Forces of Good Right the Ship and Beat the Ranked Gophers, 73-61

Tiny Boilerdowd got to see her first Purdue basketball game today and she brought home the victory. This was a Big Ten-style game- big bodies, physical basketball, horrible officiating, good defense and good shooting from deep. Here are a couple of things I took away from the game.

-Patrick Bade playing like everyone knew he could.

Bade played 20 very good minutes and only had one mistake that was of note. He filled space on defense while guarding some large bodies and on offense set some great picks and was active away from the ball. He finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. But really, the stats aren't important. What is paramount is that he was very important and to the rotation was prepared to play. Hats off, Patrick!

-JJ was JJ.

Johnson was bottled up for the first 7 minutes or so. But the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half were simply owned by 25. It's no coincidence that Purdue got the lead and put some space between themselves and the Gophers during this juncture. My favorite moment of the night was win JJ rebounded a missed shot deep in under the basket and put down and angry dunk. We love to see him when resolute...and at that point, he seemed pretty sick and tired of being beaten up by the Gophers bigs. At the 13 minute mark, JJ had 20 points. He ended up playing the full 40 minutes.

-Waking the sleeping Ryno.

Ryne Smith hadn't really 'gone off' for a few games, and this game started off as other recent contests had ended- with Smith just a bit off from long distance. But, the new Ryne Smith that Purdue fans have grown accustomed to, doesnt' let a couple of missed shots keep him from affecting the game. After the cold start, he hit three straight and helped put the game out of reach for our Boilers. Atop of 15 points, he grabbed 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. Plus, he guarded Blake Hoffarber for much of the night and kept him from doing what he did to the Boilers in Minneapolis.

I got to talk to Ryne after the game and he told me that this game was the first, in high school or college, in which he pulled himself out. After the game, he told me he felt, "a little beaten up."

Relentless high screens by Minnesota's bigs, three officials who refused to blow their whistles and Minnesota's guards running curl after curl after curl around the arch all contributed to Smith's post-game condition.

LewJack is one of the many good guys on Purdue's team who took time to talk to LBD after the game

-LewJack City.

Tubby thought that if he took away the driving lanes from Lew, he'd be rendered ineffective. Guess not. As Minny's guards shaded off of Jackson, he made them pay. After hitting three-straight threes, he cooled a bit, but the game was already changed as his hot shooting softened up the Gophers' zone so JJ could take over. LewJack finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

-Smooge struggles a bit.

E'Twaun Moore didn't play like I thought he might coming into the game. With Nolen out, I thought Purdue's guards would have more opportunity to get free. But as Smooge (and others) drove, especially deep into the zone, the officials simply wouldn't send the Boilers to the fould line.

He got some good looks from outside too, but ended up shooting 3-13 from the field. But, as always, when his shot's not falling, he still does damage. He tied JJ for the team-high 7 rebounds, had 3 assists and 2 blocked shots, on the defensive side of the court.

-Supporting Cast

DJ Byrd knocked down a few big threes after figuring out how to create space. Minnesota's Mbakwe chased him out on the wings and made him think twice on more than one occasion. He started the game as Matty went big from the get-go (Jackson, Moore, Byrd, Johnson, Carroll). The Byrdman finished with 6 points, 3 assists in 17 minutes.

Carroll didn't have a ton of production (sorry J). But, he had a resolute drop step into the lane early in the game that was very impressive...and might be a glimpse of what we'll see in coming seasons.

Barlow had a couple of rebounds and assists...but pestered Minnesota's guards in the 10 minutes he was in the game. And TJohn finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in a quiet 11 minutes.

Good Win

In spite of losing Nolen two games ago, Minnesota looked pretty good, even short-handed. The Smiths (Tubby and Saul) had the Gophers playing well and used their size play a brutally-tough packed zone early in the game. Perhaps they ran out of gas, but regardless of why they couldn't stay with Purdue the stretch, Matty and Co. owed them one (or two) and this win was important. It also helped the team put the aOSU collapse behind them.

Two really important stats are that the Boilers shot free throws well (77%) and won the rebounding battle for the first time in a few games (35-30).

Next up, Purdue plays at Wisconsin in three days. Ryan will have them ready to play as they're coming off of a close loss to PSU.

Nation's Elite Struggling

Here are the teams in front of Purdue that have also lost in the last week:

Pittsburgh, San Diego State, UConn, Villanova, Syracuse (twice) and BYU.

