Focused on Northwestern, Boilers lose Heartbreaker to Hoosiers

The title was a joke...I kid to stop myself from angrily drinking.

Tonight was historically-bad: The 37-point loss was the worst loss EVER in West Lafayette for the Purdue basketball team.  That's right, not the worst just at Mackey, but in any building by a Purdue team at home (I believe they've played in four gyms on campus).  That's rarified air...and it's the stuff that isn't taken lightly by the old alums.

IU is good, very good...I detailed my thoughts on that yesterday afternoon, as did my fellow BSers.  We all thought Purdue would lose...and the match-up was a bad one for our Boilers.  But we had no idea Purdue would lose this way.

Painter coached a lousy game. RonJohn played his worst game at Purdue. TJohn forced the same garbage in the lane time and again. Byrd was emblematic of this Purdue team: his inability to create his own shot made him a non-factor.  The ONLY positive play I can remember him making was a desperation heave from about 24 feet.  Good stuff all around...

Wait, that sarcasm is actually extremely unfair.

AJ Hammons was a beast last night.  He was looking forward to playing against a big time player, and he rose to the occasion. As Purdue's guards wilted, Hammons was tough on both ends of the floor. He played one of the best centers in the nation head to head and beat him soundly.  But, the guys surrounding Zeller were on another level.

Another bright spot was Carroll's play as Hammons sat due to early foul trouble- he hit a couple big shots...and was rewarded by playing hardly any minutes after that.

Purdue as played some bad games this year...but I don't know if I've ever seen a Purdue team look this overmatched, overwhelmed and outclassed.

This game is a fault line in the Matt Painter's time at Purdue. In a year or two, we might be saying that this was the defining moment of his demise OR the lowest point before Purdue's hard climb back to where the program should be.  No, I don't think I'm overstating- this wasn't an anomaly, this was an historic failure that had been in the making for a few years. While IU, Michigan, Michigan State and aOSU have been hitting home runs on the recruiting trail, Painter and his staff has been striking out more than not, until recently...this game is the neon sign over those recruiting misses.

We'll have to wait and see how the team reacts to this...this is a massive test.

Sports are cyclical...I get that.  Purdue won six-straight versus IU...IU has now won three straight versus Purdue. The IU players that were dismantled by Purdue teams, time and time again remember those games.

Purdue players and coaches better not forget this one as they move forward.


*Note: this post was quite a bit longer when I first posted it...but even hours after the game, I was still too angry to have any objectivity; if you read that and thought it wasn't congruent with what I usually write, I agree with you...and apologize for its original contents.

That said, I hope to never see a Purdue team, in any sport, lose like this again.

Purdue's Four-Year Reign Over IU Comes To A Painful End

The Boilers reign over the Hoosiers ended tonight with a clank -- many clanks, actually -- in West Lafayette tonight, 78-61.

The rivalry is certainly back, that much is sure, as Mackey sounded like it was rocking at tip-off. Via television, there was that feeling of excitement as though the fans might come tumbling onto the floor as the Boilers took the ball down immediately and Ryne Smith put it in for a rare layup. Rare in that Ryne doesn't shoot many of those and also rare on this night, as Purdue never made another shot look that easy.

Let me point out some good, though...and with it, let's try to understand how Purdue is able to find ways to turn many good things into a large bad thing. In the first half, the Boilers held the Hoosiers -- who have shot the ball well this season -- to just 32% shooting and 33 points. Remember, these guys put up over a hundy on Fran's boys from Iowa City. Sure, Purdue needs to be better than the Hawkeyes, but 32%/33 pts is damn good. In addition, the Boilers didn't turn the ball over once in the first half, with their first turnover of the game coming with five minutes to go in the contest. The Boilers also managed to hoist forty shots in the first half. Ah, but here's the rub -- they couldn't hit water if they fell off of Boilerdowd's yacht. An 8 of 40 performance in the first half for a tidy 20%, including an astonishing 0-11 from three point land. We said earlier this year that we found it really worrisome that this was an all-or-nothing deep threat team. Without a low post presence in this conference, Purdue was going to have to rely heavily on accurate outside shooting. 20% is, shall we say, a tad less than accurate. Mercy.

Indiana, meanwhile, wasn't shooting a whole lot better, but managed to stretch out to an 11 point, 33-22 lead. Also noteworthy in the first half was Matt Painter getting his first tech of the season (and, what, second or third ever at Purdue?), as well as Cody Zeller dragging Travis Carroll to the court (foul on Carroll) and Sandi Marcius being bloodied (incidental!). It was a brawl and it was on.

As we discussed on the Handsome Hour this past week, Purdue is a team of two halves it seems this season and thankfully they came out a little more focused in the second half -- or, at least, able to see the basket. They shot 50% (5-10) from three in the second frame and after letting the lead yo-yo back and forth on either side of the double-digit marker, whittled it down to four points, with just a few minutes to play, at 65-61. Then the Boilers -- yet again -- ended the game on a scoreless drought, allowing the Hoosiers to go on an eventually-meaningless (in that the game was effectively over once Purdue stopped scoring) 13-0 run to finish things off in a painful, foot in the groin manner .

While Rob Hummel played better in the second half and actually wound up with a double-double (16 and 10), his shooting confidence is visibly lacking to me. He shot 4-14 from the floor, did not make a three and of more concern to me, looked to pass up many shots in favor of the head fake and sidestep move he likes to do now. When it works and leads to fouls or open deuces, fine. But he's either not taking the shots or clanking them hard, which makes me want to see him simply launch without shuffling his feet. But hey, I'm no coach -- what do I know? I only know what I see, and that is that Rob is continuing to struggle.

