Rubber Match...and other notes

I feel this way about our Boilers- they don't fear anybody...almost to a fault. With the exception of Duke this season, no team has been able to intimidate Purdue...and when Purdue plays teams that have previously beaten them, they seem to play harder, more aggressively and generally more-focused (read as except Illinois).

So, when Purdue soundly-beat PSU after losing in Happy Valley, I wasn't surprised- so how will this evening's contest go? My thought is this- Purdue, in spite of backing into the tournaments, in spite of playing with great lethargy is in a quite-enviable position. There are no expectations on our Boilers, very few teams fear Purdue, and everyone's healthy. Plus, I've always liked Matt Painter as a motivator against teams that have beaten his teams (except Illinois)...He seems to know the buttons to push to motivate his young squad into pissing them off enough that they play with a chip on their shoulder.

My brother and I have both coached some grade school and high school basketball. We always like to think about what we'd do to prepare a team in a similar situation. If I was in Matty's shoes, here's what I'd do- Tell the world how great this team is...Pull a Lou Holtz, "No one can guard Talor Battle, Pringle is the 2 in the nation, Cornley is a brutal force that is unstoppable..." etc.

But in the locker room, I might say things differently. I'd first show them the score of the game in Happy Valley saying, "If you don't respect them and play well, you're capable of losing to these guys..." But I'd follow it up by saying, "But, you're better than they are. If you guys play hard, know your roles and play team basketball, this opponent simply will not beat you. Let's remind everybody who we are."

But, I'm not the coach, I'm just a dude who cares too much about Purdue basketball and gets paid nothing to do it...I'm looking forward to watching the game on BTN tonight at 9:00, but would gladly go with someone if they want to give me tickets!!

NYC
If you were watching the 'Cuse/UConn game last night in the second half, I'm pretty sure you were like me and couldn't stop watching it. The simple fact that it was so back-and-fourth and the Orange(men) were about .05 seconds too late on an improbable last-second shot made it tough to turn away from. But, one of the most interesting parts of the game was the fact that no one in MSG seemed to be enjoying themselves except the EsPN crew. Fans, coaches and players all seemed to be in pain...Granted, the players were probably cramping up and felt lead-footed as the extra stanza repeated 6 times, but the crumudgeon Calhoun and whiny Boeheim really didn't help their players outlook with their body language. It was astounding to me how Flynn, who played 67 minutes still seemed to have spring in his step, even in the closing seconds.

I remember this one time, back when I wasn't fat and was young, I ran for 67 seconds...those were the days.

Greatest Game?
The greatest game is a completely-subjective moniker thrown around too often, but last night's contest would definitely be in the discussion of many college basketball fans. That said, part of what makes a game great is when it happens, where it happens and versus whom.

I started thinking about what some of Purdue's greatest games were. The first one that popped in my mind was in Ass Hall when Chad Austin shot a dagger into the heart of Knight's Hoosiers in OT...but one of my favorites was Purdue v. Illinois in Champaign in 1986 (I believe). Doug Lee kept Purdue alive in regulation and ended up winning the game improbably in double OT. It's memorable to me because I was in 6th grade...and in spite of the game ending so late, my Dad let me stay up and watch it with he and my older brother.

So, in your opinion, what's the greatest Purdue basketball game...or greatest basketball game you've ever seen?

PSU Preview

Some of you might have figured this out, but here's the deal. We wear our emotions on our sleeves here. When the build-up for a game is big, we try to weigh in on it before tip-off. Honestly though, if we're in the dumps, or just "meh" about it, it's harder to do.

This evening's early game is one of the latter.

Purdue is in the thick of a log jam at second place in the Big Ten, a game ahead of tonight's opponent. The Lions are a good team, but don't lead the league in any statistical category. They shoot and defend the three very well...this is probably a direct result of the fact that they have the best guard tandem in the league in Battle and Pringle. On top of those two guards, Cornley is in the top-10 in the league in scoring and rebounding, and in the top-5 in FG percentage. So they have talent.

But, they don't seem to do the little things that successful teams do- the biggest being hit free throws. Much like the very good Clemson team in the ACC, PSU simply leaves too many points on the floor. And the last time Purdue played PSU we saw the results of that. PSU couldn't put Purdue away because of poor free throw shooting and sloppy ball-handling.

