By the Numbers: The Worst of Times, The Best of Times

Soooo ... that game in Iowa City.

Limit Iowa's transition game? So-so. Iowa had 10 steals (bad), but scored just 7 points off them, thanks to bad free-throw shooting (three steals turned into Purdue fouls and then zero points).

Fouls, period? Terrible. 24 fouls, including 5 on Ronnie and 4 on A.J., leading to 29 attempts at the line, more than enough to decide the game. (Aaron White was 11-14; Purdue was 7-10.)

Brick: a material used in buildings
and outside shots.

Shot selection? Could have been better. Inside guys were not bad (Hale, Hammons, Carroll, and Marcius combined to shoot 12-23), but outside guys were bad (4-15 from 2, 3-14 from 3). Purdue had 10 offensive rebounds, but managed just 5 points off those.

End result = bad basketball in a loss. Let's move on, shall we? At this rate, we'll be seeing them in Indianapolis a city that is clearly not Indianapolis next Thursday anyway, and I can repeat what I said last time.

Madison, Wisconsin. Purdue has a 6% chance of pulling this one off. Wisconsin's only real weakness seems to be the free-throw line (shooting worse than Purdue in conference play), specifically Ryan Evans. And Wisconsin pulls out to a 13-point first-half lead. Win probability: 1.9%.

Purdue then outscored Wisconsin 50-24. Wisconsin held 9 opponents to fewer than 50 points in a game ... and 3 more to 51 points. Purdue managed that in 27 minutes.

Our memories of yesterday
will last a lifetime ...
(Reese Strickland/USA Today sports)

• Three-point shooting. D.J. was 6 of 9, shining on Senior Night. Oh wait ... that was their senior night. Whoops. His bad. (Purdue attempted only three other long-distance shots, one by each of three players. That's fine.) I'm not sure anyone else has hit that many three-point shots against Wisconsin this season; heck, most teams aren't hitting that many threes against them, and certainly not in Madison.
• Three-point defense. Wisconsin was excellent from two (16-27, .593, well above their .469 conference mark), but hit just 6 of 28 from downtown, and all six came in the first half. Read that again: Wisconsin took one more shot from three-point range despite shooting nearly 400 points better from inside the arc. At home. In a game they led by 13. If you missed the game and I left out the team names, you'd swear Purdue did that.
• Tolerable FT shooting. Ronnie was 0-4; the rest of the team was 11-13.

It's easy to underestimate the value of having a deeper bench. While Painter was able to call on guys like Marcius and Hale, guys who don't normally get a lot of playing time, Ryan doesn't have that, so when his players aren't doing what they should be, he has limited options.

Also, the Evans thing is spooky. He's shooting .417 from the line this season; he shot .726 last season. I don't know how to find this out, but I'd guess there isn't one guy in ten years who drops 300 points in one season with as many attempts as Evans has. He's also 2-23 from three (that's zlionsfan territory right there, only I'd have to be wiiiiide open on the makes) ... if you need any proof that psychology can be a major factor in sports, Evans is it.

Anyway, the upset plus a couple of other factors (Penn State) give Purdue a roughly 50-50 chance of stealing a game this week. That'd still leave them two wins shy of the NIT, so don't count on any games beyond the Minnesota game in Mackey.

A loss would give Painter his first-ever winless season against Michigan teams (0-5 with EMU as a "bonus" loss).

To beat Michigan, Purdue needs to be effective on offense: Penn State beat Michigan despite taking one fewer shot (and allowing the Wolverines to hit .658 from two) by hitting threes (10-20, with Jermaine Marshall hitting 6 of 10) and free throws (20-27). Also, Michigan doesn't draw fouls (.286 FTA/FGA, 11th in conference play), so don't help them out. Make them work for shots and see if you can get their offense out of sync ... unfortunately it isn't like Purdue has that much more experience to take advantage of Michigan's young team.

In Ann Arbor, Purdue was just 7 of 22 from outside, but a bigger problem, perhaps, was their two-point defense: Michigan was 20-39 from two and also had 12 offensive rebounds. Morgan and McGary can't be getting easy putbacks; the Michigan offense is good enough when Burke is allowed to run it freely, so taking away second-chance points should be a priority.

Purdue hasn't closed the regular season against Minnesota since 1988; #2 Purdue crushed the Gophers then, 93-66.