Another struggle tonight was experienced by Lewis Jackson, who went 1-10 from the field and only managed two points. As with the rest of the starters other than Rob, LewJack did not go to the free throw line. Hard to win games when you can't get to the line or make field goals.

Off the bench, DJ Byrd put in 15, including some huge threes to keep the Boilers within striking distance (he led the team in that department, going 3 of 5), but ultimately DJ fouled out of the game in just 20 minutes of play. The officiating crew of Mike Sanzere, Pat Driscoll, and "TV" Ted Valentine called the game as though (as B-dowd texted me) they thought they were in Assembly Hall. The Boilers were whistled for 25 fouls; the Hoosiers just 17. Draw your own conclusions.

Also off the bench, Kelsey Barlow had 12 and tried more than once to do his patented, down the lane thunderdunk move to wake up his team, but it was to no avail.

Jacob Lawson had a bright moment when he stole the ball, took it the length of the court and put down a thunderous dunk that brought the faithful out of their leather-backed, cupholder armrested seats. Lawson was only in the game because of multiple fouls on Carroll and the fact that Marcius was bleeding from the head. Still, whenever I see an athletic move like that from Lawson, I enjoy it and remind myself that he's just a freshman. There is potential there -- I hope it is realized in the coming years, as the Boilers need his size, athleticism and mean style.

Terone Johnson rounded out the terrible shooting by the Boilers with a 2-12 performance from the field (he, too, did not go to the line).

The Boilers needed this win for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that they're not in serious danger of being swept by IU, as the Purdue-IU rematch in Bloomington is on Senior Night for the Hoosiers. Tom Crean has now won at just two Big Ten venues away from Assembly Hall in Bloomington: Happy Valley (twice) and West Lafayette. That's embarrassing. (For Purdue.)

Tom Crean continued his two-faced nonsense at the end of this game, blowing by Matt Painter as fast as possible and not giving Painter a chance to say something he was trying to say. Nothing will be made of it because whenever ESPN does an IU game, Dick Vitale has his arm around Tom Crean after the game, hanging on Creaney's every mindless word. Crean is making it easier every day to loathe him.

What bothers me most about this game was that if the Boilers had shot even marginally well, they would have won it. They held IU to 42% shooting from the field, 30% from three and won the turnover battle by forcing 11 and only committing three (all in the final five minutes, as mentioned). Taking care of the ball keeping a team from shooting well usually mean a win for Purdue teams. But the Boilers wound up shooting 29.6% for the game, including 23.8% from three. The Boilers' 70% from the line actually wasn't the issue tonight, though we would of course prefer not to be last in the league in that department.

While this is a frustrating loss on many levels, the point I guess is that at this point in the season you are who you are. This is a Purdue team that never manages to put a complete game together. In fact, they can rarely put a complete half together. In addition, and perhaps of even greater concern, is the fact that the Boilers are not defending their home court. They've now lost two in a row (and three of four) at Mackey for the first time since the end of the '05-'06 season, which was Painter's first year and a 9-19 campaign for the Boilers. The Boilers did not lose three in a row at home in even that year. If they drop their next home game -- against Northwestern -- they'll then be in danger of losing four in a row at home since the following home game will be Michigan State. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Next up for the 15-8 (5-5) Boilers is a brutal road test at Columbus on Tuesday night on ESPN. The Boilers could now be looking at a seriously uphill climb to get anywhere past 18 wins heading into the Big Ten Tournament. If that occurs, the Boilers will be 8-10 in conference and will probably need a couple of wins in the BTT to feel any level of comfort heading into the selection show.

Their backs are now officially against the wall. With eight games to go, they can continue this slide of sometimes listless play and agonizing gaps of putrid offensive production and lackadaisical, ineffective defense, or they can make believers out of us all again.

Time to be Boilermakers, boys.

Purdue-IU: The Bucket Predicto

We could make jokes (I know, hard to imagine) pretending this game doesn't mean anything. We could take the tact that clueless IU basketball fans frequently take and imply that our opponent is "jealous" of us. We could pretend that IU is nothing more than a 1-10 speedbump on Purdue's way to their first bowl since 2007. However, we won't do any of that because, no matter what, this game has meaning. It is rivalry.



It's the Bucket game. To anyone who went to Purdue or IU, you need say no more. It's not a forced rivalry like USC-ND; it's not a mandated rivalry like Purdue-Iowa. It's a lifelong, historical distaste for one another that is not fake, forced, or overstated. We do not like them. They do not like us. And I think we're all pretty much fine with that.

That's our fricking bucket and we'll take it back now.

The predicto starts now.

Why IU Does NOT Suck

If you visit here often, you know we love Purdue...we're almost always sarcastic and we write this site because it gives us an outlet to vent when frustrated, virtually meet with fellow Boilers, voice our thoughts and concerns about the future of Purdue athletics, and get jabs in on Notre Dame and IU when they're available.

I'll be the first to admit that I love the Paint Crew's "IU Sucks" chant. It's thunderous, it's pretty harmless and it stokes the all-but-dorment rivalry that once burned white hot. Plus, Tom Crean's teams have given no argument against the chant.

