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.
 

Painter's Pups Pasted in Overtime

This game can be broken down into four distinct sections:

First 26 minutes:

Purdue shoots around 30% from the FT line, misses a ton of gimmes, misses second chance shots and digs themselves a hole that looked like it wouldn't be overcome...I believe they were down by 10 at the end of this stanza.

Next 12 minutes:

After having their mettle tested by a hostile crowd, one-sided officiating and atrocious shooting, Purdue fought out of the hole.  The play that made me think Purdue would win was a fight for a loose ball that started on the baseline and ended up near half court with Byrd calling a timeout while surrounded by three Nova defenders.  Nova continued to ratchet up the physicality...but not by playing tough defense, but by handing out cheap shots after plays were over.  A play that showed this- After a big three by Byrd, a Nova forward ran into him and took out his legs...no call.  I honestly don't blame Villanova for making it into a brawl...if the officials allow it, do it.  And since they couldn't get back into the game any other way, they were resourceful.

During this period, Purdue took the lead, extended it to eight and were keeping 'Nova at arm's length (around 5 points) in spite of continued struggles from the FT line.  Even with missed second shots from the stripe, Purdue's defense kept them in the driver's seat.

The Ref's Big Moment in the Big Apple:

After Terone Johnson was forearmed in the face, the officials didn't think the foul was flagrant nor should it be reviewed...that was around six minutes remaining in the game. Please keep in mind that this officiating crew stopped play around five times to review other issues.  Not only were they bad at calling the live game, they were bad at reviewing video.

With around four minutes to go, one of Nova's forwards intentionally tripped RonJohn as he broke a trap in the press.  An official begrudgingly blew the whistle as Johnson's awkward fall forced the issue.

Then, this officiating crew's finest hour came.

Taking it for the team...kinda.

With the bright lights of NYC on them and a national TV audience watching, these clowns grabbed the spotlight and put on a show.  As Byrd was trapped in the corner about 80 feet from the Purdue basket, he tried to protect the ball by bringing it high.  He was not only charged with his fifth foul, but also a flagrant.  The result was a four point Villanova possession and a loss of a possession for Purdue.

No one will debate that Byrd shouldn't have gone into the corner...but the officials literally took the game out of the players' hands and decided it for themselves in the closing minutes.

Both AJ and Byrd fouled out in regulation...and the foul differential at that point was nine, in favor of 'Nova.  Hey, that happens...and it especially happens when a team's on the road and they're young...but there's no excuse for the inconsistency with which this game was called.

Eye is part of the ball.

The Big Letdown

After Purdue fought back to turn the tide, the game went into overtime...and Purdue was toast.  Perhaps they were already exhausted from the last comeback or the youthful squad just didn't know how to handle the pressure...regardless, Purdue was beaten badly in overtime...both on the scoreboard and on the court...as Purdue never really challenged in the extra 5:00 period.  Good guys lose 89-81

Byrd had 16, 5 and 5...RonJohn had 12 points, 9 assists as he continues to impress...TJohn had 13, 4 and 4...and Hale had 11pts and 6 rebound. After that, a ton of guys continued to contribute.  And while Lawson might not be filling the stat sheet, I don't know how he stays out of the starting lineup much longer.  His energy isn't being matched by anyone on the team right now.

To be Fair...

Now, whenever a team shoots 57% from the FT line, they're killing themselves...and making victory much tougher than it needs to be.  I'd say this problem is officially an epidemic.  It reared its ugly head early last season and is back, yet again, early this year.  This must be rectified and in a hurry.

Purdue also shot just 22% from behind the arc.  But honestly, they weren't shooting much better from inside the lane in the first half.  If Matty's boys hadn't put themselves such an awful position, they would have never needed to storm back.

What we're seeing is the process of maturation...and it's painful.  This game was a microcosm of what the pre-conference has been and will probably continue to be- periods in which the young guys look overmatched followed by flashes of brilliance.

In a young season, Purdue has two losses already...and in the next 9 games before the B1G season begins, Purdue will play 4 potential NCAA tourney teams...so it doesn't get much easier.

In order for Purdue to make the tournament, they're going to need to grow up quickly.  The good news is, they can get this rotten taste out of their mouths tomorrow night at 5:00...as they play Oregon State this time, once again in MSG.

I guess it's a good thing it's only November. While this one had the feel of a game in March, there's still a ton of basketball to be played and plenty of opportunities for this team to begin forging an identity.