To beat Minnesota, Purdue needs to force turnovers. The Gophers are last in turnover percentage (21.8%), but Purdue is last in forcing turnovers (15.3%); one of those things has to go. Northwestern knocked off Minnesota in part by picking up 9 steals; Purdue will need a similar effort, particularly so they can avoid Trevor Mbakwe (7.0 Blk%, 101st in DI).

If they can't manage that, they'll need outside accuracy ... although three-point percentage against isn't as good of an indicator as number of threes taken, the Gophers are 11th in conference play, allowing opponents to shoot .366 from beyond the arc, and Illinois hit 11 of 23 in their win in Williams Arena in February.

At this point, the Big Ten has really separated itself into four groups: the solid teams (the top six), the bubble-type teams (Illinois and Iowa), the Good Guys, and the bad teams (Northwestern has plummeted into that group, and they may well end up losing to Penn State Thursday). Purdue is 34 places behind eighth-best Illinois and 58 places ahead of tenth-best Northwestern ... enough of a gap that an NIT bid probably hinges on their ability to draw Nebraska or Northwestern in round 1. Illinois does face Iowa and Ohio State, both on the road, so two losses for them plus a Purdue split (or sweep) could make things interesting for seeding purposes. Too bad that'll give Iowa an extra win, too ...

A three-way tie is certainly possible ... but which one?

Boilers Lose Cinder Block Fight in Iowa City, 58-48

J, Panda and I wrote each other about midway through the second half to try to figure out who would get to have the joy of writing this one up; After a tournament of mother jokes and a mini-spelling bee, I was the champion...so now I get my prize: writing about tonight's loss in Iowa City.

The game was only
slightly prettier than
this painting.

It was tough to start this one so closely after the end of the game...my eyes were still partially bleeding and that makes it difficult to check your own work.  But I'm a Boilermaker, so I powered through it and now I bring you the many highlight from the game.

Donnie Hale and AJ Hammons played well. Hammons had 12 points and 9 rebounds, Hale had 13, but played with a ton of energy and looked to be moving faster than about everyone on the court, except for RonJohn...but the younger Johnson's speed caused him to have some ugly TOs; his ratio was 1:1 (6ast, 6to).  Byrd played OK, but missed a lot of makable shots.

Purdue only got to the line ten times...and made seven of those attempts (pretty solid).  Iowa, conversely, shot 29 FTs, made 21.

Purdue had 16 points at the end of the first half...Iowa had 23.  In the wake of the first half, Purdue's 32 point second half was an absolute offensive explosion; but it still made me tired to watch it.

Purdue's effort was better- Anthrop had a few minutes in which he seemed to be in the right place, right time over and over again.  But Purdue's offense looked extremely inept.  The sharp shooting from the Northwestern game that Byrd and TJohn displayed was nowhere to be found.

Crappy weather (and crappy basketball) kept the fans away from Iowa's Hawkeye-Carver Combo (Boston Market Reference) Arena.  Iowa's 92nd-best RPI rating surely got a huge bump after tonight's game...and in a few weeks, Iowa will be dancing thanks to this quality win over our Boilers.

Alright, maybe not.  As March quickly approaches, Iowa fans will wonder what might have been had a few injuries not affected their Hawkeyes...and we Purdue fans will wonder if our Boilers will be able to climb out of the sewer of the B1G conference standings next season.

Purdue stands at 13-15 (6-9), and the season will mercifully be over in less than two weeks...then, for the first time in over a month, things will get interesting as we wait to see who decides to transfer. I'm still hoping for everybody to stay...but with a warning that if they don't buy in, they won't play. We'll see.

Next up, Purdue goes to Wisconsin to play Bo's Badgers who are very much in the hunt.  Painter has historically been one of the most-successful coaches in the Kohl Center...but I don't see Matty's boys putting up much of a fight on Sunday afternoon; hope I'm very wrong.  Because, like you, I'll be watching and yelling at the TV, regardless of what happens.

Good Black and Gold 75; Evil Black and Gold 68

No, this isn't the schizophrenic edition of Boiled Sports, but instead it's a recap of the Boilers home victory over their most hated rival in yet another competitive performance by the Hawkeyes.