Plus, Texas and Mizzou play later tonight...so one of them also has to lose. That means (including Purdue), 9 of the top-13 teams in the land will have lost by the end of this evening. Six of those losses came today.

Purdue's Computer Composite Ranking was 11th at the start of the day. Who knows what it will be tomorrow. But our Boilers might have picked a pretty good week to lose in the fashion they did (if there can be such a week). We'll see on Monday afternoon.

It Takes Moore to Win on the Road in the Big Ten (Boilers Fall 67-70)

As everyone in the college basketball world knows, Purdue is a team built around the premise that defense is the utmost priority and offense comes as a result of defensive stops. So, when our Boilers allowed 41 in the first half, we should have known that it'd be tough sledding from there...and it was.

Coming into the game, I thought Purdue would struggle handling Iverson, Sampson and Mbakwe, but I thought Purdue's four-headed defensive monster of LewJack, Barlow, Smith and Moore would be able to shut down the Golden Gophers guards. That wasn't the case as Hofharber dominated from the perimeter and Nolen chipped in 13/8.

Just as in the Richmond game in which Purdue gave up 41 in a half, and allowed an opposing guard to dictate the pace of the game, Purdue got away from what makes them great. And, in both cases the loss felt nearly-inevitable in the closing minutes.

We said it months ago, as the media beat the drum that Purdue needed a third scorer- Purdue has had the third scorer all-along. It's a committee of players- one night it'll be Smith, one night Jackson steps up, perhaps it's Barlow another it might be TJohn. Purdue can count on the Big 2...but the third is important for a successful season.

But wait, we've now seen three straight games in which Smooge has significantly fallen off in points production. In the PSU, Iowa and Minny games, he's averaged 6.7 points/game (his season average was nearly 20 before this stretch). Granted, he's still rebounding well and distributing, but as we all knew coming into the season, he's very important for Purdue on the offensive end. Purdue faired quite well in Empty Valley and at home v. Iowa, but it took Ryne Smith playing at an out-of-this-world level. Matty and co. simply can't expect that...but they should be able to expect Moore to consistently score. The biggest concern for me is that when he's not scoring, Moore doesn't seem to try to create contact and get to the line. Tonight, he had 0 free throw attempts.

We've seen this before, by the way. Last season, he had a stretch in which he just went cold...that happens for shooters, let's just hope this stretch is over. On the positive side of his game, he led the team with 7 assists.

And it wasn't all negative for our Boilers. Purdue won the rebounding battle, yet again, LewJack played at a fast pace and created problems for Minnesota. He finished with 15 points on 4 of 8 shooting, had 7 rebounds and dealt out 5 assists (while going 6 for 6 from the free throw line). TJohn looked good in stretches, played great defense and finished with 8 points. Smith came back down to earth, but wasn't getting any space on the perimeter. As teams take away the three from Smith and Moore, it should open up the middle for the drive and give JJ opportunities.

And JJ, once again, took advantage. He finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and was 5 for 5 from the stripe. What J and I question most from Johnson coming into this season, his will, has been not been in doubt. He's played tough, especially when facing 7 footers. His ability to make perimeter jumpers and post up creates problems that most big men simply cannot match.

Games like this are good for a team- to go into a hostile environment, not have things go your way, and play a game that can be won in the final minutes. The problem is, Purdue seemed completely unable to finish. On the last possession, before calling a timeout, Purdue's guards looked like the Globetrotters as they ran a weave and dribbled around at the top of the key. Without a confident Moore, there seemed to be no one who wanted to, or more importantly, was able to take the ball and win the game.

If I wanted to, I could focus on some of the most-inconsistent, one-sided officiating I've seen this season, that we witnessed tonight in the Barn. But, as we all know, that's part of the equation in the BT. These showy buffoons in black and white clown costumes love lathering up a home crowd. With dramatic hand signals that mean nothing, anticipatory whistles and overly-emphatic change of possession pointing, these guys are simply awful at what they were hired to do. But, if you rely on officials in any way to aid your success as a team, you're going to lose a lot of games.

Matty's boys simply must learn how to win the close game if they want to win the BT, get a high seed and end their season in Houston.

Next up, Purdue plays an odd out-of-conference road game against the unlikable Bob Huggins-coached WVU Mountaineers at 1:30 on Sunday on CBS.

