Boilers Get On Wisconsin; Refuse To Get Off

Jon Leuer anxiously hopes the Boilers don't grab the wrong one.

Purdue did what they're "supposed" to do in order to make analysts happy and beat a quality team, the tenth-ranked Badgers, 70-62 in Mackey tonight. Of course, some will minimize the impact of the win because:

A) It happened on Purdue's home court.
B) Wisconsin suffered a letdown after beating OSU.
C) Analysts are wankers.

Make no mistake, tonight's win was a big one, and is yet another sign that this team is coming together. They still have their moments where they slip or make some poor decisions on shot selection, but by and large they're good enough to overcome those lapses. Wisconsin is a solid opponent and one who just beat the #1 (and undefeated) team in the nation a few days ago.

However, Purdue quite simply owns Wisconsin in Mackey, as the Badghuhs are now 2-37 all time in our favorite gym. JJ and E'Twaun wind up 6-2 against Wisconsin, including 4-0 at Mackey.

I'd have to find a literate Wisconsin fan to find out if this is true or not, but I get the sense that Bo Ryan does not have confidence coming into West Lafayette. He seemed far less animated than usual, his pregame interview seemed very much of the opinion that they'd need a lot of breaks to beat Purdue, etc. Is it possible Matty, the evil genius, is in the Grinch's head?

I have a special dark place in my heart for Wisconsin fans, mainly because they're among the most obnoxious I've ever come across in any sport at any level. They're kind of a dark horse in that category, much like their football and basketball teams often are. You don't think of them immediately -- unless you've dealt with them a bunch. And I know I'm not alone in this. Many people I've talked to agree that Wisky fans are among the toughest to deal with. So I guess what I'm saying is that I always enjoy it a bit more when Purdue puts a boot on Wisconsin's throat.

Clean play!

As for tonight's game, Wisconsin employed their usual goonish tactics, clutching and grabbing like Boilerdowd at a spring formal in 1995. The officials were once again awful, sometimes calling fouls tightly while other times allowing guys to scrambling over one another after loose balls like an on-sides kick in the fall (in that other sport).

This was also the first time this season that anyone broke 70 points on Wisconsin. Pretty impressive, both that they're managed that and that Purdue accomplished it while being tackled. It also illustrates why Bo Ryan's teams win. When you lock teams down in the 50s and 60s, you always have a chance. And as B-Dowd said on the Handsome Hour last week, the old Wisconsin formula of good point guard play plus a bunch of goons leads to wins in the Big Ten, year after year.

Bret Bielema likes the form on that tackle!

As we continue to wind down the careers of JJ and Smooge (hard as that is to believe), the boys continue to play well and lead. JaJuan continues to put up numbers and efforts worthy of Big Ten player of the year status, and honestly of national player of the year consideration. Tonight was yet another outstanding effort, with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and two steals. Oh, hey, did you know he leads the conference in blocked shots? No? Oh, maybe because nobody says it. The guy is a complete player and knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers like Seth Davis need to watch more than three-year-old game tape, or whatever he bases his worthless opinions on. Yes, I'm pissed. JaJuan is putting up an incredible season and he's leading this team in ways a guy who goes on to the next level should.

Whenever Purdue needed a rebound, he got it. Whenever a bucket was needed, as in so many other games this year, there was JJ, either knocking it down or cleaning up the glass and laying in a needed basket.

Smooge got in on the act, too, scoring 19, with none more critical than his late three to put the Boilers back up 7 after Wisconsin had closed a 13 point gap to 4. I had hoped the seniors would come through in those final minutes and they did.

Another guy who came through yet again was the man Gus Johnson was calling "Little Louie," which, sorry Gus, we do not approve of. He's LewJack. Get used to it. He'll be perhaps the best PG in the Big Ten next year. Lew scored 18 tonight, including layups over guys a foot taller, a big three, and five assists...with zero turnovers. One of the dimes was a no-look to E'Twaun who hammered down a dunk over one of the Wisconsin farm boys in his path. Hammer down, indeed.

So tell me, doubters... where will the points come from? How will they get by with only two senior leaders who will be all-Big Ten? Who will step up to put in points when needed? You know, other than LewJack, Ryne, DJ, Terone, Hart....besides all them. WHO?? Oh, right.

One thing I did not like tonight was, again, Purdue's inability to fire the kill shot. I thought when they had a ten point lead at 48-38 and there was a timeout....and then immediately after the TO, the Boilers hit a three to go up 13, that was it. It was a little over ten minutes to go in the game and it looked over at 51-38. However, Wisconsin has shown many times that they're not concerned with being able to come back, and they did their thing, whittling it down to four points. Fortunately, though, the honkeys weren't able to hit the big shots in the end, with that doof Bruesewitz firing away. Sure, he hit a big one against OSU, but he's 15 of 43 on the year from behind the arc. Keep firing away, pal. I especially like the ones that make the rim reverberate so loudly we can hear it over the crowd.

In the end, the Boilers withstood the comeback and, really, there is no shame in having the #10 team in the nation give you a game. The truth is, the Boilers took the lead early in the first half and never gave it back. And hey, let's be honest, there are some teams in the Big Ten whose students would riot on campus if they beat the #10 team in the country. For the Boilers, it was simply a win they had to have as they continued their slow march towards...well..March.

So often, teams get caught looking ahead. It would have been very easy to be thinking about the rematch with Ohio State on Sunday. But this team is focused and that remains one of Coach Matty's strengths -- keeping their minds on the task at hand. I like that trait in a team.

The Boilers are now two games behind Ohio State with five games to go. The Bucks come to Mackey on Sunday, for Smooge and JJ's second-to-last home game.

It's time to play hard.

Class of '13 Dominos Falling...

Basil Smotherman became the third big timer to verbal to Matty in the now loaded class of 2013. Smotherman is the son of his HS coach at Indianapolis Heritage Christian...never a bad thing to have a coach's son on board- those guys are notoriously heady and hard-working.

You might say that this class is starting to look like that of '07...I'd counter by saying this one is even more talented, at least at this point in their careers. Let's remember JJ was still a largely-unknown commodity and Hummel's game was not as widely known. Plus, those guys weren't Sophomore verbals. They all came much later in the game.

We've said it before, you shouldn't get too excited about a verbal from kids that are barely driving...or not driving yet. But, Scott, Stephens and Smotherman all seem like they just want to be Boilers. Because things tend to happen this way, I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear about a fourth verbal in the coming weeks...that would complete the class...that's quite a contrast from the struggle of '11.

So far, Purdue has 3 top-50 recruits for that class and Smotherman is 26th on their chart. Could we see the first McD AA for Purdue in a long time come from this class? It could happen, but let's also remember that these guys are probably not full-grown yet, so the next two years can change things quite a bit.

Pour It On: Purdue v. MSU Cv.C Update

When we posted the link for the Coaches v. Cancer competition between Purdue & MSU, the good guys were down by a few hundred dollars. At this point we're up by almost double the sum that MSU has donated.

Let's put more distance between Pete and Sparty. If you haven't done so yet, this is a good cause, so throw a few dollars into the hat...and it's always good to beat MSU.

Donate Today

Seth Davis' imaginary friend

If you follow us on Twitter, you know we're not fans of Seth Davis. I guess that's fair since he's not a fan of the topic we cover- Purdue sports.

It's one thing to not like Purdue and give good, solid analytical reasoning for why you think that. It's quite another to mercilessly-pound an idea with nothing as your defense other than opinion. Davis does this over and over again...and he's wrong a lot. CBS doesn't seem to mind...but I do.