All that said, IU's name is on something that is tremendous...and that entity helped save my daughter's life this week...and if you're up for a departure from what defines this site, please read on. If you're not, I won't be offended. But as a part-owner of Boiled Sports, this is what I want to write about tonight...so I'm doing it.

Sunday Night

My family had some good friends over for dinner Sunday night. Dinner was tasty and went well. And after the meal, some of the kids went into the basement to play, and the two youngest stayed upstairs and hung around with the old people as we talked. Mrs. Boilerdowd asked me if I could feel that our daughter (sometimes referred to as Tiny Boilerdowd, or TBD, around here) had a bit of a fever. I confirmed it, but didn't think anything of it as she had acted normal all night.

As our friends left, our daughter became more and more tired-acting and curled up in Mom's lap- she's 16 months old...so that's not abnormal as she's a pretty cuddly baby. The two went upstairs so TBD could take a bath and get to bed. After a half hour or so, my wife, a Purdue-educated RN called me up with a horrible tone in her voice.

I came upstairs and found my little girl now completely lethargic. This was pretty abnormal as she's got Dad's personality and is usually really interactive...she burns hot, or is having a great time, there's really not much in-between with her. So seeing her nearly sleeping with her eyes open was bizarre.

We started testing her- calling her name, snapping and clapping and she seemed to become more and more distant. Her breathing changed to a gargle, and she started to vomit, but didn't wretch...just tilted her head and opened her mouth. The worry on my wife's face was obvious and horrifying. She assesses kids for a living at a pediatric doctor's office...and she was witnessing something that wasn't just a normal sick kid.

In a minute of time, we went from discussing trying to get her attention, to taking her to the ER to dialing 911 and having an ambulance take our daughter to the hospital. We're close to a fire station, so a fire engine and ambulance were at our house within about three minutes. During those three minutes I talked to the operator about what I had seen.

We met the paramedics at the front door with our now rigid daughter in my wife's arms. She stared into space as her pupils stayed large...and was no longer interacting with the outside world. My wife thought we were witnessing a febrile seizure, which is not too uncommon- about 5% of 2-4 year olds have them...but they're still scary, and the timing with the rapid fever lined up pretty well.

But those seizures usually last a few minutes and the child is OK in pretty short order (but the parents are scared). 10 minutes turned into a half hour...a half hour, now at the ER of the hospital near our home turned into an hour...and then two. Her coloring stayed good, her breathing didn't stop, but no one had answers and many in the ER seemed as confused as the little girl's Dad in the room with no medical treatment.

The team of 5 or 6 docs and nurses asked my wife where she wanted our daughter to go for further treatment- St. Vincent's or IU's Riley Hospital, she said St. Vincent's. It was closer, she used to work there and was comfortable with it. But someone in that room botched my wife's request, and soon we were being asked if we wanted the Riley Lifeline team to drive our daughter or take the Lifeline helicopter to downtown Indy.

I took umbrage with the fact that my wife's request had been disregarded, but in hindsight, I can say this mistake was the best thing that could have happened for my daughter. Since our daughter was stable, we said send the ambulance. When the Lifeline pediatric paramedics arrived, they took over the area, and the team of ER nurses and docs who had been working on our daughter rightfully gave them the floor.

Their equipment and training was geared toward kids, even undersized 16 month olds and they calmly worked on getting my little girl downtown to Riley Children's Hospital. Moments later, the two most important women in my life were heading downtown in a gigantic ambulance with IU emblazoned on the back.

Over the next few days, teams of neurologists, pulmonologists, MRI techs (including the sister of BS regular, Boilergal), internists, residents and extremely-capable nurses worked to get our daughter healthy and figure out what had happened. They didn't just treat her, but seemed to care for her. Just a note, one of the great nurses we came across was a Purdue girl...and you IU fans who are reading should note something: She was probably the best-looking nurse working in the gigantic building...just sayin'.

Anyway, it wasn't just the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) and Pulmonary Floor that had an incredible culture of caring, it was the entire hospital. We wore pink bracelets that probably showed the staff exactly why we were there. Everybody treated us with kindness and care- from the janitors to administrators to billing...it was unlike anything I've ever been around.

We also learned about the Ronald McDonald House on site. As my wife expressed, it was an oasis that felt like home in the middle this hospital. My whole life I had seen commercials that talked about Riley and RMH, but never really understood why they were so special. We learned it first hand this week.

When you're fearing you might lose a child and you can't help but breaking into tears multiple times each day, you need every bit of caring and prayer you can receive just to get through. Our friends lifted us up with the prayers, and the great people working at IU's Riley hospital gave us further reason to believe, along with our faith.

There's but one banner that truly makes IU special in my eyes...and it's this one:

Purdue Matches Feat Accomplished By NU and Iowa; Sweeps IU

The Boilers took yet another step tonight, demonstrating how focused and prepared they are able to be following the biggest win of the season. Purdue allowed no semblance of a letdown tonight, taking care of business at the lovely Ass Hall and winning by 11, 72-61.

This is the kind of game that would trip up many teams, including many Purdue teams over the years. For as much as we mock it, playing in Bloomington is not easy for Purdue and the record shows it. However, tonight the Boilers won even more easily than last year in B-town. I'm sure it's all part of Crean's master plan, though.

Nobody had an amazing night, but that's been part of the beauty of this team. It's not necessary for that to happen. Everybody pitches in and they get the job done, play strong defense and you look up and it's 72-58 before a meaningless three makes it look slightly closer. And if the Boilers hit more than 58% of their free throws, it would have been over even sooner. As it was it was a ten point halftime lead which, let's be honest, IU isn't overcoming against the Boilers.