Iowa has shown repeatedly this season that they are quite simply no longer doormats and will not be pushovers no matter what. Fran McCaffery has them playing chair-slammingly improved basketball and we've taken notice. Which is just my way of saying that I value this sweep over a team that has taken down two ranked foes, Michigan and Wisconsin (the latter at their house), so far in the Big Ten season. With a win tonight, Iowa would have been ahead of Purdue in the Big Ten standings by a half game. We cannot have that now, can we?

Rob Hummel and the Hummellettes agreed tonight, to the tune of five guys getting into double figures. It makes sense, too, since those five guys were the only ones to get significant minutes tonight.

Rob led the way with 17 and 11, LewJack followed with 14 (including 8-11 from the line), Ryne came next with 12 (including 3-6 from three, the only guy to look keyed in at all from out there; Rob, by comparison, was 1-6), Kelsey Barlow had a tidy 11 and 7; and Terone made the lone significant bench contribution with ten in 28 minutes.

And on the subject of minutes, outside of those five guys plus Travis Carroll (who played 31 mins and arguably looked the best he has all season), there were a total of 28 minutes of playing time doled out among John Hart, DJ Byrd, Sandi Marcius, AJ and Lawson. Is this a sign of Painter shortening his bench as he tends to do as the seasons drag along? It could very well be, though I'll be surprised if DJ Byrd and Jacob Lawson aren't part of that and Travis Carroll is.

Tonight, there were chunks of the second half that featured this fivesome out there for the Boilers: Hummel, Jackson, Smith, Carroll, Terone Johnson. Not a whole lot of post presence there, huh? And it showed, as the Boilers did not box out and allowed Iowa to get the ball down low over and over for layup attempts, some of which even went in. I joke, obviously, but Iowa put up a fight, even leading by as much as (I believe) 17 in the first half.

Zach McCabe had a career night this evening, pouring in 20 -- easily his best game of the season -- and looking a bit better than he maybe is. Poor defense by the Boilers or just a good night for McCabe? I never like to only ding my team when a guy has a good night. McCabe looked good, shooting over 50% from the field and it could have been even more damage, but he went only 3-7 at the line.

Marble is impressed by
Micah's head for basketball.

Back to Travis Carroll, he had perhaps his most confident performance of his Purdue career, as his rebounding a tipping in of balls seemed more controlled and deft. He seemed to me like a guy who was sure of himself and perhaps wasn't fearing being yanked out of the game. His 31 minutes was by far a season high and his 8 points was one off his high for the year. If this is the direction Travis is heading, I like it...and I will admit I didn't think there was any way I would say that this year.

Kelsey Barlow was strong off the dribble tonight and created as he is often capable of doing. He was only 4-10 from the floor but his points were needed and his seven rebounds (including five offensive) were obviously critical.

Lewis Jackson continues to be a favorite of ours. Lew gives his body up every time out there and also continues to grab far-bouncing rebounds, make his way to the FT line, and also do the little things that make you love a hard worker. One thing in particular that I noticed was late in the second half when Lew took a 17 footer and it rattled off the rim...who was slicing through the lane to snag the rebound? Lewis himself. I note this particularly because I was at the Rutgers-ND game last night and witnessed former Boiler Scott Martin's lazy fundamentals (learned under Mike Brey's tutelage, one assumes) manifest themselves in him taking a three and then drifting backwards to admire it as it bounced hard off the back of the rim and back out to where he easily should have been, had he followed his shot. That's the sort of thing Matt Painter would never have let him get away with. But hey, hope you don't still miss your girlfriend, Scott. 

As we've seen over and over, everybody has to pitch in for Purdue to be successful this season. And as we've also seen, the Boilers are prone to lapses in scoring for stretches that become alarming as we see leads shrink away. However, tonight was a welcome change as the Boilers recovered from a fairly deep first half hole to go on to win the game and look fairly dominant in the second half doing so.

Ahead of this train is a nasty little five game stretch that includes four ranked teams, with the one non-ranked opponent being Northwestern on the road. I would take 3-2, I would be thrilled with 4-1 and I would do cartwheels and post the video of it if they go 5-0.

Shovel in some more coal and let's get up a head of steam.

Boilers Hang On at Iowa: 79-76

After a week off, Purdue traveled to Iowa to begin the B1G schedule.  Iowa's transition-based offense had  been in rhythm the last three games, all wins, as Iowa scored 82 points twice and 105 once...and early on, the pace favored Iowa.