A few weeks ago when Purdue was in the top-10, Davis was asked who would be the first team out in that group. He of course answered Purdue. He went further to say that Purdue wouldn't get past the first weekend...without having any clue who Purdue would be playing. Let's look at Matty's tourney record, Seth- wait, nevermind, that'd take research...don't worry about it, I know it won't happen.

All season he's consistently had Purdue lower than where they've belonged and where they've landed in the poll. In fact, for much of the early season, he didn't rank Purdue. And once they had earned his good graces, they hung in the 20-24 range. Is it because they hadn't played anybody at that point? Could be. But, that very situation didn't stop him from ranking his beloved Blue Devils consistently in the top-5.

Davis has a problem with Purdue-I guess because Purdue beat Duke in Alaska a decade ago (I can't think of another reason). Whatever the reason really doesn't matter, but the proof's in the pudding and we have plenty of rancid dairy dessert all around the interwebnet with Davis' pasty fingerprints all over it.

Most-recently, he penned an article about 54 potential NBA players that are currently in college and what NBA scouts think of them. The problem is, he has no specific scout's opinion. Instead, he sites "several scouts" as his source...and he refuses to tell us who they are, so they can stay anonymous.

Sweet.

It's a nice place to be- you write an opinion-based piece, with your name attached, and you have no culpability. This type of pseudo-journalism is a pet peeve of ours at this site. But, let's take a look at our favorite guys in this article: Of course, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore.

JaJuan Johnson, 6-10 senior center, Purdue
Some people really like him, but I just don't know how he gets his game off. I don't think his post game will transfer, so you're looking at a 6-10 jump shooter who will have a hard time guarding any positions in our league. He strikes me as a combination of Marcus Camby and Hakim Warrick. I'd say he's on the bubble for the first round. I think he makes the league, but he won't get a lot of scratch.

Honestly, I don't even know what the first sentence means...so I won't spend a ton of time on it. I guess he's saying he doesn't understand how well Johnson will play in the league. He jibbers his way through the review of JJ, saying little and comparing 25 to a guy who is a rebound-first player who's been in the league for 14 seasons (doesn't sound like a bad investment for an NBA team...but JJ is far from a banger on the boards) and Hakim Warrick, who while a few inches shorter is a very-similar player, statistically, as he left college. But, Warrick was more of a combo player and JJ will more than likely never play shooting forward in the NBA. Davis ends the write-up by saying he won't "get a lot of scratch". Once again, not exactly sure what he means, but I don't think it's a positive.

So, let's compare JJ to a few of the guys, that he's played against, that Davis' imaginary...I mean...anonymous sources are really high on.

Sullinger- "I love him."

He's good, he's young...a lot to like there. When JJ faced him, here's how it went:

Player Pts. Reb. Blk.

Sullinger 17 7 0

Johnson 22 7 0

I guess JJ's game did kinda "get off" in that contest...let's try another.

Benson- "I like him."

It's not love, but it's definitely more positive than his review of JJ.

Player Pts. Reb. Blk.

Benson 16 14 2

Johnson 25 11 2

Not too shabby...JJ also added 5 assists. Benson had 0.

Next, John Leuer- "He's more skilled than you think."

Player Pts. Reb. Blk.

Leuer 24 13 0

Johnson 23 4 3

Once again, JJ did OK, I guess.

Now onto Smooge's review:

E'Twaun Moore, 6-4 senior guard, Purdue
I think someone will take him in the second round. He's small and not very athletic, so that's a bad combination, but the kid has found a way to get it done at a high level. But again, who is he? What does he bring to the table? He can get to the basket at the college level, but he doesn't shoot it great. He reminds me of Reece Gaines, who didn't make it in the league because he had no position. Or Joe Forte from North Carolina. Forte was better than Moore in college, but he didn't make it in the NBA.

I think Moore will have a fight to be successful in the league because he is shorter and he doesn't appear to be quite as quick as many of the guys playing shooting guard in the NBA. So I understand some of the criticism. But the line that really bothers me is this: "But again, who is he?"

Here's who he is: He's a guy who's led his team in scoring for three of his four seasons. He's All-Big Ten, an Academic All-American, an Honorable Mention All-American and a lockdown defender.

Unlike JJ who's squared off against quite a few future draft prospects, I could only find one on the list that Moore had faced- Duke's Nolan Smith.

Davis said of Smith,

"Can he make it as a two guard? That's the question. I'm not sure he has the kind of speed and quickness to be able to attack guys. I think he's proven enough to be drafted and he'll figure it out once he gets up there."

Okie doke. Smith's career numbers look like this: 12.7 pts. 2.7 ast. 2.7 reb.

Moore: 15.0 pts 2.8 ast. 4.4 reb.

But Smith played in the tough ACC while Moore played in the lowly BT, right? Yeah, and Smith never had any talent around him at Duke while Moore was always surrounded by some of the best teams in America. Oh wait...I thought Purdue was only a two-man team. Nevermind.

Then head-to-head, Smith must have just owned Smooge, right??

Player Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl.

Smith 15 5 4 0

Moore 18 4 1 2

Alright, maybe not. It just seems odd that Moore is too small at 6'4", but Smith at 6'2" is not. And Moore is not athletic, but Smith, who will be drafted to a position he doesn't play in college deserves a chance to "figure it out" on the next level.

Other interesting tidbits:

Singler- "I'm a Singler guy all the way."

Plumlee- "If you stick around, you're going to get better."

(If I didn't know better, I'd think that was a plea...not a review.)

And if you really wanna pick this piece apart, read some of the UNC player reviews.

I know, supposedly these words weren't even Davis'...but since he's the only real person I can find mentioned as responsible for the article, I'll pin it on him. I guess if nothing else, Davis is consistent.

Consistently awful.

Party Like it's 1989: Boiler Legacy Likes Matty

One of my favorite childhood memories as a Purdue fan is going to Mackey arena in the late-80s in the midst of a huge ice storm to watch the Three Amigos beat Michigan and clinch the Big Ten title. Todd Mitchell, Troy Lewis, Everett Stephens were fun to watch. Mitchell was mean underneath, Lewis was silky smooth and Stephens had quick hands on defense, a lightning-fast first step and could get off the floor in a hurry.

Much like Lil' Boilerdowd has been a Purdue fan since he was old enough to sit up in front of the TV, high school sophomore Kendall Stephens can probably say the same...and I'm glad this one doesn't look like he wants to go anywhere but God's country.

From the video, he seems to be more of a shooter than Dad. He's built a lot like Anthony Johnson at this point, but has a few years to gain a little weight...but, if genetics have much to say about it, he might be fighting an uphill battle. No matter, like his Dad, he's a player.

He was visiting Bruce Weber the other night when one of his other suitors, our Boilers, were in town...I guess he saw in Champaign, what we all saw when we took our days on campus. It's a few years away, but it sounds like Purdue is where he wants to be.

Week of Reckoning Power Rankings

Let's be honest- there's a lot riding on the next seven days. The Forces of Good have a chance to right some wrongs and place themselves in an enviable position. J and I have a conversation about how we feel about the team every week to seven days. Right now, I feel good. Moore still isn't playing his best possible basketball, yet he's scoring around 20, rebounding well and doing the little things that make him valuable to the team. While the media doesn't think JJ's sexy-enough to be considered a legit contender for Player of the Year, those of us who really watch him find him to be a sexy beast. He's doing it all...and even though he's soft spoken, he's digging deep to try to be a vocal leader. Let's not forget about the fellows surrounding the Big 2.