JJ had a solid 20 and 9 tonight, despite getting into foul trouble for one of the few times this year. (And also being guarded some of the night by the always formidable Tom Pritchard.) Smooge followed up his career night against OSU with just 17 points, but he did have five assists and six rebounds. So a much more solid game than you might think at first glance.

Terone Johnson his three big threes in the first half that stymied IU rallies and DJ Byrd came to play as well, hitting three of seven from trey land and finishing with 11 points. Lew had his now-typically solid game also, scoring 8 points, dishing six assists, grabbing four boards and getting two steals. The guy puts up top notch efforts almost every night now and he's still got his senior season ahead of him. Almost makes you giddy about next year already, right?

Kelsey Barlow did not look afraid of the disjointed, possibly drunk, potentially stoned IU student section, which mustered a couple of unimaginative chants and then quickly grew tired of the work involved. They did manage to put together some profane chants and apparently even chanted "overrated" at E'Twaun Moore. Really?

5-1 in their careers vs IU.

Smooge and JJ seemed to get a little mad a few times, as the Hoosiers appeared to get the directive to make them pay for going to the basket. JJ was even fouled from behind on a wide-open dunk -- a stupid foul, to be sure. Smooge went in for a dunk at one point and was shoved to the floor where he landed fairly hard... but then bounced up looking pissed. We like these two when they're mad. So get mad and stay mad, fellas.

As we mentioned on the Handsome Hour tonight, we continue to be amazed at the amount of vitriol and smack talk coming from Hoosier fans via Twitter and other mediums. We keep hearing the wait till next year crap, the banner crap and the you're just jealous of us crap. And that last one might be the silliest of all. Let me clear something up....

You're a doormat, IU! A conference bottom-feeder! You're a joke! Other schools and fans actually laugh at IU. They look forward to playing IU because it's a sure win for good teams and a good potential for a win for marginal teams.... and bad teams! You lost at home to Northwestern....and Iowa! You have absolutely nothing to chirp at Purdue fans/alums about. Nothing. Your program is heading in the wrong direction.

Aw, cheer up Jeremiah. At least your 5-7 football team has the Bucket!

We will now resume ignoring IU basketball -- like the rest of the country -- and focus on the next test, yet another significant one. Winning at Breslin is never easy and for those who get pissy because of the whistle that blows at Purdue football games, well, give a listen to the Mack truck horn they blast at the Breslin Center. It makes me want to punch kittens.

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.

Maurice Creek Down Indefinitely

Maurice Creek of Indiana basketball fractured his right kneecap against Michigan over the weekend, which is the opposite kneecap that he fractured in December 2009. Goodness. That's a bit scary and freaky.

There's a certain strange symmetry to this injury and Rob Hummel's twice-blown knee ligaments. I guess what I'm saying is that for those who live and die with IU basketball, while we don't like you.... we can feel for you. This sucks.

And more importantly, it sucks for Maurice Creek. No matter whether you like a guy or not, this should not be something that you revel in or enjoy seeing. As we've said before, even when guys get hurt who we really don't like (see Evan Turner last year), we root for them to be okay and to get back to playing healthy.

So as Purdue fans, resist the urge to make remarks to IU fans. They're already suffering and this is an almost unfair blow. Sure, there were jerks who actually made jokes about Rob's misfortune -- but let's not be like them.

Be proud, respectful, sportsmanlike Boilermakers instead.

This Is IU-U-U

Remember that wonderful We Are Notre Dame video from last summer that, apparently, was not meant ironically? Well, it's possible that IU actually has that beat.

I haven't done any research on this yet to know how such an abomination as this could exist intentionally, but then again...maybe nothing more needs to be said. Let's roll tape, after the jump.

Bucket Week

Both Purdue and IU's football programs are struggling to not kick the bucket this week.

Hey-yo! Lamest lead sentence ever?

Truth is, it's bucket week and there's really nothing else for either program to be thinking about. No bowl games, no postseason practices... and in Bill Lynch's case, maybe no job after this. So in a good way, it allows the players, fans, alumni, mascots, training table workers, janitors, vendors, etc., to all focus on their rival. All energy goes into this game this year... all hate, including "International IU Sucks Week," featured on Facebook. (Which, sadly, IU fans are joining so they can tell Boilermakers that they suck. There's even a complete toolbag on there who keeps saying "Got 5?" And can you guess where he went to college? Not IU.)

Courtesy, Chad

Okay, so I'm stretching here, trying to give this game more boost. Thing is, though, while it really doesn't mean much.... it still kinda does. That absolute last thing we want to see the season end with is a loss to IU. IU football is terrible. Don't misunderstand, Purdue football is a mess right now. A true mess. Beyond the injuries, the coaching staff seems, at times, overwhelmed. The players don't seem well-prepared. It's giving us this sinking feeling that Purdue football is completely sliding back into the irrelevance of the pre-Tiller era.

But you still can't lose to IU. Simply cannot happen.