The Next Step: Purdue v. Minny Wrap-Up

My day started with an e-mail from my pal and co-BS editor J asking a simple question that had been asked to him- Have you heard any rumor of Hummel being injured?

I hadn't...and if there's one thing I've learned as a Purdue fan this season, it's that these rumors usually don't mean much. Oh wait, no I haven't learned that. I've learned they're pretty much always true...but worrying about something that I couldn't control wouldn't do me any good. So the BDowd family headed to God's Country for homecoming.

Perfect day- sunny, warm, but not hot, a ton of friends in town to see our alma mater play...Love days like this.

Purdue wore throw-back uniforms that kind of looked more like knock-offs, to me. The colors weren't quite right, the numbers were too small, the stripes on the sleeves weren't the right shape and the icons on the jersey all seemed to be the wrong size. Nike had done it again- just as they had for the Alstott throwback- they had butchered it. But, Purdue paid homage to the BT Co-champ team from a decade ago...and unlike in Pasadena, our Boilers won with roses through the P on the side of the helmet. I guess it kinda helped that they were playing Minnesota and not New Weasel's Huskies.

The game started in pretty-horrible fashion. Both teams seemed to be locked in a battle of who could move the ball less. Three-and-out, three-and-out, FIVE-and-out...etc.

But, eventually, Purdue's o-line started making space, Nord called a few zingers and Dan Dierking made Minny look mini. Danny D finished the day averaging more than 10yds/carry on 12 carries and Henry had an efficient 57 yards rushing...with 3 TDs. The last time a Purdue QB did that, J hadn't yet been born.

Purdue also passed the ball a bit better than last week- Henry was 13/20 w/ 163 yard, 1 TD, 1 Int. Not horrible...definitely better than what we saw in Evanston. But, as a starter, he's now 2-0. The bestest stat of all.

Back to that rumor about Rob's injury. It was all confirmed via multiple sources as Purdue was beginning to take control of the game on the field...and you could feel it throughout RossAde. Purdue was manhandling their opponent, but it was quiet in the concourses and restrooms. I even saw a grown man crying about it- no joke. Granted, all of us felt like crying or vomiting then crying...but most of us didn't do it.

The salve in the Purdue family's massive would was this homecoming game. Honestly, I don't think it wasn't enough to make us feel better, but I'm kinda glad I was in Ross Ade when I got the news...and it would have been much worse had Purdue lost.

But, this Minnesota team looked as bad in person as the rumors told us they were. They made bad decisions, shot themselves in the foot time and time again, their receivers dropped a ton of passes (particularly, former Purdue recruit Marquis Gray) and their white helmets looked stupid.

If you screw with a school's uniforms, I think the alums generally think, it's OK if you're winning. Brewster wasn't. And another rumor that was circulating before the game is now reality- Tim Brewster is out...kinda...following their loss in West Lafayette today. You know what's worse than an interim coach? An interim coach that's already been fired. Nice work, Minnesota Athletic Dept!

Here are some of the noteworthy things I saw today:

-Antavian Edison looked like he was controlled via the R1 button a few times today. On more than one play, he was surrounded by Gophers, then juked one direction, then the opposite to escape nearly untouched.

-Henry's poise is impressive. He seems to be confident when he breaks the huddle and tends to just make good decisions. Plus, his offense looks to be improving each week. In today's game, they scored a TD/qtr...solid.

-Kerrigan is a bad dude...you all knew that already, but holy crap does he hit hard...and gets held EVERY SINGLE PLAY. Plus, he was the victim of a simply horrible personal foul call late in the game. This, following an absurd no-call after Henry took a knee and then was popped by a Minnesota D lineman...with no call made.

What next transpired was pretty great. The anger that Purdue fans had built up was taken out on the officials as the Ross Ade faith reminded the officials for a solid 5 minutes how bad these two calls were.

-Coach Hope made another lousy play call at the end of the first half. With Purdue up by 14 and Minnesota not able to move the ball effectively, Hope and Co. decided to kick a field goal instead of going for the 4th and 1 from the 1 yard line.

I love Hope's ability to motivate and stay positive...but some of the questionable Xs & Os decisions are infuriating. There seems to be one-or-so a game.

Speaking of Hope- where are our pals who have been calling for him to be fired? I guess we'll see you guys next week?