LewJack is playing with a tempo that's tough to match and is helping turn defensive stops into quick points. It's not by luck or coincidence that the Boilers just scored 54 points...in a half...on the road. That's because Matty has this team playing faster basketball, and The Adorable Midget (ref. BTN's Journey) is executing like a henchman for John Gotti back in the go-go 80s. Let's not forget about his taller counterpart KBar. Barlow sees the court well, but has really been impressing me with his ferocity on the glass. Perhaps yesterday, we saw a glimpse of what's coming in '12- LewJack at the point and Barlow on the wing slicing and dicing defenses as he continues to create difficult match-ups for flat-footed and shorter guards.

Byrd, Smith and TJohn are the next level of defense. All of them quietly await their turn, playing hard-nosed defense, diving for loose balls, guarding guys who think they can beat them and awaiting the defense to make the foolish mistake- discounting or forgetting about them. When that happens, when they're given space, they tend to capitalize and make the opposition pay. When these three aren't forcing things on the offensive end is when they're most dangerous. When they wait, the game almost always comes to them.

Bade, Marcius and Carroll may have quiet roles, but their importance isn't lost on Matty. The time will assuredly come in either the BT tourney or NCAA tournament in which JJ needs a few minutes or Purdue runs into a team like UConn a few years ago...and one or two of these guys will have to play important minutes. Sure, they aren't called to play a ton right now, but I like the fact that both Bade and Carroll have played with confidence and both can play better.

I'm not forgetting about Hart...and I don't think he's forgotten how to shoot in the last few months. But, he's gotta get his eye and his confidence back before he can be expected to do what he was doing back in December. There's still time for it to happen.

I've always said I like Painter's teams when they are playing with a chip on their shoulder...when few believe in them and when they have a score to settle. They've got two to settle in the very near future.

The Composite Computer Ranking is hovering right around 10, and I'd expect the human polls to be similar later today. And speaking of rankings, this is where we see the BT as of today:

1. an Ohio State Institution of Higher Learning

There's no shame in losing to Wisconsin in the Kohl. But, I think we saw some tarnish on their gleaming armor on Saturday. While no one will question a loss at Wisconsin, everyone will question a high-caliber team that loses a 15 point lead in a half...even those in their locker room. Here's to hoping they're doubting everything right about now.

2. Wisconsin

'Sconny is playing good ball. Did any of you doubt Ryan would have them in this position right now? We didn't...and the formula is still magic: Great point guard play + big white goons= Success. Mix in a killer high-top fade, a SideShow Bob mop and the Birdman chewing on the officials, you have a can't miss high seed for the NCAA tourney. They're not going to be here for long though.

3. The Purdue University

A week ago, I'd say the BT regular season title was a pipe dream...and while it's still a dream, it's not the impossible dream. Let's sit back and enjoy the next three weeks...this could be really fun.

4. Michigan

The gap between 3 & 4 is a chasm right now.

I like the way the Wolverines are playing. This has been an up and down season...but they have a legit opportunity to make it to the NCAA tourney. An angry Illinois team on the road will show us how seriously we can take UM.

5. MSU

The sizable win over Penn State showed me that Sparty still has a pulse. I put Izzo's squad here mostly because I'm trying to give them confidence.

"You guys are good! Yay MSU! Now go beat Ohio State, damnit."

6. Illinois

Losing 6 of 10 is not something a team with that many Seniors and that much talent should ever do. Let's not forget, they lost to IU and Northwestern during this cold spell their under.

7. Minnesota

Tubby's club has weathered a ton of adversity. But they're in big trouble at this point. It's very possible that they could lose their next three. Like Illinois and MSU, they're fighting for their tournament life.

8. Penn State

If they get hot again, they could seriously damage the teams battling Purdue for the conference lead.

Love ya, Lions. (It's a Valentine's Day note)

9. Northwestern

So much hope...so many dreams...No tournament, yet again. John Shurna's ankle injury has absolutely killed the Cats. They could win their next two, but that'll be it for them. And that means they won't even be invited to Penn State's Invitational Post-season National Title Tournament.

10. IU

The battle for 11th will be brutal!! Here's to the Cats thumping the Forehead...and the Hoosiers losing out. Wouldn't that be a shot to the confidence of those who tell me IU's making strides. We'll keep an eye on how it plays out.

11. Iowa

If they have the same record, the Hawks get the tie-breaker...Remember, they swept IU. We don't forget.

We love you, our readers, more than we love sweet confections, flowers and mylar balloons. We think about you when we're out of town on business...hoping that you'll be impressed with our most-recent musings, observations, analogies and anecdotes. Please be ours.

We'll anxiously await your response.

Happy VD to you all.

Boilers Play Another Partial Good Game; Is Enough to Beat Illini, 81-70

For the first time in nearly six weeks, the Boilers won a road game as they took down the spastic Illini, 81-70 in Assembly Hall. Purdue is now 5-4 in true road games, which really isn't that great...but it's good enough to be in as good a position as they could really ask for, given all that has happened this year.

Things didn't start out well... but they started out predictably for this team, as the Boilers looked slow and unsure in the first half, shooting a sizzling 29% (to Illinois' 50%) in the first half. And if things were reversed, I would have been concerned. That is, if you're playing a team and you outshoot them as Illinois did in the first half, but only lead by 5...well, that's not good.

Purdue then came out and doubled their first half effort, pouring in 54 points to take this one rather comfortably. JJ had 24 and 9, Smooge had 20 and LewJack chipped in ten points and five dimes. This was actually a pretty good all-around effort from the Boilers, as a lot of guys hit important shots, especially during Purdue's comeback in the second half. Clutch threes from Terone Johnson and Ryne Smith made sure the Illini paid for focusing on the "two-man team" so many think Purdue is. Of course, when you're facing a one-man team and that one man is the undisciplined Demetri McCamey, things will tend to go your way.

JJ truly was putting together his NBA highlight reel in this game. He showed all parts of his game (aside from his new three-point prowess), with soaring dunks, soft-touch fall-aways, athletic blocks, crisp passing, intuitive movement without the ball and aggressive rebounding. On that last one, Purdue outrebounded the Illini by 12, which makes the game so much easier to win when you're not shooting well.

No, Illinois is not a good team right now. However, this was not a cakewalk and they have some talent (despite my McCamey joke earlier). Purdue won a true road test and they did it while shooting poorly for an entire half. That, my friends, is what you need to do in order to win games in a single-elimination tournament. Guys need to chip in...and chip away. E'Twaun did not have a great game, yet there he is finishing with 20 points because he got to the line 12 times.

Purdue also kept their composure while Illinois did not. B-Dowd has talked about this a bit this season, but Weber has not done a good job. This was a top 15 team according to most at the outset of the season, but now they're probably a bubble team...if that. He has a lot of talent but he clearly does not have control of the team, nor are they listening. Case in point, when Purdue had a seven point lead with about four minutes left, the Illini call a timeout and then immediately come out looking for a three... to the point where they forced one and it was an airball. Down seven and you're that desperate? Makes no sense.

McCamey, by the way, finished with 4 points on 10% shooting (though he did have five steals and four assists). I guess he must have been yet another opponent who had an off-day. Rather than, you know, Purdue's defense having something to do with it.

"Shh! I said you'd get a few calls, Bruce. A few!"

Overall, this was a good win for Purdue, if for nothing else than it shows them they can win on the road and it keeps the Big Ten race close. I realize we'd more or less conceded things to OSU already...but Purdue is now two games back with OSU coming to Mackey. Yes, it's still okay to dream, as Purdue's remaining road schedule is @IU, @MSU and @Iowa. Those are truly winnable games right now.

The Boilers need to keep focused and stay healthy. And who knows... things might just get crazy.