Boilers Mugged in NYC

As I type, Purdue is about to enter overtime...

But, they've already been robbed of this game.

Two Purdue starters are fouled out of the game...no 'Nova players.  The two that are gone aren't Freshman, but vets- Byrd and AJ.

-TJohn was hit across the face with a forearm while shooting...no flagrant, no official review.
-RonJohn was intentionally tripped, which is a flagrant...instead of a flagrant 1, a late whistle was the result.
-Finally, DJ Byrd was called for a flagrant after being pushed as he swung the ball high.  The rule states that if the elbows move faster than the hips, it's a flagrant...and if a player uses his elbows as weapons, it's a flagrant. Neither occurred.  The flagrant resulted in a four-point possession and Byrd on the bench...and Purdue not winning in regulation.

Let's not forget that the refs called the game one way for 'Nova, and another for Purdue.  Traveling, flagrant fouls, shoves while double teaming...anything went tonight.

Nicely done, officials- you earned this victory tonight for Villanova.

Regardless of what happens from here out, Purdue has already been robbed.

Boilers Earn Pivotal Win over Northwestern: 87-77

Mackey was pretty dead tonight...but the telecast just didn't really tell the story; or should I say, the Paint Crew makes it seem like Mackey is the madhouse, even when it's not.  There were a few hundred empty seats...and a few thousand seats occupied by human-shaped lumps of mashed potatoes.  The three home losses have clearly taken their toll on Purdue's fanbase...but that doesn't make the lack of enthusiasm right, in my opinion.  I generally like my fellow sec. 102 patrons...but man, getting this crowd excited tonight was too difficult; and the game gave the fans plenty to cheer for...or against.  Let's start with the positives, shall we.

Coming off of an 84 point offensive explosion versus one of the nation's-best teams, The Forces of Good played a first 15 minutes that looked a lot like the first 15 minutes of the IU game- tons of missed lay-ups and short jumpers...but Hummel, Smith and Byrd pulled the struggling Boiler offense out of the crapper with some sharp shooting off of crisp ball movement to end the first half.

In the second half, we saw David Jonathan Byrd (goes by DJ) go batty on the Wildcats as he continued the trend of kicking ass in the blocks on defense while filling it up on offense.  He finished with 20 points, hit all of his free throws (5/5), and added three rebounds and 4 assists. He also used four of his fouls wisely without fouling out in spite of spending most of the game in the painted area.  For the second-straight game, Byrd's so-called Dad was on TV...but I'm pretty sure that DJ is really just a clone of his "father" as his Mom seems to be pretty darned good looking...and I can't see any resemblance to her, honestly. While DJ's Mom is pretty, his game might be prettier right now.

Look Who's back!

His pal, Robert John Hummel (goes by Rob or Robbie) looked like the guy we fell in love with a few years ago- he finished with 27 points (while shooting 50% from the field and from three), went 12/14 from the stripe as he helped salt away the game, added a healthy 9 rebounds and a couple blocks on the night. When he's missing his shot, he's clearly jumping or leaning to the left...but when he's knocking it down, it's pure.

Friend of BS, Handsome Ryne Smith (some people call him Ryno) also helped rekindle our love for him...but not in the way you might think he did.  Sure, shooting 4/7 from three is nice...real nice actually...and adding a career high 7 rebounds along with three assists isn't too shabby either.  But Smith stuck his nose into a conflict at the end of the first half that I'll talk about in a bit.

Lewis Jackson IV (known around West Lafantastica and elsewhere as simply LewJack) didn't start the game and seemed to be struggling with on-ball defense a bit...but he fought through injuries to deal out 8 assists along with 4 rebounds and 5 points.  His fellow point guard, Barlow played stifling defense (at times), and asserted his will again; something that Purdue fans have grown to love to see.  If this guy could figure out how to do it game-in, game-out, he'd be all B1G, or better.  He finished with a near-double-double...10 points, 8 rebounds.  Terone Johnson had 11 points and four rebounds on a few of the patented tear drops and an important three...but had my favorite play of the day as he dove into the crowd to save the ball...tweaked his backa  bit...popped out of the crowd and scored moments later.  This was one of the few moments of the night in which all of Mackey showed its appreciation.