-GBI and a few post-game radio shows remarked about how lucky Purdue got on a few plays this afternoon...true. But, much of that luck was a result of Goldy's poor coaching and Purdue doing some things well. Our Boilers are hitting much harder, seem to be spaced better, are blocking better (both on the line and on the outside) and seem to be playing inspired.

-Rob Henry and OJ Ross were able to do what hadn't been done up to this point in the season- connect on a deep ball...that's a good sign.

-Purdue's DBs are now catching most of the interception opportunities given to them- I think there was one dropped ball, but the defensive backfield is getting better at taking advantage of QB mistakes.

Burning Questions

-Do you think Urban Meyer actually did retire after he decided to come back? UF now has 3 losses and will assuredly be unranked in this week's poll.

-Michigan's now 1-2 in the BT. If they drop another next week, will Jim Harbaugh be asked if he's available after the first of the year? Was anything less-surprising than Robinson getting hurt v. Iowa? For a guy his size taking that man shots, it's amazing he's taken as many snaps this season as he has.

-With MSU continuing to play as they have and aOSU losing easily in Madison, who's your prediction for BT champ at this point?

-If you saw the aOSU game, you watched Pryor while like a lil' baby for a full quarter. Do you think this is isolated or will his attitude problems continue throughout the season?

Workmanlike Non-Elite Boilers Equal Best Start in School History

(That's right, kids. Uncle J is back in the house and in the recapping mood.)

The #4 team in the nation played like it tonight, controlling a game against a talented, ranked-at-one-time, 11-win Minnesota squad, and won going away, 79-60.

Maybe one of the reasons Purdue isn’t viewed as “elite” is because of the workmanlike way they grind down their opponents. It’s rarely flashy, it’s never glitzy, and it’s almost monotonously efficient. The Boilers have won nearly every game the same way – pressure on the ball, solid defense, average shooting, making free throws. Seriously, have you noticed how almost every quality opponent has eventually looked fed up or frustrated with the Purdue defense? Sometimes to the point of giving up (I’m looking at you, Wake and WVU)?

You watch these games and they don’t feel like runaways...and yet they also don’t feel like "trouble" for Purdue at almost any time. Whenever Minny would get within 6 or 8 tonight, the Boilermakers would seemingly adjust and pull away, making the lead comfortable again. Case in point: Late in the first half, Purdue had the ball and a seven point lead, with the chance to make it ten. Rob Hummel had an open look for three and clanked it. Minnesota brought it down and hit a trey to make it only a four point game. That’s the kind of swing that can make a team feel great heading into the half. However, Purdue brought it back down and Chris Kramer took one of his rare shots and drained a rainbow three at the horn to put the lead back to seven at the half. Like I said, workmanlike – not flashy.

The second half tonight was much like the second half against WVU (and others, honestly) – the Boilers jumping out to an aggressive start, using smart-shooting and opportunistic defense (not to mention clutch free throw shooting, as usual) to expand their lead, while the opponent seemed to go cold. And perhaps that’s another reason Purdue is not viewed as "elite" – because it always looks like their opponents are "cold" (WVU, Wake, Minn) or "blow a chance" (Tenn, Alabama) to take down Purdue. Maybe, just MAYBE...and I’m just spitballing here...but maybe the Boilers have something to do with those poor second half performances by their opponents. I know, crazy talk, right?

In the end, the same thing happened – at least for me – that has happened a number of times already this season. The game seems like, well, a GAME, for the most part, but the workmanlike efficiency goes on in an almost subtle manner and suddenly you look up from feeding your kid his bottle (or studying or eating pizza or calling your bookie) and the Boilers are up 15 or 20 points with a few minutes left. Always a nice feeling.

As for the stat line, Hummel again puts up a double-double, as does JJ, who plays another game without getting in any foul trouble at all. As our guest-posters mentioned, what a difference when JaJuan is in the game and able to be a factor. He causes guys to collapse down on him, thus opening up perimeter shots, he draws frequent fouls, and his thunderdunks can rattle the building. I was excited to see Chris Kramer wind up with 15 points, although more than half came at the free throw line, where CK went 8 of 10.

The bench was quiet, points-wise, but provided minutes to give the starters critical rest at times. Ryne Smith went 2 of 3 from long range to lead the bench scorers with six. And in another of those weird statistical anomalies, Kelsey Barlow played nine minutes and had four fouls. As we’ve said before, this kind of thing can be a guy just adjusting to the speed of things. And yes, Big Ten play is yet another adjustment for young guys.