With the collapses of the Butler and Xavier losses in the front of his mind, Painter clearly was trying to keep Hummel and Jackson as fresh as possible for the closing minutes.  Purdue's lead stayed around 6-8 points for much of the first half.  But in the second half, the game got tighter as Iowa tied it twice and kept it within 5 points for most of the last 20 minutes.  But, the Hawkeyes couldn't get over the hump.  When they punched, Purdue had an answer...and much of the time, the answer came from unusual places like Byrd, Barlow or Lawson...but in the end, Hummel closed out the Hawkeyes with a few key rebounds and hitting his last four free throws; something Purdue has struggled with all season.

In the first half, Purdue had 30 points off the bench.  Most-notably, DJ Byrd and John Hart both had 8 points...and looked as if they completely expected such a performance.  Hart finished with an efficient 8 points in just 11 minutes...and looked very good shooting the three.  Byrd scratched and clawed his way to 14 points, 2 assists and a steal in 22 minutes.  Perhaps he's finally healthy...or maybe it was just a good night. Regardless, it was not only great to see, but absolutely needed.

Tim Doyle was on color for this game...so I watched large chunks of it on mute.  But honestly, I was just happy that BTN was able to broadcast video alllllllll the way from Iowa. That's good of them.

The most interesting point in the game by far was following an assist from AJ to Hummel, Rob looked like he wanted to punch AJ in the face...so did Matty on the timeout...and Coach Shrewsberry didn't look too happy with the RS Frosh either. I went back and watched the play and deduced that AJ missed a screen and wasn't moving on offense and tried to say it was Hummel's fault as they walked off the court...I guess.  Whatever it is, it's something to watch.  I don't think I've ever seen something like that on a Painter team.

In the closing minutes, it had the feel of the Butler game- Iowa looked fresh, motivated and quick, Purdue looked sluggish as if they were just gutting the game out.  And when Iowa's Gatens hit a three that made it a three point game with :49 seconds left, I had that not-so-confident feeling.  I'm positive that crept into the minds of the squad as well.

But as they had for much of the night, Purdue answered.  This time it was Barlow who finished close to the basket. He finished with a quiet 12 points, 2 rebounds and a steal...but played smart and tough for much of the game.  LewJack seemed to end most possessions on the floor. He struggled to stay in control at times and was clearly wincing at times.  He finished with 6 points and 4 assists; but turned it over 3 times.

Lawson started again as Marcius stayed home with the calf injury.  He finished with just four points, but had 5 rebounds...and as usual, foul concerns kept him out of the game- he only played 14 minutes.  Carroll played a quiet 17 minutes and looked more resolute at times, but had 0 rebounds. Ryne Smith struggled from behind the arc, going 1-5.  He finished with 5 points and 5 rebounds.  TJohn continued his frosty free throw shooting going 0-2.  I don't think it's going to change this season, but he must make free throws as he seems to be at his best in traffic...and that game will draw fouls.

Iowa is not a great team...but they're well coached; a lot like Butler.  Unlike the somewhat-friendly crowd at Conseco, there were no Purdue fans at this one and Purdue held on to a much-needed road win.  Purdue's ability to get good looks and drive made the difference in this one.  It's clear that the FT woes are here to stay, sadly.  I think the immense amount of points that our Boilers are leaving on the floor will mount up and sting badly as Hightower and Co. get into midseason form while the Boilers travel.

Next up, the Forces of Good return home for a New Year's Eve Celebration v. Illinois.  The party will be televised on EsPN2 at 4:00.  Everyone in attendance is invited to Burke's office for punch and to watch the ball drop.

Ugly Play Yields Yet Another Ugly Loss on Senior Day

Seven days ago, an inspired Purdue team played a physical and talented aOSU team even before putting the 'Nuts away in overtime.  After a week of (presumed) smiles, praise, sunshine, lollipops, flowers, fresh-baked cookies and sunshine being blown up their collective backsides, Bad Purdue showed up to lay an egg this week.

Iowa was already bowl eligible (somehow), but my eyes told me that this Hawkeye team wasn't very good. They made stupid plays like fumbling the ball inside the Purdue 10 after receiving a gift from the Boilers, giving Purdue a cheap TD, dropping interceptions that were in their chests, dropping open passes and were generally as sloppy as the weather around the game.