A Rebuilding Comparison

In 2005, Matty inherited a Purdue basketball program that was in pretty bad shape. Coming off of a 7-win season, Painter looked to rebuild. His two best players were both forced to redshirt the first season due to injury. His resulting roster was comprised of walk-ons, a football player, transfers, some guys who wouldn't be playing anywhere else in the league and a couple guys that belonged in the BT. In his first season, Purdue went 9-19.

Over the second and third seasons, Matty lost 6 players to transfer. Attrition forced fan favorite, Bobby "Buckets" Riddell, the 5'9" Lafayette native and walk-on, to not only play significant minutes, but start for part of Painter's second season.

Painter, of course made a splash with the Baby Boilers class that included JJ, Hummel, Smooge and another guy that gave Purdue a top-10 recruiting class nationally. This class and Matty's plan helped restore Purdue to the top-three of the league by year three of Painter's tenure in W.Lafayette.

Tom Crean inherited a team decimated by academic and disciplinary problems in Spring/'08 following Kelvin Sampson's resignation. Like Painter, Crean was forced to using walk-ons and transfers his first season. Along with a few carry-overs, his first class was a good recruiting effort in an abridged time- no super stars on paper, but some solid players. That class included Dumes, Jones, Roth, Story & Pritchard.

The next season ('09), Crean brought in a monster class that included three 4-star recruits, 2 high 3-star recruits and a couple of project players. This class was rated top-5 in the nation.

With that strong class as a lynch pin of his rebuilding plan in Bloomington, Crean is now in his third season in Bloomington...But the media is still telling us that the talent disparity with the rest of the BT is too much too overcome for IU to possibly compete. We told you following the game in Mackey that we weren't buying into that story...and here is a bit of evidence to back up what we've been saying...you make up your own mind.

Handsome Hour!! 2/9/11

The most handsome fellows in the blogosphere get together for a chat...

They talk LewJack...

They talk Kelsey Barlow...

And look ahead at what's coming...

Stick around for the cliff hanger ending!!

Tune in now!

Listen to internet radio with Boiled Sports on Blog Talk Radio

(please stick with us as we try to circumvent the roadblocks placed in front of us by Blog Talk Radio's policy changes!! Thanks.)

A Worthy Cause -- Help The Paint Crew Beat The Izzone

You may or may not have heard about the challenge between the Paint Crew and the Izzone as part of the Coaches versus Cancer fundraising, but the two student sections are indeed battling for the most donations. We think it's only fitting that we try to help out the forces of good. Hopefully, though, the Izzone keeps on fighting, unlike their basketball team.

We got a note today reminding us of this from a reader named Devon, who is a current Purdue student.

The Paint Crew and MSU's Izzone are in a contest to see who can receive the most donations for Coaches vs. Cancer again this year. We're a little behind at the moment and I think it would be awesome to beat them at this as bad as we're going to beat them on the court. Seeing that my dad was diagnosed this summer with throat cancer and just a few weeks ago was declared cancer free, I feel like I need to help out with finding a cure, or at least better treatment for cancer.

What I'm getting at, is maybe you guys could throw it in a spot somewhere on BS (because you guys are famous and awesome) where the contest can get some visibility and recognition, especially from those not in Paint Crew. Please don't feel obligated to, I figured it was just worth asking.


First off, you're correct Devon that we are indeed awesome.


Second, it's also indeed worth asking.


And third...and most importantly....I'm willing to bet that almost everyone who reads has been touched by some way when it comes to cancer. Whether it's a family member or a friend or a teacher or an acquaintance...we've all felt it somehow.

So, if you're looking to donate a few bucks and you want to also help the Purdue students look good, go and donate at this link.

Trust me, you'll feel good afterwards...as though you just got a massage from Boilerdowd. 

Ho-Hum...Boilers Beat Who-Who-Hoosiers 67-53.

Crean attempts to push...his team toward victory in Mackey

J pointed this out earlier today- this was a game that Purdue's expected to win...a game that the media expects to be easy for Purdue. Honestly, it was a must-win for Purdue as the schedule gets tougher in the coming week. And the Boilers handled their business by keeping the pesky Hoosiers at an arm's length.

To illustrate the point- Prior to the game, Purdue's radio affiliate had Brent Mussberger talk about his thoughts on the game. The host said something along the lines of 'throw the records out...rivalry game...blah blah'. Ole Brent came back quickly saying that he didn't think IU really had much of a shot because of the talent and depth disparity. So like we said, it's a lose-lose situation.

Make no mistake, this isn't the mid-90s. You can't throw the records out. In the 90s it might have been the first place team versus the 5th place team. Now, it's the number two team in the conference v. the last place team. Purdue should win games like this and they did it...in unexciting fashion.

Moore played well, but still is not himself. The more I watch him, the more I think there's a nagging injury he's struggling through. He shot below 50%, yet again and had a few shots that were way off. His on-ball defense was very good, as usual. But on the other side of the court, he still struggles selling the idea that he's being fouled when he drives. I think much of that comes from the way he finishes- he tends to fade away instead of going strong to the defender. He ended the day with 25 points 8 rebounds and two blocks.

Happy Birthday, 25!

And speaking of blocks, Purdue ended the day with eight. Not surprisingly, four of those came from JJ. Johnson, like Smooge, had some awful looking shots though. Plus, he took a few that were a bit forced as he tried to establish his perimeter game in the second half instead of taking it at Pritchard (who is pretty awful). JJ finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and shot well from the stripe as usual (7/8).

LewJack was one of the four players that guarded Hulls on the evening. Coming in, Hulls was shooting just under 50% from behind the arc. Tonight, Purdue took that away from him as he went 1-5. Atop of using his quickness on the defensive side, Jackson shredded IU on secondary fast breaks a few times and had some nifty finishes while avoiding contact. He finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds...but his pace really kept IU on its collective heels for chunks of the game.

Ryne Smith didn't shoot too much, but played a solid 26 minutes, had 3 assists and 2 steals and took a couple of big charges. I like what I saw from both Byrd and Bade. Byrd doesn't hesitate to shoot the ball when given space, he's fearless when battling larger bodies on the glass and sees the court well. Bade only had two points, but added three rebounds and set high screens well and was active without the ball in his seven minutes of playing time.

Barlow and Johnson were two of my favorite players tonight, because they both seem to play with a chip on their shoulder and tend to like sticking their noses into the middle of trouble. Neither scored a bunch, but Barlow's eight rebounds, four assists and three steals were integral in frustrating IU and keeping the lead at an uninteresting 6-9 points for much of the second half.

Granted, there were a couple noteworthy moments of the game...both involved Barlow:

-Jordy (what adult would go by Jordy) Hulls throwing a high elbow during a dead ball after Barlow had frustrated him. While no technical foul was called, the official did give Hulls a good talking-to...so hats off, BT officiating!

-Barlow had one of the best passes of the season as he fired a breaking ball between two IU defenders to Smooge, who finished with an easy dunk.

Other than that, it was kinda business-like.

ENERGY!!!!

Tom Crean was Tom Crean. He paced, he clapped, he drank, he turned around and clapped to his team, he was on the court, he paced some more. I've watched IU quite a few times and I can't get over how annoying his sideline mannerisms are. And in his defense, he finally has IU playing with some energy on defense. But without Watford for a few games, Crean turns to one of the worst D1 big men for significant minutes.

I'm always impressed with Verdell Jones, and he was once again solid versus Purdue. But, Barlow matches up with him better than a season ago, so he was wrangled a bit. Hulls is a consummate IU player- sure, he has the shooting mechanics of a girl, but his girl shot is effective. He's Steve Alford, Dane Fife, Neil Reid and any number of other scrappy (read as white) IU guards all rolled into one. But that's kinda where it stops with tradition. IU has some very good athletes- Oladipo, Rivers, Watford (injured) and Sheehy are uber-talented. And Elston, while he is used as little more than a goon at this point, was a 4-star guy out of high school.