Misc observations:

• One of Boilerdowd’s favorites, Ted Valentine, was doing the game, though he was not particularly gesticulatory tonight. Maybe Teddy had a flu bug or something. On the subject of officiating, though, I got the feeling they were really letting the guys play tonight. Lots of bumps, incidental contact and reach-ins were let go. I’m a fan of this, because the game moves along and a flow can develop. Too many foul calls leads to what people use to criticize the Big Ten.

• Coach Matthew again insists on having the starters in late. This bothers us at BS at times because there just seems to be no reason to have the big guns in there when the game is comfortably in hand with two minutes left.

• Related to that last point, this nearly came to a head as the Ostrich and Damian Johnson got tied up late and – it appeared – were ready to start slapping one another. Johnsons got a T, perhaps for something he said, Hummel relaxed, and classy Tubby Smith removed Johnson from the game. Still, should Rob have been in the game at that point? I say unequivocally no.

• With about five minutes left, Minny makes a pick and roll pass for a dunk and Hummel looked pissed at JJ for not switching. No comments from Schulman and Lavin, of course, but I found it interesting. The Ostrich wasn’t "mad," per se, he was just irritated that they didn’t play perfect defense. A lot of teams – especially with a comfortable lead – would simply shrug it off and move on. Coach Matty’s boys believe in defense evidently with the same dog-with-a-bone fervor of their coach. Love it.

Looking Ahead

The Boilers next face Wisconsin this Saturday in Madison. There’s been a lot of talk about how few have the success against Bo Ryan that Matt Painter does. There have also been a few publications (and our own Boilerdowd) who seem to feel the first loss is most likely to come at the hands of the Badgers.

While I see the point Boilerdowd makes that Purdue simply can’t continue to sweep Wisky forever, I also am not a huge believer in the nonsense of saying a team is "due." Nobody is "due" to do anything. Good teams make their own luck, and all that. I think if the Boilermakers play their game this Saturday, they should take down the Badgers by 5-10 points. However, I do think it’s possible that the undefeated record will begin to be on their minds soon. I believe in Coach Matty’s ability to keep these guys focused, but after a while those thoughts (of staying undefeated) have to begin to creep in.

Still, when every pundit out there thinks you’re going to be the first undefeated to fall (they’ve been saying this for a while now, no?) maybe it serves as extra motivation to stick it to them.

Choo-choo.

Yep, It's Over; Boilers Mail It In at Minnesota

That's a folded tent, kids.

Over the past week, we've been asking, "Is the season over?" Big thanks to the Purdue football team for giving a resounding answer this afternoon. Yes. Yes, it sure is.

It certainly looks like it's time to fold the tent. Are we quitting on our team? Of course not. So close that comment box. But it's pretty clear how things are going to continue playing out this season.

It's actually kind of jarring how predictible this team has become. Fast start by the offense, an early lead, Joey Elliott looking sharp. In fact, as Purdue drove the field in the first quarter, Boilerdowd texted me, "Elliott looks great." To which I responded, "He always does on the first drive." And that's true, isn't it? Joey Elliott loves the first quarter. Even with the running game being bottled up and Keith Carlos wearing steel mittens, Joey kept firing away, making completions, finding the open guy, not making bad decisions. Of course, facing a 3rd and long on every possesstion was going to catch up with them eventually.

So we've seen this one before. And with a 10-0 lead, I asked b-dowd how it was going to happen. "Breakdown in the secondary, big play to Decker," came the response. And then? Well, yeah, you know what happened next.

Now, I don't mean to disparage Dwight McLean unfairly, because he gives a nice effort. But why does he seem to be the guy covering the most talented -- and most likely -- targets? It was McLean who was beat on the game-losing TD against UND. And here he was again, single-covering Decker. McLean slipped and that's all Weber and Decker needed.

And then? Even if you didn't watch the game, you know what happened next. Turnovers. Mmmm, tasty turnovers. Less tasty when they're frozen turnovers baked up by the Purdue special teams unit. This team cannot hold onto the ball. I know we've had some readers commenting that it's not the coaches who are doing the fumbling. Okay, sure. And I've heard others say that you can't "coach" guys not to fumble. Sorry, but that's just not true. Many pro running backs had fumbling issues and when a coach came in and helped them, they turned the corner. Tiki Barber and Tom Coughlin come to mind, but there are other examples. This has got to stop. It's embarrassing.