It was a chilly day in the high-40s/low-50s with intermittent spits of rain and gusty wind.  The wind affected the play on the field pushing Purdue to not kick or pass when going into the wind and forcing an attempted pooch by Wiggs to net 7 yards.  Wiggs also had an ill-advised near-fake in which he kicked the ball right into an Iowa defender. On top of that, Purdue had a botched fair catch kickoff that gave Iowa the ball.  So what had been rock solid for a few weeks, special teams, simply was awful...but they weren't the only ones.

If McNutt was Superman yesterday, Purdue left the kryptonite back in Mollenkopf

Last week, Purdue was sure-tackling and did a good job pressuring aOSU's mediocre Frosh QB.  This week, they gave Vanderberg weeks (it seemed) to sit back and find McNutt as he tormented Purdue's highly-touted, but seldom-productive corners.  But in their defense, how can you hold coverage for 5, 6, 7 seconds as one of the nation's best receivers just runs around the defensive backfield as if playing in the backyard.  But when they did pressure him, get this, it worked.

One of the few plays in which the front got to Iowa's QB, he kind of wet himself, fumbled the ball and Purdue got a gift of a TD as he was standing in his own endzone.  At the end of the half, it was 21-14, and it felt and looked like it should have been 28-7.

After watching Marve on this day in the first half, it was clear he was the better quarterback.  He was quicker on his feet, both literally and figuratively, he was shooting darts and playing with a chip on his shoulder.  Make no mistake about this- I like TerBus as a kid, but just don't think of him as a very capable quarterback...and I don't blame him for being what he is.  He's been out of high school for four years and has only shown he can manage a game an not screw up too badly...that's not a bad thing if the defense looks like aOSU's or Penn States...but this defense doesn't.  Thus you need a gun slinger.

But Hope came into the game with the idea that he hadn't seen anything in the previous contest that would make him switch starters.  Hmmm...guess I saw a different game last week.

No matter, even with the wind at their back, Nord was baking up a blend of screen passes, poorly-timed quarterback draws and ill-advised runs inside the tackle when Bolden was very effective on the outside, yet again.  Purdue didn't use any of its advantages of quickness by putting Bolden, Edison and Bush in one-on-one situations, but instead seemed stubborn and bull-headed to the point of never checking out of obvious bad play calls OR making any adjustments at half time that might have yielded results.

At the end of the day, Purdue had lost a 31-21. Furthermore, Purdue was not bowl eligible as they squandered the opportunity that was presented to them on a gleaming silver platter. So now, they're facing an unenviable situation of heading South to their rival who will be playing in their bowl game next week as they have only one win.  Sounds like an easy thing to do, right? Just beat one of the worst teams in the nation, and they'll put a choke hold on their only bowl bid in the last four years.  But, a home game versus a mediocre opponent after coming off of a big win would seem like a pretty good situation to be in too, right??

Purdue will play the depleted Hoosiers in Bloomington at 3:30 on BTN.  I can guarantee that Wilson will have a Santa-sized satchel full of tricks, treats and toys for the Purdue defense. And on the other side, who the hell knows what Hope, Nord and Emanuel will have prepared for the only team in the FBS without a win versus another FBS foe. But, after watching this week's game, I feel this coaching staff might be fighting to keep its job...actually, I hope so.  If not, Burke can put himself on the list, along with Hope, of employees on the athletic department's payroll who simply are not doing what they were hired to do.

Although I thought Purdue would lose this game, I was still in a foul mood afterwards, in spite of my BS counterpart being in town for his only game of the season.  Thanks Coach Hope for ruining my pal J's visit back to his alma mater.

Hardworking Hawkeyes Humble Boilers 67-65

Painful.

It was Senior Day at Carver Hawkeye Arena and only one player was honored, but he played inspired...and so did the rest of his team. Jarryd Cole has played well against the Boilers in the past- he did so last season, but this was his best game versus our Boilers. He finished with a team-leading 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawkeyes seemingly wanted to send Cole out in style...and they did by giving the beleaguered Hawkeye fans a reason to cheer in a rebuilding season.

All season, we had given Coach Fran and the Hawkeyes a ton of credit for being better than their record...sadly, we saw proof of their improvement at the worst-possible time.

