob Hummel's ACL.

Keep the faith, let's get two wins to close the season and see where things stand in a week.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Congrats to Chris Kramer for becoming the all-time steals leader at Purdue, doing so on a nifty steal and breakaway dunk that made the crowd think things could go the Boilers way today.
  


• Big ups to the Purdue faithful. The students and other fans represented all of us Boilermakers very well, displaying heart and emotion and an undeniable, unwavering loyalty to their boys. Great support, everyone. Please keep it up.
  


• Congrats to Team USA Hockey, the only thing that could make me channel-flip from a Purdue game, narrowly losing in OT to Team Canada. I finally gave up when the USA-Canada game went to overtime and simply set up two TVs next to one another. Neither gave me the outcome I was looking for.

Deserved.

This guy was the better coach tonight in Mackey Arena

Purdue deserved to lose in Evanston earlier this season...and they stole a victory. Tonight, on Senior Night, at Mackey, they deserved to lose again, and they lost. I guess fair is fair, NU got its retribution, but the Cats are not a good team. Purdue's entire team and the coaching staff choked, let their guard down, played dispassionately and was sleepwalking for the majority of the second half and earned the loss tonight.

Psssst- Wanna know a secret? Matt Painter has no clue how to counter zone defenses. Purdue lost badly to a mediocre Michigan team (who plays zone) and lost again tonight to a mediocre Northwestern team (who plays zone). God-forbid our Boilers run into Syracuse or another solid zone team in the tourney.

It's amazing to me how different the two halves were- As the first half started to roll along, I was thinking to myself, "With Grant playing his game again, on both sides of the floor, this Purdue team is dangerous...

"Hummel's healthy and playing like it, LewJack's pace and control are getting better every game, JJ is playing like an all-league player, Kramer makes it difficult on everyone he guards and Moore is always a threat to score 20...and quietly."

But the second half, Kramer was playing defense like he did v. UM, JJ wasn't rebounding or blocking shots, Hummel wasn't asserting himself and shots weren't falling, Grant wasn't shooting quite as well, Smooge disappeared (yet again) and LewJack really had no one to pass to as the offensive spigot was in the off position.

This basketball team suffers the same disease that the football team suffered from the last few seasons- no killer instict. And it seems to me, the roots of the problem are in the same place- the laissez-faire coaching philosophy of never-too-high, never-too low has crept in multiple times this season...And tonight, it turned a 10-point lead into a seven-point deficit in about 6 minutes. Against an offense like Northwestern's, a 12-15 point lead is all but a victory...but lazy passing and poor shot-selection will be, and was exploited by the smart Wildcats.

This Purdue team has struggled to find an identity all season. Earlier in the season we could blame the struggles on injuries and illness...now, health is not the problem, but the same problems seem to exist. Purdue seemingly has been running from its identity and trying to cover it up all season, but our Boilers are what they are- an OK team...and quite-frankly, that's unacceptable. There are too many weapons and too much experience on this squad for this team to have this many conference losses.

The magic number of 64 points was not magical tonight- this is the first loss for Purdue while holding an opponent to 64-or-less points. Our Boilers allowed NU to shoot just under 50%...and in doing so, they allowed a team on life-support to keep its tourney hopes alive for the second time in a week. Purdue is now in danger of losing 3 of its last 4 games and falling from as high as a 3 seed in the NCAA tournament to a six OR seven. And, their national ranking should be a memory come this time next week save an improbable win v. MSU. Granted, there's still a BT tourney to play, but Purdue's history in that event is dismal.

Atop of a 10-minute shooting drought and lack-luster defense, Purdue's rebounding woes once-again reared their ugly, anger-inducing head. Down the stretch in the game, Purdue simply allowed NU to out-will them as second-chance after second-chance simply opportunities nailed the coffin shut. I've always said this, rebounding is a decision...and Purdue decided tonight to not want the ball, especially in latter stages of the second half.

When a team that's defined by defense and hard work doesn't defend and plays lazily, there's a problem...we've now seen this twice in a 6-day period. Painter and Co. better help these young men figure out who they are in a hurry or ZERO of the pre-season team goals will be met.

Coble and Mirkovic controlled our Boilers this evening