The defense deserves a better fate. They've improved, in my opinion. The tackling has improved, in my eyes, throughout the season. I don't see horrible routes being taken or guys slipping through arms, or DBs trying to tackle shoulder pads. And Neal, Kerrigan and Werner are doing what they can. Torii Williams has looked solid, too. But if you continue to turn the ball over in your own territory, even mediocre teams -- yes, like Minnesota -- are going to make you pay.

Here's an interesting tidbit -- Purdue has led every game they've played this year. Again, infuriating, because it's not like they can't play with these teams they're losing to. They just can't play for more than about one or two quarters. When you have a lead in every game you play, one would think you might accidentally win a couple.

When the season began and others were predicting 1 and 2 win seasons for the Boilers, we were steamed. We planned on telling them all to suck it each and every week. And early on, we still felt this team was better than its record indicated. But in the end, you are what you are. This is a bad team. Talented? Yes. Poorly coached? Looks like it. But whatever the ingredients in the middle of the calculus equation, the result after the equals sign is this = crap.

Barnburning Boilers

You like that headline? See, you come here, you get quality. We're not just gorgeous window dressing -- we've got the smrts, too. I mean, S-M-A-R-T.

Last night, as you no doubt are aware if you're reading this, our Boilers played a rather complete game in the Barn up in Minny, defeating the Gophers 70-62.

There's still plenty to work on, as anyone who watched with a critical eye can admit. But let's talk about the good first.

Team defense. The Boilers hustled out there and, despite some ticky-tack foul calls by the horsesh-t officiating crew (on both sides), the Boilers defense was stout. Chris Kramer led the charge as usual, playing smothering defense and hustling to loose balls in a way that reminds me very much of Brian Cardinal but in a far more controlled way. I don't watch the game thinking Kramer is going to break his own neck, in other words. You know you've won the battle when you get a quote from the other team like this:

"Their defense really took a toll on us," [Al] Nolen said. "We couldn't get the ball in the basket to save our lives."

Indeed, the Gophers shot a putrid 28% from the floor, including 16% from three-land. Hey, as a fan of a school that has gone through awful 3-pt shooting spells in the past, I can lend some advice here: When you're shooting under 20% but the game is still within reach, maybe you try to work for some easier buckets. Goodness.

Shooting. Simple as it sounds, the Boilers are shooting well again. Sure, in a lot of cases, you're either a good shooter (Hummel) or you're not (cough, Calasan). But we have all seen this team go inexplicably cold and had that sinking feeling... We're not coming back. Well, last night was not one of those nights. The Boilermakers took controlled, smart shots for the most part. The passing was crisp (even getting Coach Knight to say "This is a good passing basketball team") and generally smart. At the half, the Boilers were shooting 54% from the field and wound up shooting 47% for the game (including 55% from three-land). Solid.

Adjustments. Minny adjusted to a zone defense partway through the first half and for a couple minutes it definitely slowed the Boilers down. The passing was still good, but it just rotated around the perimeter. However, before long, the Boilers adjusted and starting driving and cutting to create shots and open looks. Very well done. And at the start of the second half, the Gophers got on a bit of a run to open things up and, while they didn't catch up, they definitely got the momentum going their way a bit. But like a good team, Purdue managed to withstand it and hold off the Gopher attack.

Rebounding. I continue to be impressed with the Purdue rebounding, even though I know that this, too, has been hit or miss at times. There are still improvements to be made (Calasan having them tipped away at times, etc.) but overall I thought the Boilers rebounded very well. JJ led the team with 8 but Robbie was right there with him, despite a balky back that was clearly bothering him at times. Just imagine if this squad was fully healthy. (Minnesota's leading rebounder was Ralph Sampson III, by the way. And in case you forgot he was the THIRD, you just need only look at his jersey to see "SAMPSON III" on the back. Well, someone needs to tell young Ralph that he looks like a bozo. His last name is Sampson, not Sampson III.)

As for what I'd like to see us work on a bit more....

Chris Kramer's Fear of Shooting. Maybe we can get Chris into a support group or something. I realize he's not the best shooter on the team, but he's only got 57 field goal attempts on the entire season. He's averaging just over 3 FGA per game. Maybe we could inch it up to 5-6 per game? Kramer had wide open looks a few times as the result of sloppy zone play or double teams and yet still chose to look for the pass. I like pass-first guys as much as the next person, but there are definitely times when you need to shoot the rock.