On the 50/50 plays, Iowa won almost all of them. If the Hawkeyes needed a rebound...they got it. Fran's squad played like they were the ones looking to cinch up a high seed and close locale for the NCAA tourney...and their opponent acted as if grit and guts were optional on this Saturday evening.

Purdue's effort was atrocious. Its defense was uninspired and the effort on the glass was lax at best. Just as we ask for our favorite team to get credit when they hold a team down and force them into a game they don't want to play, Iowa deserves the credit. They made Purdue look un-Purdue like...and the fellas in the black uniforms better not miss this: Purdue is not talented enough top to bottom to not play as a cohesive unit.

Matty's boys pride themselves on being a team that has someone step up each contest in unexpected ways...there was none of that today. In fact, even the guys you expect big things from wilted and disappeared.

You look at the stats and might say, "No one was helping Jackson and Johnson." But the truth is everyone on Purdue failed at some point in this contest.

With over 13 minutes left, JJ had 20 points...he ended with 22. The shots that are typically-automatic for him weren't falling. His 12 boards and 2 blocks were good, but down the stretch with Purdue needed to grab one of Iowa's missed shots, he couldn't come up with the ball. Plus, the help defense that Purdue seems to funnel toward Johnson seemed to fail on the backside quite a few times in the game.

I liked what I saw from Jackson at times today. But, it was clear that the hand injury knocked him down a rung, at least for a portion of the second half. He didn't push the ball, which is critical in this system and Purdue got very few easy run outs. He finished with 13pts, 4reb, 4ast, 4stls, but it wasn't enough.

Byrd, Smith, TJohn, Hart and Moore finished 5-of-23 from behind the arc. It seemed that after Jackson, no one was willing to shoot anything inside of 20ft. 9in. But why? Once again, it was a lazy looking offense. In fact, with just over a minute left and Purdue down by 2, Purdue missed two threes, got both rebounds and looked like they were going to shoot another three...so Painter signaled for a timeout. After the timeout, Byrd shot and missed a 24 footer...I'm hoping Matty didn't draw that up.

Moore was on the bench for a long stretch (around 10:00) in the first half due to foul trouble, but he didn't do a whole bunch outside of his 13 points when given the opportunity. His usual ability to make his teammates better through rebounding and dealing the ball simply wasn't there as he finished with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 steal.

Barlow wasn't in sync either- he finished with 4 points, shot 2/5 from the stripe, had 2 turnovers, 0 assists and 3 fouls in his 14 minutes of action.

And Barlow wasn't the only one to struggle at the free throw line. Purdue shot an uncharacteristic 58.8% from the line and left at least 7 points on the floor. So even while getting whipped on the glass (47-32) and not coming up with hustle plays, they still could have won had they hit their free throws.

Purdue got exactly what it deserved in Iowa City: A loss. But now, the fallout and ramifications of this loss will probably be pretty severe. Judging by what we've seen the past few years, people will more than likely remember this game, not the 7 wins in a row that led up to it. This upset was the front story on EsPN.com, and rightfully so...and it'll probably be at the forefront of the tourney committee's minds a week from today unless Purdue does something to erase the memory.

On Twitter people were asking if this loss is an important, and possibly-positive moment, for this team. We don't know that, and really, we can't say what it is in the long view for weeks. After the game JJ reiterated this point by saying,

"A lot of people will say it's a bad loss, but it's a matter of how we respond to it to see if we can turn it into a good loss."

But, right now, it stinks. Painter often says that teams don't play "on edge" enough as their winning...and that definitely was the case today. Everyone from the coaches to the players did not take the Hawkeyes seriously and because of that, Purdue's standing the college basketball world is now much different than it was this morning. Hopefully they regain the chip on their collective shoulder that made them great in the month of February.

Imposters of Purdue Players Removed at Halftime; Regulars Return in Second Half to Beat Hawks 67-56

I volunteered to write this article as the blog’s moderators are occupied with much more important business. As an alumni and current grad student (I’m in my 9th year at Purdue) I couldn’t wait to share my thoughts on the Boilers’ huge blowout, Robbie’s new free-throw record, and the debut of freshman big man Sandi Marcius. Unfortunately, I only get to discuss one thanks to a lackluster first 20 minutes.