The effort in the closing three minutes was solid as Purdue put the game away- Our Boilers showed moxy and a bit of a chip on their shoulder at times; something they simply must do in the coming games if they have any chance of making it to the dance.  They hit 72.7% of their free throws...and out-rebounded Northwestern by 13 in spite of using a small line-up most of the night. The only true PF that played in the game was Carroll...for only three minutes.  Let's remember that NU had 14 more rebounds that the small line-up Boilers in Evanston a few weeks ago.

Now let me talk about a few things that aren't as positive as the above.

We all know that referee Mike Kitts has been known to make bone-headed mistakes, but he and his crews are quickly becoming some of my least-favorite, stripe shirt-clad blokes on the circuit. Kitts, like many of his counterparts have the perverted idea that people are there to see them.  We're not...in fact, I'd love to see a B1G game in which I don't even notice the officials; it doesn't happen.

Today's theme for Kitts' braintrust was pointless meetings.

After Drew Crawford swung a high elbow at Barlow, Crawford and Barlow got into eachother's faces.  Predictably, NU's resident D-bag, David-ay Curletti* jumped in...because that's what goons do.  Ryne Smith, probably feeling like I do about the psuedo-Euro, Curletti, quickly came in to level the uneven conflict.

All of this happened within feet of an official and directly in front of Purdue's bench.  After a long meeting, they ruled the elbow wasn't a big deal, gave Barlow the reach-in...and double (cop-out) techs to Barlow and Crawford.

I like Crawford...the son of an NBA official, by the way...but he was whiny and clearly frustrated tonight. His antics should have had him disqualified in the first half.  Instead, he wasn't ruled out of the game until his second tech at the 1:25 mark.  This play was another doozy.

The baseline official called a charge on Crawford as Byrd was set in his path.  Crawford reacted by spiking the ball down...which got him automatically ejected from the game (coincidentally, it was his fifth foul).  Crawford was allowed to stay on NU's bench after the ejection (that's against NCAA rulebook sec. 23, articles 1 and 2**).

Another meeting came at this point.  The final ruling after the meeting was that the official at the top of the key over-ruled the charge and made it a block...and the tech stood.  While the officials met and had their tea party, NU got their third un-charged timeout of the game as this crew seemed to encourage the Wildcats to take two-to-three minute TOs during their meetings...oddly enough, Purdue's coaches didn't get the same advantage.

I don't like officials...and I'm not a big fan of Curletti either...but you guys already knew that.

Alright, back to the important stuff.

-John Shurna is a good and ugly ball player...in the line of ugly and effective players like the 80s Boston Celtics.  His off-balanced shot is very effective and his length makes him a tough match-up.

But, Shurna's 30 points seem to be another example of Purdue's defense struggling to shut down good long-range shooters.

-Northwestern had won three-straight games and climbed into the #36 position in the RPI poll.  Their 15-8 record made them a nearly-mirror image of Purdue on paper. So Purdue's second win over the Cats was very important for Purdue's NCAA tourney chances.  That said, there's a lot of work left to do.

9 B1G teams are candidates for at-large bids...and it looks to me like 7 will make the tourney.  Illinois, Purdue, and Northwestern have 9 losses...Minnesota has 8...Michigan has 7.  Purdue is now 4-1 versus this group.  And on Wednesday, Matty's squad goes to Champaign...and the other four teams will all play another team in the group at least once each before the B1G tournament...a lot can still happen.

Coming together?

-Ryne Smith having Barlow's back might be a bigger deal than it seemed to be when it happened.  Rumors have swirled about a dust-up between the two last Spring...and while NO ONE I know can confirm if there was any conflict, Smith might have put to rest an idea that this team lacks continuity and chemistry...and in the process helped to galvanize a team that seems to need to take a step forward together.  This play was an example of why I like this year's fiery Senior class...Hopefully the fight we've seen in the last two games is a sign of a new trend not a mere exception to the sometime-heartless efforts we've seen far too often this season.


*It looks like I'm not the only one who is annoyed by Curletti.  He's no longer a starter, his minutes have been reduced and Carmody and Co. were chewing on him a lot today.  Good for Carmody and his assistants.


**Section 23. Ejection
Art. 1. Ejection is the act of dismissing an individual from participation in 
a game because of a specific infraction of the rules.
a. In addition to being disqualified, an individual who is ejected shall 
leave the playing court and floor area and report to his or her team’s 
locker room until the game is over.
Art. 2. The following shall result in automatic ejection:Rule 4 / definitions 69
a. Committing a flagrant personal foul or flagrant technical foul;
b. Incurring the maximum number or combination of technical fouls