What's my point? My point is IU should be better than they are. The excuse of attrition is tired and old. While IU's fan base is OK with Clapping-Crean rah-rah-ing his way to sub-.500 in-conference records, I'm not buying it. There are plenty of tools in Bloomington (not just in the stands) at The Forehead's disposal. If used correctly, IU would be NCAA tourney-bound this season. Let's remember, Matty led a team to the NCAA tournament in which he needed Bobby Riddell to play significant minutes. No matter. My point is I'm not really surprised IU has beaten a few respectable teams...I'm more surprised that they're a sub-.500 team overall this late in the season.

The game in Bloomington will be a lot different than that in Mackey. They won't be fighting for a post-season birth, in my opinion after falling back off the tracks. Instead, they'll be playing in their own one-team invitation for all the marbles (in their opinion). Hopefully, Matty and Co. are ready for that atmosphere.

Looking Ahead

But, in the meantime, the most-brutal three-game stretch of the season is ahead of our Boilers. The very beatable Illini host The Forces of Good on Saint Valentine's Day Eve at 1:00pm on CBS. Historically, this is a tough contest for Matty...but, Smooge plays well in Champaign, and JJ is probably due for a good game and Tisdale won't be able to do much about it.

While March isn't in sight just yet, it's not too far off...and Purdue's March, in my opinion, will be defined by their performance in February. It's time for this team to win a couple more big games.

Rivalry

Purdue and IU meeting in basketball often brings nostalgic talk from the older fans of the days of more competitive teams being helmed by Gene Keady and Bobby Knight. And sure, there were some great games back then.

However, since those two have shuffled along, the rivalry has lost a little bit of its zing, at least to the mainstream media. I remember being a Purdue student and Dick Vitale actually saying that Purdue-IU was as good as Duke-UNC. Now, think about that for a second -- we all know how much Dick loves to slobber on Duke, so that's pretty high praise. But you don't hear that too much anymore.

The reason, of course, is that Purdue got pretty bad for a while there as IU was remaining competitive or better, reaching the title game in 2002 and then climbing the rankings under Kelvin Sampson.

Around this time, Matt Painter had righted the ship and Purdue was now competitive again. The Baby Boilers were growing up, while IU was being viewed as a legit Final Four contender. Remember, these two things only coincided for a brief stretch in about '07-'08. And those games were pretty intense. And, in fact, IU's last win in the rivalry was Sampson's last game at IU.

So it's been three years this month since IU beat Purdue. However, this was also in the middle of those couple seasons where Purdue and IU only played once a year. So there has only been one of these games at IU since the Sampson era. Hard to believe, right?

Rivalries come to a boil for lots of reasons, but among the most critical ingredients are both teams being good and frequency of meetings. Purdue and IU basketball haven't had those ingredients, but for a couple of games, in more than a decade.

I've made this comment on our podcast before and I think it bears repeating. I think we have a current generation of Purdue students and fans who are actually used to IU being terrible. They're comfortable with it because it's enjoyable to have a nearby rival to kick around. And it remains enjoyable because no matter what, they chirp about their 20 to 50 year old titles. I also think that these younger Purdue loyalists don't want IU to get better because, well, the thought of finishing behind IU is simply too hard to handle.

But some of us remember living through the eras where IU was either as good or better than Purdue. And let me tell you something... winning games in those days was incredible to experience. There was a different pitch to the screaming at Mackey in the '90s when IU came to town. It's one of the few times I used to lose my voice. As anyone who goes to games with me knows, I'm not much of a screamer most of the time. (That's what she said.)

However, these days, Purdue is in a true lose-lose situation. You're expected to beat IU and beat them badly. Purdue only winning by three last year in Bloomington was almost seen as a victory about some Hoosier faithful, or that they were close to busting down the door. If Purdue wins, it's because they're supposed to; if Purdue loses, well, they must suck. Never mind that it makes no sense -- most things the Hoosiers say do not.

What I'm getting at is that as much fun as it is to see IU flounder, I almost want them to get back to respectability. I want wins over them to matter in more than just the beating up and taking lunch money sense. I want them to think they're going to win the conference and have that taken from them. I want Purdue-IU to be a showcase game on a national sense.

Until then, though, I'll wish for multiple Purdue domination each year. That's fun, too.

Another IU Video To Be Proud Of

Holy....uh... is this what I think it is? A remix version of the IU fight song? Why? Why would you think it's okay to do this to your alma mater? I'm surprised this wasn't sent to us by someone along the way (was put on YouTube in September)...and if it was, my apologies for missing it.



So anyway, it's yet another truly pathetic video, this one featuring a couple of white Usher wannabes singing (if you can call it that) the IU fight song. And then, of course, there's the obligatory shot at Purdue girls... while celebrating how easy IU girls are. Oh, but it's not just a shot at Purdue girls... at 1:57 they state that "Purdue girls all got d-cks."

Okay then.

You know, we say slightly off-color things sometimes, but if you're an IU fan or alum and this video doesn't absolutely disgust and embarrass you, then you're just as classless and ignorant as the losers who made this video. I also think if someone made a video trumpeting how awesome Purdue is (and filmed on Purdue's campus) and in the middle of it made a comment that crass, I'm pretty sure Purdue would ask them to cease and desist. You know why? Because no Boilermaker wants to be associated with being a low-class, piece of trash. 

My co-editor here is married to a Purdue girl. I dare you to say this to his face.

But be proud, IUers! These guys are representing the school you went to! Or, for most of you, the school you cheer for but never attended a class at.

Poll Dancing 2/7

The polls are out for the week and our Boilers slid to 14 in the AP and 12 in the coaches poll.

I have no idea where Purdue belongs and neither do any of the voters, really. And while I'm inclined to say I don't care, as Boilerdowd has pointed out, we should care because it does have an impact on seeding... sometimes.

Does anyone doubt that Duke will wind up a #1 seed, despite not being that dominant and thus far not having a quality road win? Does anyone doubt that if MSU goes on a weird run and gets to 20 wins that they'll make it in? Of course not. K and Izzo are beloved by the NCAA and they'll be in. Add to that the darlings from BYU and toothless San Diego State, and we're heading towards a weird March. Part of me hopes that SDSU finds a way to get a 1-seed so we can see the first 16 over a 1 in history.

One thing we do know? Purdue will be underseeded and playing in the Pacific Northwest against a mid-major everyone decides is the best low-seed pick of the tourney.

Upcoming Changes To The Handsome Hour

Regular listeners to the Handsome Hour know how often we bitch about the technology and how often is decides to eat itself. We've lamented BlogTalkRadio's capabilities, but in the end, there aren't many avenues out there available to us that allow the real-time streaming and call-in abilities that you love so much about our show.

We like this, too, and we think it's what makes the Handsome Hour what it is... the fact that live callers can mix it up with us. Kind of leads a nice, unpredictable, natural environment.

However, we recently learned from BTR that they would like everyone, including longtime loyal users, to pony up a pretty significant amount of cash in order to continue using their marginal service. If we don't want to do that, we are limited to a half-hour of air time per day AND that airtime cannot be between 6 PM and 11 PM, because that prime-time real estate is reserved for paying suckers customers.

So what does all this mean? Well, next week's who (2/9) will now air at 11 PM, Eastern, and will be limited to a half hour. If we do take calls, all callers will be limited to 60 seconds to state their case, ask their question, give their thought, share a recipe, whatever. And then after that, we might be looking for another provider for our handsomeness. And it may mean no more live callers. (Wait, that sounds scary...no zombie callers, either.)