Some factoids about the bucket game to chew on:

• Purdue is 11-2 in the last 13 bucket games. 
• The two losses ('07 and '01) were by a combined nine points.
• The 11 wins were by a combined 304 points (or 27.6 ppg)
• Purdue won 15-14 in 1989.
• Purdue won 1-0 in 1894 (interestingly, a year after winning 60-0)
• From 1892 to 1910, the two played 13 times, with only one of those being at Indiana.
• IU's last bucket win in West Lafayette was in 1996. We were at that game and Purdue wore all-black (which was a novelty back then) and IU wore all-white (not a good look). 
• Bill Lynch is 1-2 against Purdue, with one of those losses being the 62-10 blasting in Joe Tiller's last game. One surmises that Lynch's win over Purdue the previous year is one of the reasons he has held onto his job. Much like at Purdue, if you can beat the rival, the old alums are happy. Lynch could win this game on Saturday and be 2-2 against Purdue. Not bad.
• The last post-Thanksgiving matchup was 1995, when Purdue went down to Bloomington and Mike Alstott curb-stomped the Hoosiers, 51-14. 

I actually don't have a lot of great memories of the Purdue-IU rivalry from my days on campus because I started 0-2 against IU (losses in '94 and '96). I like seeing all the spirit (hate?) brewing on campus right now. Let's hope our Boilers take out their frustrations of an infuriating season on the Hoosiers.

You Can Crack IU's Nuts For Half-Price

You, too, can teabag IU.

It's Oaken Bucket week and some lonely purchasing manager at Hobby Lobby is in deep doo-doo. Reader Anna sent in this photo, taken at a Lafayette Hobby Lobby a week before Thanksgiving. 

So I guess either Hobby Lobby has more IU nutcrackers than they could possibly hope to sell...OR they expect Purdue to slaughter IU on Saturday and want to move them as fast as possible...OR they realized that they're in fricking Lafayette. 

Either way, what better way to spend the holidays than saying "Eat DEEZ NUTS, IU!" every time you put one in this guy's chopper.

Wooden Tradition Officially Dead

In a move that's been coming for a while, the Wooden Tradition is done in Indianapolis...at least for now.

The Boilermaker BlockBuster will return for the first time since 2003, though calling a game against Indiana State a "blockbuster" is a little bit of an overstatement.

This is a real shame, because John Wooden is a source of pride for many Boilermakers and a name that still carries some serious weight. When "Coaches versus Cancer" and "The Great Alaskan Shootout" and things of that nature can garner good teams (or any teams), then the "Wooden Tradition" should be able to as well.

As we've said on our podcast before, this would be really easy to make a tremendously popular event. Continue holding it in Indianapolis and have four regular teams, such as Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame and Butler. Have any of those play any of the others in one game, and the other two play in another game. No need for a finals if that's too much to ask -- just two great, in-state matchups that, despite being in-state, would have a national interest. Especially now, with Purdue and Butler being such national powers.

Alternatively -- like if, for instance, Notre Dame continues to be afraid to play Purdue -- you could have it be Purdue and IU every year, and then invite one or two other teams on a rotating basis. It could be smaller schools that would jump at a chance to play in a packed, city venue against a nationally-recognized program...or it could be a well-known school from another state that comes in. Wouldn't it be good for, say, Texas to come to Indy and play Purdue or IU, for example? From Texas' perspective, that's one more fertile recruiting ground that it couldn't hurt to have a presence in. Am I talking crazy talk? Or is this simply far too logical to ever happen?

It doesn't have to be difficult and it doesn't have to be something where Purdue is desperate to find opponents. Commit to playing in someone else's hometown gathering in order to get them to come play. Then if that other team can bring in a Purdue or an IU to their local November/December basketball shootout, all the better for them.

I know we're not that smart and we've figured this out. So it can't be that hard.

Cheering 101 by The Crimson Guard

When I heard that the IU students finally decided it was trendy enough to start sort of caring about IU basketball again and formed an "official" student section, I decided to look into it. And at first, I wanted to mock them. Ha! A student section formed in December 2009 -- what, did they want to wait to see how bad the season would be before doing it?

But then I said to myself, "Self, that's not nice. This is a program trying to claw its way back after being decimated by a cheating coach."

A coach who had a history of cheating who they hired while knowing he was a cheater. So you could argue it was something IU did to itself. But still -- if you're a student there now, it's not your fault. You have the right to assemble. Hell, it's the clever name of your gym.

So I checked out their web site, CrimsonGuard.org. And, of course, they put up the grainy pictures of their championship banners, ranging from 23 years old to 70 years old. Rah-rah, yay!

But still, I thought they should be proud of whatever they want to be proud of. This is Indiana basketball -- these are people who truly know hoops. Right?

They even have several warnings to students not to rush the floor and to "act like you've been there before." And I respect this, because it's good advice.

What I don't respect, though, is a school whose students mock Purdue and act as though they're somehow superior.......and yet need cheering lessons. Let's take a look at the guidance given to students by the Crimson Guard's leadership:

click to embiggen

So we start with the "Purdont" roster. Clever, with the "Purdont" thing. Here's a tip for student sections -- be clever. Being an original idiot makes you sound like a southern Indiana hillrat. Oh, wait....

Among the tips on the first page is not to leave early, "unless you're meeting Purdue in the parking lot." What the hell does that even mean?

I love that they suggest that Rob Hummel "ran his best friend Scott Martin out of Purdue." Indeed, that's how it happened.

They also have a "pop quiz" asking how many national titles the Purdue men's team has won, and then indicate -- erroneously -- that the answer is zero. Way to do your homework, IU students! Not that you're used to having to study or do any research to skate through college.

But that's just the first page. The second page is the true treasure of this embarrassment:

click to enlargerate

Let's start at the top. "When the announcer says the name of a player you scream the first name."