Seriously, who were those guys in the first half? I mean the defense was fine. I’ll take 27 points allowed per half all year. However, the offense was sputtering (11-30 in first half) to yield only 26 points and Purdue’s reputation of starting slow continues (see Tennessee, Wake Forest, Alabama, and SIU-E games).

In all honesty, it really just came down to shooting. Other than the first eight minutes or so, it wasn’t that bad. Purdue was just 3-14 during this stretch, including 0-4 from deep. Meanwhile, the Hawks were 6-10 and 3-4 from the arc. I went back and watched this portion of the game, and nothing stood out as being that bad. Purdue was playing hard, most of the shots they took were good shots, and many of the made Hawkeye baskets were challenged or difficult shots that just happened to go in.

Something clicked after that first eight minutes, and especially after halftime. I don’t know if the guys had West Virginia in the back of their minds to start the game, Coach Painter ripped them at halftime, or it was just the law of averages evening things out, but the Boilers scorched the nets in the second half, shooting over 65 percent.

In the end, Purdue ended up above their season averages from the field and the three-point line, and this game just goes to show that the defense will keep the Boilers in games regardless of their offensive performance. Painter has never seemed too concerned about shooting woes, but let’s hope Purdue starts off Friday where they ended against the Hawks and forgets the first half.

Double digit conference road wins are good no matter the opponent, so let’s not be too critical of the boys and just enjoy the winning streak.

A few random thoughts:

• Congrats to Rob on his free-throw streak record. He made his first four of the game (before missing two in a row) to set the Purdue record at 36 in a row. Jerry Sichting hit 34 in a row during the 1978-79 season. If the time gap holds true, one of my sons should break Rob’s record in about 2040.
  
  
• With JJ in foul trouble during the first half, E’Twaun and Rob were their usual productive selves. They combined for 37 points, 15 boards, 4 steals, and 4 assists.
  
  
• Too bad Marcius didn’t get any action tonight. I was hoping the game would be well in hand with 5-10 minutes in the second half and he would get some playing time, but it was not to be. I can’t imagine him seeing much action against WVU, but the Mountaineers have a talented slew of forwards and he could be valuable if JJ or Bade get in foul trouble.
  
  
• Although Marcius missed the game, Bade continues to improve. Through the first ten games, he would usually only infuriate me. However, the last two games he has really impressed. He only played 8 minutes against the Hawks, but had 5 points and a very nice block in the first half.
  
  
• I have been cheering for West Virginia to win so they would come to Mackey undefeated, and they have needed all my support lately. Three of their last four games have been decided by two points or less or in overtime. They needed a last second shot against Cleveland State to win by two, blew a big lead against Seton Hall but prevailed in overtime, and stole a win they didn’t deserve at home against Marquette thanks to some missed free throws and an awesome fade away 20-footer from Da’Sean Butler. The matchup of undefeated teams is set for New Year’s Day. With only a portion of the Paint Crew in attendance on Friday due to Christmas break, all you alumni with season tickets better be screaming your heads off with me and maybe even stand up once in a while. Let’s make Mackey crazy and BTFU!
  

--Guest Posted by David Stewart

Boilers Win Rockfight in Iowa City

It's probably a good thing that I don't have the Big Ten Network and thus was not able to physically see the ugly 49-45 win the Boilers pulled off today at Iowa. The good news is that the Boilermakers shot 46% from the field and held on for the win. The bad news is their 3-pt shooting was a sad 19%.

Smooge shot a solid 50% and had a double-double with 16 points and ten boards. The Ostrich played 24 minutes but only was 1-7 from the field and finished with two points. Not good.

Good news also was Bobby Buckets getting some minutes in this one. While he didn't have the same kind of game as against PSU, more minutes for Riddell means others are getting rested a bit.

Enjoy that pic of the Hawkeyes and Boilers unis because it's probably the last time you're going to see them. As Boilerdowd detailed yesterday, Purdue is expected to debut their new duds on Tuesday night against MSU at Mackey. Speaking of that, the Boilers have now closed to within two games of Michigan State, with Illinois effectively ahead of the Boilermakers despite the same record (thanks to their sweep of Purdue). A win Tuesday would be huge, not only for keeping the conference race close, but also for this team's confidence.

Curious as to other takes on today's game since I could only listen to some of it and haven't seen it yet.