Regardless, we'll do our best to keep the show going in one form or another.

Thanks for your attention.

Handsome Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings

I entered "powers rankings" in Google images and this is what came up. Honest.

Let me start out by saying I don't think I'll be getting on board with this sophomoric "B1G" logo/abbreviation thing. I am seeing it creep into the lexicon of the Big Ten Blogger community (including my co-editor here at BS) and every time I see it I think it looks like either a military acronym or something a really poor typist (again, like my co-editor here at BS) would do. Either way, it's all part of the horribly designed new Big Ten branding that we've already railed against (and probably will continue to).

However, it's handsome power rankings time... with B-dowd jetsetting around the snowy countryside, you'll be dealing with me today. Hopefully, I won't screw it up. Let's go worst to first. And let's also note that the Big Ten has been a little odd lately, with pretty much everybody other than OSU managing to lay some stinky eggs in the past week or so.

11. Michigan State -- Yes, they're at the bottom this week. I honestly don't know how you could put them anywhere else. B-Dowd and I looked at their schedule after the loss to the Boilers and we saw vs Mich, vs IU and at Iowa and we joked that after those three wins, they'd be back to being ranked. Well, they almost lost all three to some of the league's bottom-feeders (a one-point win in OT over IU was the only thing saving them from currently being on a 5-game losing streak. Oh, and they go to Madison next. Have fun with that.

10. Iowa -- You're out of the cellar, boys, and believe me, I'd love to put you even higher after the absolutely dominant (not joking) performance over MSU. I mean, seriously... Iowa was up over 20 at halftime and maintained it. The game was never in doubt and, well, would anyone have believed that was possible at the start of the season? So yes, Iowa gets some love, and I'd love to put them higher, but they're actually still pretty bad.

9. Northwestern -- I feel like the Kitties should get a little more love after almost taking down #1 OSU, even without Shurna, but in the end they didn't pull it off. And when you look at their body of work, it should make you mad if you're a fan of NU. This was a team that was -- again -- thought to maybe be the one that finally makes the tourney and now their only Big Ten wins are IU, Iowa and Michigan. Fine, but win a couple where maybe you shouldn't be automatic.

8. Michigan -- The Wolverines have played a manly schedule this year, which we respect immensely. But starting 1-6 in the conference is not a good resume-builder, and while they appear, on the surface, to be righting the ship, their two straight wins have come against MSU (who I think we can all now agree are not what we all thought) and Iowa. The Wolves get the Bucks tonight and you can be sure we'll have our Maize and Blue on.

7. Indiana -- Here's your reward, Hoosiers...a bump to #7 in the BS Handsome Power Rankings. Two consecutive wins (at home) over ranked opponents (though neither will be ranked much longer), including one that was court-storm-worthy. I especially liked ESPN putting up the graphic of their last two consecutive home wins over ranked teams. Those wins were in February 2008. And then a few days later, the sky fell...but ESPN failed to mention that.

6. Minnesota -- You're lucky, Gophers, because you probably belong lower...but as I said earlier, there were so many stinky eggs laid recently, even the top half of the rankings are filled with teams that haven't been performing up to snuff. I half-considered giving everyone other than OSU a ranking below 5 and just leaving a few slots blank. The Gophers are soft, plain and simple.

5. Illinois -- As B-dowd said last week, Coach Weber is not doing a great job with his talent and upper-classmen-laden team. However, I'm not prepared to rank them at the bottom of the conference, simply because they're still a talented, dangerous squad. As I look at their schedule, I think they should finish at least 6-3 the rest of the way. If they don't, Weber should be questioned.

4. Penn State -- Yes, this is a little high. But I love their effort, they've beaten three ranked teams in their last four wins, and this is all in spite of Ed DeChellis. I think they could finish 6-2 in their last eight, though it will mean a couple of tough road wins (tough, but winnable -- MSU and Minn). That would make them 18-11 (11-7 Big Ten), which probably won't get them into the NCAA tourney. But this is the kind of team that could easily win the NIT and hang another banner in Bryce Jordan.

3. Purdue -- The Boilers have lost four of their last seven, including the blowout loss in Columbus. However, all the others have been in their grasp, but for their inability to finish. Will that change down the stretch? I think it can and should. The game the other night in Madison was unquestionably the toughest road test the Boilers had left, and they nearly won it despite playing like horsesh-t for 75% of the game. That's not to say the Boilers' road is easy by any means, but nothing worth having ever is.

2. Wisconsin -- How does evil Bo Ryan always wind up in the top tier of the conference? It's kind of incredible. He just rotates in thick, white, upper midwest blockheads who beat the ever-living crap out of their opponents all season...and as we've said before, he also now has a team that can shoot, too. No, they're not the most talented team in the conference, but they're playing solid ball. Like Purdue, they haven't lost at home and have only three Big Ten losses. However, with the win over the Boilers, they have a slight edge. Fortunately, the Badgers come to Mackey in two weeks.

1a. Travis Carroll -- I can't get enough of this guy. He deserves a spot in the rankings by himself.

1. O$U -- This team is money! Despite their letdown game against NU, the Bucks remain undefeated. And perhaps that's the difference between potentially great teams and near-great ones; the Buckeyes were able to survive their letdown game.

Until next week, stay warm and remain handsome.

New Boilers Sign On

We all know that Purdue signed its smallest football recruiting class ever today, but here are some interesting notes:

-Purdue picked up a late commit from JuCo LB Kaulana Judd. I don't know much about this kid other than he's already 22, so he should be strong enough to play right away, I can't find any info on offers, he's from Hawaii and played his JuCo ball at Fullerton C.C.

-Danny Hope has been widely-vilified by media outlets ranging from EsPN's Urban Meyer to local Florida papers. All sources universally seem to think Hope lands some place between Hitler and Stalin following taking the scholarship offer to A.J. King off the table weeks ago.

The one thing that no one seems to be talking about is that, from what I understand, King was offered a Grayshirt from Purdue, which he rejected before the first of the new year. Let's keep in mind, Dwayne Beckford was once a grayshirt...so it's not a career killer.

Regardless of anything else, the pulling of King's scholarship for the '11-'12 season has turned out to be a bad PR move. I haven't yet heard where King will land.

-One of the guys that there's been a lot of talk about in this year's class is Fishers, Indiana product, Randy Gregory. He's a very good athlete. If you've gone to see Gary Harris play basketball this season, you've seen Randy Gregory play along side him. Gregory plays center currently. And by many accounts can be dominant on the hardwood when he sets his mind to it. While 6'6" is too small to play in the BT, his size and feet should make him a player that can do big things on the gridiron...if he gets the chance at Purdue. Regardless, his 210-pound frame needs a year or two to bulk up.

There are a few academic concerns swirling around Gregory...hopefully he makes it to campus.

An interesting sidebar about Gregory's signing is that it was late due to the fact that his school was closed today and administrators had to make a special trip in just so he could get his letter faxed to Purdue this morning.

-Even though Bellomy won't be at Purdue, Hope foresees using multiple quarterbacks on the field at the same time in the fall...let's hope some of the formations/plays are a bit better thought out than some of what we saw when Robinson was on the field.

You can check out this year's full class here.

Here are some guys that stand out to me:

-Brandon Cottom had a ton of solid offers. He hails from Pennsylvania, which is a good start, and has good size- 6'3" 235. I'm not sure where he'll be playing by the end of his career, but I think he might see the field next season on special teams because of his combination of solid speed and size. Hope says there's a possibility for him as a Fullback or H-Back.