And then....and THEN...they feel compelled to give an example!

"For example: 'Christian Watford.' Balcony and Bleachers unison: 'Christian'"

What, no guidance on how they should pull off doing it in unison? Will there be a conductor? A sign? A megaphone? HOW WILL THEY KNOW??

And then the "Main Level students shout the last name after the balcony and bleachers shout the first name." And yes, they have "after" in bold.

They then tell you that when a player "shots an airball" (assume they mean "shoots" but hey, that's an IU educashun for you) that you chant.... wait for it.... "airball...airball every time that player touches the ball for the remainder of the half."

*raises hand* But what if someone airballs it in the final seconds before the half? Can they chant "airball...airball" early in the second half? I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES HERE!!

It goes on from there, telling them how to clap and cheer for players, and all about the "left right left right" chant for players who foul out -- which you'll recall SMRT Illinois fans did to Kramer when he fouled out in Champaign with the game comfortably in hand.

Frankly, I'm surprised they don't have rules listed to help the students understand why some buckets count for three and some only for two.

I fully encourage anyone attending the game to create a new, more creative version of this guide, print a couple hundred copies and then distribute to students entering Ass Hall.

It's Hard To Adjust To Being Irrelevant, Part 2

Yesterday, we shared with you some thoughts on the state of Notre Dame football. You know, our non-rival who is no more successful than Purdue over the better part of the past decade. Today, we'll take a look at the IU basketball program. I hadn't been planning to crush them like this, but there has been way too much obnoxiousness thrown our way by some in the IU homerdome. So suck it. You know who you are. The gloves are off.

Creamed Crimson

We could begin our IU evisceration by discussing the absolute joke that Indiana University football is. We could start there and point out that two sub-.500 Purdue teams have now hung 100 points on the Hoosiers over the past two Bucket meetings. And how they actually think this was a step forward with some positives to draw on. Let me make something clear. When you go 1-7 in conference and 4-8 overall and there is anyone who thinks this is a bright season, you're a joke.

No, their football program hasn't been relevant in an even longer time than Notre Dame's. Their basketball program, though, is a once-proud pillar of basketball history. And no, that's not sarcasm. Five national title banners hang in Assembly Hall. The oldest is 70 years old this season. The most recent is 23 years old. That legendary team that Bob Knight took to an undefeated national title? That was in 1976, 34 seasons ago. They used to be a really, really good program.

One clown at another site actually took Purdue fans to task and, among many ill-informed things, said that Purdue's success in Big Ten championships was before the modern era of the NCAA tournament (implying they meant less, I guess), as though the modern format of the NCAA tournament has anything at all to do with success within your own conference. But if we want to use that barometer, one might also point out that if achievements largely accumulated before the NCAA tournament went to its modern format count for less, that eliminates all but one of IU's banners.

Times are a lot different now than they were in the '40s, '50s, '70s, and '80s. For one thing, talented players don't think Indiana and their circus warm-up pants and toilet of a gym are anything to get all gooey about. For another thing, racism is a lot less tolerated than it was back in the good ol' days. Am I right, Cletus?

Okay, I kid a little bit, but they (IU slack-jaws) can pretend all they want that Mike Davis being black had nothing to do with their lack of patience for him, but this is still a guy who (it appears) was a pretty honorable man who took a very pedestrian IU team to the Final Four in 2003 and still got run out of town.

In a true "You reap what you sow" scenario, IU brought in Kelvin Sampson to be the savior of their program (hey, look, ya'll, he's not even white!) and he was going to fix everything. Sure, he'd been a confirmed cheater at Oklahoma, but that was in the past. He's a good man! He's going to do things the right way!

Partway through Sampson's second season at the school, he was fired for cheating again. I state this so that those who read while moving their lips can even see it in print. This is a fact. He was fired. For cheating.

IU homers would tell you -- for a while -- that it was "just a few phone calls," and that it was being blown out of proportion. Then he was canned (costing IU a nice, big buyout) and once Sampson was gone, all problems were blamed on him and it was clear that all would be good again once the stain of Kelvin Sampson had been pushed out the door. (By the way, Coach Sampson's Web site is "currently being redesigned.")

Eventually, Coach Crean was brought in, to save the day once again. Crean is a good guy, it seems, and appears to be able to build a winner (he got guys to come play at Marquette, after all). But the suggestion that IU is anything more than a second-tier Big Ten team right now is silly. Oh, the mouth-breathers down South will still suggest that their program has some kind of cachet (after they look up what "cachet" means in a dictionary -- or have someone who owns a dictionary look it up for them), but that's simply not true. You know why? Because it's not 1975. Bob Knight is long gone, and Hoosiers is an old movie. Many, many, many other programs passed IU by in recent years. And unless Crean can catch lightning in a bottle again and get the next Dwayne Wade, what makes anyone think a return to glory is forthcoming?

To demonstrate their ineptitude, IU went down to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and promptly got slapped by Ole Miss, BU and George Mason. Way to represent the Big Ten well, boys! This after they won their first two games at home, one of them a squeaker by 8 points over "USC Upstate." Who? Exactly.

Take a look at the IU schedule. Do you see any way they get to fifteen wins this season? I sure don't.

Ah, but you'll keep hearing "Just wait....Crean will have us back at the top soon!" But what is there to make us think this is the case? History? Ancient history? I don't know. One thing I do know is that there are at least seven programs in the Big Ten alone that are in a better situation and have a brighter future than Indiana. Yes, Crean could get them back to the top theoretically, but they're just like everyone else now.