Calasan Decision-Making. Maybe it's not "decision" making so much as he just does whatever his body feels like doing. He had at least two dumb traveling calls and he continues to think he's Larry Bird from the top of the 3-point arc. I know he sank a big one and we had a significant lead and so that's fine... but he's not out there to shoot long shots like that. Rebound and work on not shuffling your feet, there, Darko.

LewJack. I still love the kid and the energy he brings and the positives far outweigh the negatives right now, but he still needs to continue working on his control. He had a few turnovers that were very avoidable and sometimes he still seems out of control. I realize he's amped and he's just a freshman, but if we can continue shaving off the silly mistakes as we get deeper into conference play, that would be huge. This guy is going to be fantastic in subsequent years.

Miscellaneous Thoughts.

JJ had another awesome emphatic dunk. It seems like sometimes he just decides enough is enough and rams one home over everyone. Do this more often, JJ!

It pains me to admit this, but Bob Knight was really good as an analyst. He didn't annoy me at all -- and I hate this guy! His insights were solid and he truly sounded like a coach. I think this is good for him to have America see a smiling, laughing, joking version of Bob Knights, and one who also sounds like he's coaching the players and showing all of us what made him successful. If he could just control his anger and how he treats people, I might actually like him. (Though it was hilarious that he took off his headset to shout at the officials during the game -- they deserve it.)

MattyWatch. It almost seemed like Brent Musburger was aware of it, because I didn't hear a "Matty" for much of the night. Then at the end, during postgame handshakes, Brent just couldn't contain himself and out it came.... Matty Painter.

As Dowd said, this was just one of four big ones. Thanks to Northwestern, our Boilers are just a game back of Michigan State and still has the chance to control how things play out. That's really all you can ask for.

Keaton Grant can't help but laugh at Minnesota's 27% shooting.

Worrisome Win

Thanks to the brilliance of ESPN's director of programming (they allocate 3 hrs. for every 3.5-4hr. game), our Boilers fourth contest of '07 was televised on ESPN Classic, for a quarter. In case you missed the first segment, you missed quite a bit.

On the first kickoff, a new face was set deep to aid Dorien Bryant (Sheets will no longer return kickoffs due to poor depth at RB)- Desmond Tardy. So, what did Purdue's #3 kick returner do when he got the opportunity to return a kickoff? Not much...he only ran that kickoff back for a 90 yd. (approx.) touchdown. The defense started strong, again and stopped the Gophers a few times and the Painter-led offense started sharp again.

Cliff Avril had one of the best defensive plays of the year by batting a pass up in the air, gathering it and getting to the end zone...It's great, for me, to see Avril come up big as I've heard quite a few Purdue fans express their disgruntlement with Cliff while comparing him to previous Boiler DEs. He showed on this play that he's pretty darned good.

Painter looked sharp most of the day, although he did throw his first interception of the season but threw 3 more touchdowns and over 300 yards, again. Dorien Bryant was a bright spot, with two TDs and Sheets rushed for over 100 yds. and had two TDs himself.

The most interesting, and possibly, most important play of the game occurred in the second quarter. Purdue tried to attempt a 45-yd. field goal which was blocked...A Minnesota DB picked up the ball and began pulling away from Jared Armstrong (who holds on field goals). For no apparent reason, the Minnesota player tried to change the ball over to his right hand and put it on the turf. Since Armstrong stayed with the play, he jumped on it and the Boilers got the ball back.

So, if Tardy doesn't run back the kickoff and 15 on Mini is able to secure the ball, it's a different game. But, "couldas" don't matter...and our Boilers are 4-0.

My main reason for worry is the fact that the 2006 defense showed up, yet again, for an entire half of football (much like last week). Hopefully, there's a reason for such lack-luster play...But, I believe the reason is the scheme and the scheme-r. I hope I'm wrong. If I'm not, the black and gold will get rolled by UM et al later in the season.

Heck, a very wise sage that I know says, "UND's offense looks horrible. Sadly, I believe the only cure for such poor play is a Spack-coached defense." We shall see.

4-0, and what do we know? Very little as our Boilers have still not played a respectable opponent. That said, I'm awfully happy that my alma mater is undefeated.