-Akeem Hunt, Frankie Williams & Raheem Mostert are all very quick and have breakaway speed. Hunt & Willias were RBs in high school, Mostert a WR. On paper they're all very similar, but you don't know how that translates to a kid in uniform. I think they might all be able to be used on special teams, specifically returning kicks, right away. I really like Williams ability to break tackles and change direction in traffic. Mostert probably has the best break-away speed. Hunt can make people miss, but will either need to get bigger or change positions to see the field offensively next fall.

-Robert Kugler has decent size, good speed and good hands. And if Purdue plans on running two-tight end sets, he might be forced on the field right away. Remember, Purdue lost three tight ends last season including Adams and Lindsay.

-Shane Mikesky is a guy that I'm really excited to see play. Based on his highlight reels, he seems to be cut from the same mold as John Standeford- Deceptively-fast, long strides, good size and great body control. I honestly hope he doesn't have to play and can redshirt- that'd probably mean some of Purdue's young WRs have come along.

-Armstead Williams might end up being the jewel of the class by the time his time on campus is over. He had offeres from Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and others and chose Purdue. After watching some of Williams film, I think he might be very-well suited as a DE eventually...kind of like Cliff Avril came in lean to Purdue and grew into the role, Williams has a frame that should be able to pack on good weight.

There's a lot of talk around about this class being the last-rated recruiting class in the B1G. Here are some other things to think about before ruling this group out:

-Purdue's recruiting class of 1997 was also last in the conference...they did OK.

-As Rivals ratings go, this class average rating places it in the top-3 for Purdue classes in the last decade. Not sure if that's an indictment of Purdue's recruiting or that builds up this year's class.

-Once again, there's a lot of speed in this class...not much bulk. I'm not sure if I like this year-in, year-out.

-The late losses of a couple players sting, but it happens. If you study this group as I have, you can see there are some gems that were pursued hard by some big time programs. I'd rather have a solid kid who can develop, who really wants to be a Boiler, than any player who really doesn't want to play for Purdue...that's just me.

Wednesday Gumbo

Not all of the letters of intent have come in yet, so we're not going to look at the football class just yet. But, it looks like most of the incoming players have sent in their letters. A few haven't- I wouldn't worry about it if I was you- as in a ton of aspects of life, worrying will do you absolutely no good. If one of these kids gets woo'd away by a bright, shiny object, so be it. Let's hope the guys that end up in the program really want to be there and fulfill the needs at hand. We'll have more later.

Kohl is tough to Crack

Here's the deal- there's a reason Wisconsin wins so many games at home. First, they're great at home. They know the rims, their crowd is hostile and they have a good coach. But, having BT officials as part of the game surely doesn't hurt them.

Wisconsin plays a style of basketball that sets the game back to pre-1980, in my opinion. They slow teams down by grabbing, tugging, reaching over the back, shoving and reaching in. They've done it for longer than Bo was there. Back when Dick Bennett was there, they did the same thing...but those teams couldn't score. Bo's teams can.

Ryan simply dares the officials to blow their whistles on every possession...whether at home or away. The good thing for him is that guys like Burr, Hightower, O'Neill, Valentine and others love to be part of a good show. They love getting the crowd into a lather as they make up hand signals that have nothing to do with the game of basketball. They like hopping down the baseline, chirping their whistles as they try to figure out what they're supposed to call. I think more than half the time, they're just making sure they can come up with a believable story to help the home team (Wisconsin, Purdue or where ever). The clowns in stripes protect the homecourt as well as the team in light colored jerseys, in my opinion.

Jump Ball!

That's why, when travelling, a team has to be better, sharper, more resilient and more on-task than the home team...a lot more. We all know the deal. Road games are a chance for All-Conference players, or All-Americans even, to step up and become great...to surprise everyone in the arena...to silence the natives and fight through atrocious officiating and earn a victory. Purdue didn't do that yesterday. Two of Purdue's greatest players in the history of the program simply weren't able to get it done. The beating JJ had taken had seemingly worn him down so much that the shots he usually makes were way off. Similarly, Smooge was way off the mark down the stretch of the game. It could have been because of injury, but we'll never know. He's not the kind of guy to complain. After understanding the state of his shot, he started to see himself as a second option...but no one in Purdue's backcourt creates like 33.

By the way, the final foul count last night was 19 to 11. ELEVEN frickin' fouls for Wisconsin. That's not the reason Purdue lost, but there is simply no way in hell that the goons from Wisconsin were able to play that sort of squeaky-clean game.

Purdue couldn't overcome. Our Boilers couldn't put the Badgers away when they had them on the ropes with 11:00 left. That's why they lost this game...that's why they lost the WVU game. They've had the killer instinct versus the lower-half of the league, but simply haven't found it against the top-third on the road. How that translates at a neutral court in March, who knows. But, old habits die hard. And until Matty, JJ, Smooge and co figure out how to get over the hump away from the cozy confines of Mackey Arena, nothing's going to change.

J and I have had a hope since before this season- And it had nothing to do with Purdue winning the Big Ten. It was that they'd be playing their best basketball in March. It was a hope that they'd be a full-strength come tourney time and that one or both of the Big Two would be in rhythm, if not white-hot in the post-season. That way, as fans we wouldn't have anything to say other than, we got to see their best-possible game the last game of the season.

All of that is still very much a possibility. But, there's much to be learned prior to that. The BT conference race seems to be a chase for second place. Purdue and 'Sconsin are tiny in aOSU's rear view mirror...and I don't think there's enough help remaining in the conference for this race to be considered anything other than done. But the season's not lost. And I'm sure Matty's more worried about the problems at hand than the things he has no control over.

With four road games remaining, Purdue could win four, should win three, but (from what I've seen thus far) will probably win two. In that case they must go unbeaten in Mackey in order to have a chance to make noise in the tourney.

CCR

Purdue's computer ranking will probably be around 11 when the RPI comes out later today. I don't think a loss at Wisconsin is a bad thing in anybody's eyes. But I'm positive that the guys that play with Purdue on their chest feel like we do today- that game was winnable and should have been in the left column for our Boilers.

Boilers Serve Up Delicious Turnovers To Badgers

Purdue went into another difficult Big Ten venue -- perhaps the most difficult -- and could have come away with a win. In fact, they likely should have, but they did not, losing 66-59.

The Boilers -- especially these seniors -- are not afraid of the Kohl Center. Closing out a win tonight would have made JJ and Smooge 3-1 at Wisconsin in their careers, a fun stat that would have been awesome to lord over obnoxious Badger fans. However, it was not to be...and while officiating was again atrocious, that was once again not why the Boilers lost.

Much like a middle-aged Indianapolis man married 12 years with two kids, the team has developed a nasty habit of being unable to finish. Things started slowly, there was some anger, some deep talks...and a resolve to penetrate. However, in the end, things went limp and they were unable to get it done. (I'm talking about Purdue now.)

Seriously, though, this was a frustrating game in that the Boilers played well for the first ten minutes of the second half. In those ten minutes, they Boilers scored 27 points, after scoring 19 in all of the first 20 minutes of the game. JJ and E'Twaun looked remarkably focused, "shot out of a cannon" as Boilerdowd would put it. Painter clearly challenged them at the half and reminded them that this was their last shot in Wisconsin...they're sort of on the going-away tour. Venues they have owned before, such as Kohl, will not appear on the schedule again. Of course, I'm sure I'm far off of what Coach Matty said to them, but he must have said something. The guys looked ready and they looked like the better team that I think we all felt they were.

However, outside of that first ten minutes of the second (the "third quarter," as it were), Purdue's senior leaders did not overly impress. The first half was a sloppy mess...but let's clear something up (again).