So let them tell you about their banners if they must. Let them live in the 1970s. Let them accuse you of being jealous. Let them make up falsehoods about Purdue's history or IU's honorable nature. And then pity them. Because IU basketball, as they fondly remember it, is long gone.

All This Hate Isn't Good For Your Bowels

I look around and see this week being called "hate week" in a lot of places. You've got PSU trying admirably to make their manufactured rivalry with MSU mean something. You've got Minnesota supporters resorting to rankings I've never heard of to bash Iowa, while Iowa slaps right back with some admittedly funny shots at the Minny football program. And, of course, you've got the slack-jaws from Columbus and Ann Arbor doing their typical strutting around, pretending anyone outside of Columbus or Ann Arbor really cares about their game (and, of course, throwing infantile tantrums when anyone has the temerity to report anything or opine on their program).

It's funny. It's been an exciting season and we've got a fiery coach who likes to rub people's noses in their own crap, and yet, I can't seem to summon the hate and fire I'm supposed to be able to summon. Here we are, us, H&R and Crimson Quarry, politely going along as if we don't despise one another. You'd expect this out of T-Mill at H&R, of course, as he's rarely one to tweak people, choosing instead to represent Purdue as Switzerland (don't ask me what Switzerland borders).

Us, on the other hand... well, we're jerks. You know this, of course, which is why you read this site. And we've taken our shots at Indiana before, but in recent years it has had a whole lot more to do with their embarrassing basketball program travails and, despite being eminently mockable, we've been sort of easy on their football program. Why? I don't know. Maybe we don't like seeing them fail as miserably as they've failed at times -- our joy in seeing others fail is more reserved for the wretched arrogance that emanates from South Bend. (Who, by the way, really doesn't have a rival to play during rivalry week. How sad.) Our hate tends to come out more for programs with poor leaders who refuse to focus on issues they should be focusing on (like, say, Michigan or, again, Notre Dame).

To me, the Bucket rivalry would be much more fun if both programs were "up," and thus the games meant more. We're at a point with IU where losing to them would be awful -- like losing to a MAC school. So if that's the most hateful thing we can say, so be it.

So what say you? Do you hate IU? Do you truly love seeing them scorched by 40-50 points?

Quarterback-Heavy Gumbo

There were so many things to talk about today, many related to QBs, that I thought I'd just dump it all into a gumbo post. So let's get started.

Own a Piece of History

Yes, that's right -- you can get the pictured Curtis Painter Colts jersey for the low, low price of just $200. It's rare that a young man has the chance to be a local hero (cough) for his college team and follow that up by staying local with the beloved pro team... and then get cut from the practice squad in August. Curtis clearly (and wisely) did not demand his familiar number 12 from Jim Sorgi.

Irish Don't Get The Montana They Really Want

It'll be fun to see how the UND loyalists spin this one. Legacy Nick Montana has decided not to attend Notre Dame despite his father having gone there (and his brother Nate being there), and instead will attend....wait for it... Washington. The same Huskies who went 0-12 last year. Wow. To choose a program in the kind of disarray that UW is in over the supposed up-and-coming and ready to pounce UND program is rather telling. Could Joe Cool have advised his son to stay away? Who knows? Maybe Nick was just worried about living up to the legend of Pickles Clausen.

So Much For Those "Turning Over A New Leaf" Headlines

Sadly, Ryan Leaf's life continues to plummet down the toilet. He's now wanted as a result of a grand jury's indictment on nine charges against him relating to prescription painkillers. I no longer want to make jokes about him, and really nobody should. He's a troubled man and it's just plain sad.

Compliance is the Word of the Day At IU

According to this story, compliance "comes first" at Indiana. Well, at least something comes in first at IU. From the story:

Fred Glass gathered the Indiana coaching staff before he was introduced as the school’s athletic director and told them his top priority: compliance.

It was a word one of the coaches just didn’t want to hear.

“A coach said, ‘You know what, we’re sick of hearing that. We’re sick of hearing compliance,’ ” Glass recalled being told during a visit to Fort Wayne last week. “ ‘We are a compliant place with a compliant culture, and we really don’t like hearing that.’ ”

Yes, I'm sure you indeed don't like hearing that, coach. Being reminded about compliance when your basketball program was sort of decimated by a non-compliant coach just two years ago must be a real drag.


JaJuan and Ostrich Continue USA Basketball Tryouts Against Our Advice

Yes, they're all "honored" and stuff to be trying out for the USA Basketball's World University Games team. The rest of us would rather they sit in a barcalounger for the summer.

Five of the 16 players initially invited to try out are from the Big Ten, more than any other conference.

Oh, but yeah, the Big Ten is weak, right Digger?

The Indy Star Has A Purdue Football Opinion?

According to the Indy Star, the Boilers have a "Tough football schedule." It says so right in the headline. However, I might argue that starting the season with three of four at home against Toledo, No. Illinois and Notre Dame (all winnable games, even for this season's expectations) means that a 3-1 start, while not necessarily likely, isn't exactly far-fetched. We'll keep an eye on the Star to see if they contribute anything noteworthy, or instead continue to just be an IU lapdog.

Have We Heard The Last of Justin Siller?