Goodbye Gordon & Boilers Become Bowl Eligible

I started off my Saturday at Mackey Arena where I heard the bad news of Gordon Watt's bone-headed move on early-Friday morning. For those of you who don't know it, Purdue PF, Gordon Watt was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. As a result, Matt Painter kicked him off of the team. I'm not sure if Watt will be back next year for his final year of eligibility or not, but this is a pretty big loss to Purdue.

Hats off to Painter for holding Watt accountable. Watt had been warned that any further offenses would result in him being booted...I hope the party was enjoyable and the Goose was good, because Gordon's team now has to deal with his insurrections.

Onto the good news- Purdue's basketball team, while young, is talented. Along with probably 2-3,000 other Purdue fans, I got to watch the Baby Boilers practice. Kramer is once again silky smooth and seems to shoot better than he did last season. Both Martin and Hummel seem to be able to shoot from about anywhere and are good defenders. Calasan will create match-up problems with his range. Moore wasn't as impressive as I thought he'd be...I don't know if he was off, but he wasn't controlling the drills as I would have liked to have seen. JaJuan Johnson looks like he has big upside, but is simply too slight to be able to complete at a high-level for the coming season...this is where Watt's loss will hurt the worst- It will force Johnson to play more than he probably should be this early in his career.

Without Watt, I'm a bit less-optimistic about our Boilers' season, but still have a lot of positive thoughts for what's to come down the road. I am also very hopeful that Purdue can snag Tyler Zeller (who looks like the most thin human being this side of Kenya, in person). His size would help out next year.


Convincing Win


J, Tim & I all discussed the remainder of the season at length Friday night. We all were in agreement- Purdue could lose out and Purdue could win out...and neither were really out of the realm of possibility. We all believe a win on the road versus Penn State seems to be a stretch (to say the least)...so I guess winning double-digit games for the first time in nearly 30 years would be more shocking. But, Purdue started the last third of the season the right way, Saturday and our Boilers are once again bowl eligible for the 11th time in 12 seasons. Here's to not settling on just good-enough.

Despite the fact that the offense started a bit slow, Tiller's team beat an over-matched Iowa team easily at Ross-Ade. A defensive line that really hasn't put pressure on any opponent all season was in Christensen's face all afternoon. While Christensen is extremely mobile, he is simply not that great of a quarterback, at this point in his career. That said, I counted three dropped passes...in the first possession alone by Hawkeye receivers. Iowa had some pretty big run plays, but Purdue's lead forced Iowa to completely go away from the run in the second half.

Dorien Bryant made some extremely impressive catches and nearly made up for the big smelly eggs he had laid versus both tOSU and UM in previous weeks. Even Selwyn Lymon caught some balls. Painter, despite one very ugly interception managed the game well, especially in the second half. Coach Legg called a good game too; the offense really mixed it up well, running inside & outside, passing underneath, in the flat outside and vertically. All that said, I was most impressed with Jaycen Taylor. Taylor is clearly Superman, but also makes Sheets much better as he presses him to be better. On one play, in fact, Sheets could have stepped out of bounds, but decided to lower his shoulder and knock a DB on his arse and get the extra yardage. He simply doesn't run that way when Taylor's not in his rear-view mirror.

So, was anybody surprised? Tiller continued his dominance over sub-.500 teams...as did Painter. A few real tests lie ahead in the form of Northwestern, Michigan State, Penn State & IU (both on the road). Before the season, many, myself included, thought UND, OSU, UM & Iowa would be the toughest four-game stretch of the season. Turns out, the next four will truly be that stretch. There is still plenty to prove for Purdue.

After the game a couple of things impressed me- First, Joe Tiller showed a bit of fire when dealing with the media following a question that he didn't like...and moreso, I really liked Terrill Vinson's answer to a question. He was asked if becoming bowl eligible took any pressure off the team. He answered (and I'm paraphrasing),

"A lot of Big Ten teams are bowl eligible...so we still have work to do. Our goal isn't to just go to a bowl, it's to win 10 games."

What???? A big goal?

I am extremely pleased that while Tiller isn't mentioning anything but consistency & smaller goals to the media, he's talking about big, difficult goals to the team. Purdue needs to get 10-wins this season to have momentum going into next year. Hopefully, the players and coaches alike believe they can beat all remaining opponents.