As the half was closing, play by play man Dave O'Brien announced that only two shots had not been taken by JJ or E'Twaun and that it "is a big problem." It is? Why is it always a "problem" that Purdue relies on its two All-American candidates? I don't understand. When other teams rely on senior leaders, it's a good thing. When Purdue does it, it's a liability. Asinine. That, too, was not why they lost.

Speaking of ESPN's crack staff, the positively horrible Jill Montgomery was working the sidelines and actually asked Matt Painter about his two horses taking all the shots at the halftime interview. Matty -- awesomely -- ignored the stupid question and answered a completely different one. Which should show you how idiotic your concerns about the two best players taking all the shots is, ESPN!

But by all means, keep beating that dead horse. Actually, they're not beating a dead horse, because this "issue" never made sense... they're like beating a mechanical horse outside a supermarket. Doesn't make any sense? Exactly.

Jill Montgomery actually admitted to asking Painter in the second half: "How do you get these shots to fall that aren't going in?" I'm guessing Painter gave her a look of disdain but answered as politely as he could. I would have demanded she be removed from the premises for being stupid. (And if you're reading this, Jill, because you Google yourself or something, well, I apologize for being harsh but you're on national television and you're making the already dumb job of sideline reporter look even worse, which is hard to do. Do a little homework next time and think of some actually insightful questions.)

As for Purdue, despite all of their sluggish play, they actually had the lead with 70 seconds remaining. I bet you didn't know that. I know I didn't until I looked at things again. DJ Byrd put Purdue up 59-58 with 1:10 showing on the clock.... and then Purdue melted into a pool of goo, letting Wisconsin go on an 8-0 run to end the game. Did the Boilers think DJ's basket was at the buzzer or something? I don't know, but I do know that both JJ and Smooge got the ball into their hands in critical times, which is something we all want (no matter what ESPN tells us), and neither finished. Smooge especially has been a concern late in some of these games. His stat line isn't horrible, with shooting over 50% from the field, but he turned the ball over a team-high four times, had no threes and only got to the line one time. 15 points is nice, but not enough.

Other letdowns tonight included the inexplicably quiet game out of Lewis Jackson. Lew was still playing hard, as evidenced by his scuffle with Wquinton Smith (I think), who took a little jab at Lew's head as they were being separated. Of course, Ted Hillary, Tom O'Neill and Jim Burr didn't do a damn thing. Why do I think Lew would have been ejected if he tried to punch someone? Because I'm paranoid? Or because that's what would have happened?

One thing I did like about that scuffle was the way DJ Byrd inserted himself into the middle of it, aggressively taking steps forward into the Wisconsin players while raising his arms above his head like, "Hey, I'm not doing anything."

Anyway, Lew had an off-night, to say the least. One point on only one FG attempt and three turnovers. He did, however, tie JJ for the team lead in rebounds with.....four. Which isn't good. 

Ryne Smith shot the ball four times, all from three, with two connecting for six points... but that was all. Again, the 15-20 point Ryne must emerge again for this team to look as good as they did earlier in the season. However, DJ Byrd stepped up nicely tonight, showing that he can indeed be a scorer when called up, as he scored 11 on 67% (4-6) shooting.

JJ was good again with 23 points, though he had some bad shots, including that one with about 40 seconds left and lots of time on the shot clock. The guys have to work for the right opportunity there, and as much as JJ has been the go-to guy, I'm not sure it was a quick, contested shot from 18 feet. I know I've said before that the ball has to be in his hands at the end (his or E'Twaun's) and so I don't want to sound hypocritical... I am fine with JJ having the last shot or one of the last shots to take the lead. But it has to be a good shot, especially when there is time for it to be a good shot. I know at times JJ has been unconscious, and had that one gone in, I wouldn't be saying this... but well, you know what I mean.

In the end, this is what it came down to, in my opinion: When you get outrebounded (again) by 8 and have almost twice as many turnovers as your opponent, it's going to be incredibly hard to win. I liken those stats to the one in football we have talked about where if you allow a defensive touchdown, your odds of winning go way down... allowing two defensive TDs and your odds are even steeper. Well, it's like that when you turn the ball over and don't rebound. If you control those two stats, you can overcome a poor shooting night, for example. If you don't control them, you can lose a game even when you outshoot your opponent from the floor, as Purdue did to Wisconsin tonight (48% to 42%).

But back to our melted pool of goo...this is a problem for Purdue this season, this inability to close games out. The Boilers are 3-4 in their last seven games, and aside from the bloodletting at Ohio State, Purdue could have easily won the other three. Were we the only ones who thought this ending felt similar to the 70-67 loss to Minny and the 68-64 loss to West Virginia?

The good thing is that even with a start like tonight's ugly 19-point first half, Purdue isn't out of most games. The bad thing is that as the clock rolls into crunch time, the team seems to be wilting. The JJ winner against PSU was huge, to be sure, but would that have happened on the road? I'm not questioning the heart of these guys. But something isn't clicking in these road situations. Sure, I can stomach a loss on the road to Wisconsin, because Wisky is stout at home. It happens. In fact, any of Purdue's road losses can be tolerated individually. What is bothering us here at BS is the fact that Purdue seems to have a shot at winning every one of them and yet hasn't been closing the deal. Purdue is now 4-4 on the road and the only true road win that the Boilers closed out when it was close was the 58-55 OT winner over Va Tech, two months ago tonight.

So what happens from here? The Boilers are off until next Tuesday, when they return to Mackey to hopefully destroy Indiana's spirit. I think tonight's game was their toughest road test remaining on the season, so I personally feel there is little excuse to not finish strong. Eight regular season games remaining for the seniors -- time to nut up or shut up.

I am so S-M-R-T (and notes)

Signing Day almost here

A few weeks ago, I previewed the incoming recruiting class. Two of my favorite players were, of course, A.J. King and Russell Bellomy.

My wisdom knows no bounds.

Russell Bellomy is set to become a Wolverine after a glorious visit to Ann Arbor (I've actually heard she gets around). Now that the dust is all settled, there's really only one thing that bothers me about the Bellomy situation, this quote:

"That's going to be a fun game (v. Purdue), but at the end I am going to shake their hand and look them in the eye and there are no hard feelings."

That's great. Russell has no hard feelings toward Purdue...good to know. I mean, you'd think when a kid gets recruited by a team, they pay for multiple visits, put all of their 'eggs' in his basket, the fans shower him with compliments, he'd have at least some ill will toward that school...Ammiright??

And more recently, A.J. King's schollie was pulled following a slow recovery to a knee injury. I'm not sure if I like this move a whole lot. But, it could be that Hope is simply gun shy of guys with pre-existing knee conditions right now (especially knee injuries). As of late, the football program has been little more than a recovery ward. Let's also not forget that Ralph Bolden came in with an injured knee and later was injured again. Also, Ishmael Aristide had a knee injury that kept him off the field for his Senior season and he still hasn't gotten his quickness back to where he was.

I hope King lands some place and succeeds...this stinks for him.

Signing day is tomorrow...I'm still hoping to see a late OL signing...but I'm not holding my breath.

Must Win?

Our Boilers came close in two-straight contests on the road versus quality opponents, but couldn't get the job done. Purdue has three games on the road remaining versus top-40 opponents...and all of them look winnable from where I stand. But, to win one, in my opinion, you've gotta figure some things out in a hurry. Tonight would be a great time to start.

Let's remember, Purdue is one of the only teams that's ever swept Wisconsin since the Kohl Center opened...Plus, this Senior class was part of the group that did that. Since Hummel has been the Badger killer in the past, hopefully he can impart some of his wisdom on the guys who are available for the job this time around. Methinks it'll almost have to be Smooge to make it happen. Regardless of whom makes it happen, it'll be no small task.

Distracting

Tip-off is tonight around 7:00 on EsPN.