This is completely unfounded, but according to on-campus BS sources, Siller remains enrolled at Purdue and appears (appears) to have no plans to leave. He has not transferred and apparently is readying to take classes this fall. If this is accurate, what does it mean? Has Siller had enough of football? Is it only a matter of time before he transfers to a school that makes him an offer? Or is it possible that he'll lie low for another year and then knock on Coach Hope's door? If you have any insight, shoot us a note.

Early Thoughts on IU

In just two days, our Boilers face off against our theoretical rival, Indiana. And don't you just wish we played them twice this season and MSU just once? I sure do.

As the imagery associated with this posts shows, my line of thinking is that we need to be the Cobra Kai this weekend. No fricking mercy. Because it's not just about a Big Ten win (though that IS critical). This game is the only matchup between the two this season. IU is going to get better before long -- we all know this. And IU has nearly always gotten the better of the Boilermakers when it comes to recruiting. So what if you're a potential recruit, a kid from Indiana, who is watching these two teams? And you see the Boilermakers blow out the hapless Hoosiers in a raucous Mackey.... I would think that could have an impact on a young lad.

That said, I will admit I'm genuinely concerned about this game. Boilerdowd has told me I'm crazy to be worried, simply because IU is just that bad. And I understand that. But they've got little to lose and everything to gain... and we have a LOT to lose. I don't expect the Boilers to come out tight, but they've been slow-starters for two seasons now, and a slow start against a bad team is the one recipe for disaster. Allowing IU to hang around would be terrible, even if the Boilers pull out the win.

So going back to the Cobra Kai, we do indeed need to strike first, strike hard and show no mercy. IU got some wins over the sad Boilermakers teams in Keady's final years and Painter's first one. It's time to rub the salt right back in. And I don't care how bad IU is -- it will feel great, and I'd love to see a 30 point win. As 'dowd pointed out to me, Painter won't do that -- he will not rub it in. And that's a good thing. But I don't think 20-25 point wins are rubbing it in.

Let's show we're that much better. Let's show we really are a top 15 team. Let's demonstrate that the Purdue program is in that much better shape than the Indiana program. Let there be no doubt.

Sweep the leg.

Tom Crean -- Fashionista

It's hard for any coach to look cool -- apparently. Many of the coaches around the NCAA wore sneakers with their suits and just looked, well, goofy. As we pointed out, Matty Painter went with a casual look but wore, as Boilerdowd put it, "blousy pants with fifty pleats."

Down in Bloomington, though, apparently Coach Crean overslept and came to the game in his jammies, only throwing on a red shirt three sizes to big for him. Seriously, what was up with this look?

Boilerdowd got a text on Saturday saying, "Does Crean realize he's coaching a Big Ten game and not a practice against Athletes in Action?"

"Coach, I can't take you seriously in that outfit."

"Did you see what coach is wearing??"

It is good, however, to see Terry Hutchens getting some work:

Eric Gordon Piles On His Alma Mater

As though IU hoops hadn't been battered enough, Eric Gordon decided it was the perfect time to tell the world about the rampant drug use on the team during its 2007-2008 season, which saw Coach Sanctions bounced and the program seriously damaged.

Gordon said Sampson "tried to stop it," but the coach "was just so focused on basketball and winning and everything."

Yes, indeed. Very focused, he was.

What's nice about this for the Indiana athletic department and their fans is that they have the forever built-in excuse for any and all things that went wrong last year -- it's all Kelvin Sampson's fault. It won't be long before the poor viewing angles at Ass Hall are being blamed on Kelvin Sampson's shortcomings as an engineer.

Still, this isn't something to take lightly. I realize all the players are gone from last year, but a culture is a culture and let's just hope for the well-being of the young guys playing ball there that Coach Crean is aware of all this and is taking steps to not allow it an inch back in the door.

I'm sure Terry Hutchens will have very measured, reasonable thoughts about all of this.

Fans Are Good...For Me to Pee On!

You may or may not have seen/heard about this, depending upon how thoroughly you cruise random blogs and sports sites. (I realize most of the BS readership is on sites of, um, different material.)

Anyway, Busted Coverage nicely breaks down one of the more amusing near-issues that police intervened on at the IU-Ball State game last weekend:

Police arrested Lucas Widdicombe after someone sitting near him said he had a cup, and “he had urinated in the cup and was going to throw it at Ball State fans.”

Uh-oh, pee-pee grenades!

And if you're caught, yellow-handed, in this kind of situation, what's your story gonna be? Do you think you could do better than this?

Widdicombe told police he had not urinated in the cup and had no intentions of pouring it on people. Widdicombe said someone had given him a cup of urine while he was in the restroom, and he decided to take it back to his seat to show his friends.

Well, sure, that makes complete sense. Hey, maybe it was celebrity urine... did anyone notice if Terry Hutchens was in the can at approximately the same time? Handing out....cups of urine?

And I remember when people would throw cups of soda. Ah, how times have changed.

BS Reader Poll -- Game 12

This is the final post in the BS Reader Input and Silliness Poll Series. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this all summer long.

Wrapping up the 2008 regular season will be our longtime in-state rival, Indiana. IU took back the bucket last year for only the second time during Tiller’s time in West Lafayette. This year’s game is back in Ross-Ade and will not only be the bucket game, it might be critical for Purdue’s bowl positioning. Add to that the fact that it’ll be Senior Day, Curtis Painter’s last game in WestLaf, and Joe Tiller’s last game in front of the home crowd. Should be a nice day, regardless of record at that point.

But how will the game turn out? Vote it up.

Game 12
November 22, 2008
Indiana at Purdue
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