All that said, without Hummel, we as Purdue fans simply don't know what we're going to get just yet. Life without Robbie has been, let's be honest, not good. And it sounds like the Ostrich might be sitting yet again, but is a game time decision. I'd love to tell you that a game at home is nearly automatic for our Boilers, but it's not. Painter's guys have lost two at home this season, and have struggled in some of the wins. So, nothing is easy to predict, at this point.

As we told you following the aOSU OT loss, our Boilers have been consistent in their W/L pattern this season. Purdue has now had three two-game loss streaks that were led by an overtime loss...then following each of the first two, they rattled off 6-straight victories. I'm not saying that's going to happen because they looked so ragged and tired v. Illinois; but I wouldn't bet against them. In fact, I wouldn't bet- I'm not a betting man, so you shouldn't take your wagering advice from me.

Tonight's tip-off at Mackey is at the unusual early BTN slot of 6:30...I look for Smooge to break out of his most recent slump, and Purdue to start another win streak...this time sans Hummel.

Pollsters close to getting it right and other painful notes

Purdue checks in at #14 in both polls this week. That is almost where I'd put them if I had a vote. I'd have Purdue between 15 & 18 based on what I've seen so far...when everybody's healthy. That said, things aren't promising right now.

As expected by many, both Hummel and Kramer are still on the mend with back and knee problems, respectively...and will both be unavailable in Happy Valley. So where does that leave us?

Well, in a bit of a pickle actually.

Purdue has gone (barely) 10 deep on the bench in most games this season. Losing two is costly. Here's what it'll probably look like on Tuesday:

Jackson
Grant
Moore
Riddell
Smith
Green
Johnson
Calasan

PSU no longer missing the Crispin bros.

The Big Ten network and other sources have called PSU's backcourt the best in the conference...for good reason. Battle is averaging nearly 19pts., 6reb. & 5ast. Pringle averages nearly 15pts., 2.6reb. and 3ast. While Grant's defense has been OK this season, we know he can slow down one of these two...the second be defended by Jackson, who's a solid defender, but Moore and Riddell both have problems on the defensive end. Kramer's absence will be felt. The Lions' third leading scorer, Cornley will be guarded by Green/Johnson and Calasan in rotation...Hummel will be missed here. Plus, outside of Hummel, no one on Purdue's team has averaged more than 5.5 reb/gm this season. Green, Calasan and Johnson will have to attack the glass in order to fill the chasm left on the boards by the Ostrich.

Purdue will need to see both Moore playing the way he was a month ago and the two-headed monster of Calasan/Johnson must get back into rhythm to avoid and 0-2 start. One of the things I'd really like to see is Marcus Green not looking for his shot and instead focusing on defense and rebounding as he seems to play about six inches taller than his actual height.

All that said, I think Grant's play might be the deciding factor, when he's playing well, he creates very tough match-ups...And honestly, I don't expect to see Keaton shooting like last season, but I do hope to see him playing smarter than he has this season.

The shallow bench and long road trip will be a good test of this team's grit...hopefully the record doesn't show the scars after this contest.


(is it me, or is this one of the most-injured basketball teams in the nation during the past two seasons?)

Love Ya Lions!

Purdue welcomes one of the nation's best this Saturday...and much of the Purdue fanbase is energized by what we saw last week! The Nittany Lions are a good team, but I don't think they're the juggernaut that their creampuff-fueled stats might indicate. PSU fans are confident, if not cocky that the Lions will route the wounded Boilers...What do we think?

J Says:

We've turned the corner, gone off the cliff, the wheels have come off, whatever euphemism you want to use. Maybe the mood isn't as dark in the Purdue locker room, but when homers like me are done with the team, it's pretty much over.

We've watched this program for too damn long to think anything could possibly be different this year. As has been documented, when was the last time Purdue beat a ranked team? Even at home?? PSU is ranked 6 in the country! We're screwed!

As I've said before, the talent disparity isn't what you might think. PSU is good, sure, but they've played nobody until Illinois and they trailed multiple times, including in the second half. So they're not as bulletproof as their fans think they are. But this Purdue team, I'm sorry to say, has no heart. If they did, they'd contend in this game and it would have a chance to be like the Oregon game. But after last week's uninspired performance (esp by the D) I have zero faith.

I was talking to Boilerdowd this week and I said that with the talent level that Purdue has (granted, not upper echelon, but still good), we should be able to scare teams, at the very least. Penn State is unbeated and highly-ranked and has their eyes on the prize. Coming into our house, against a veteran coach, against a senior QB, etc.... this should be SCARY for them. This should be a "watch out for them" game. Sure they should be favored, and they should win... but they should at least be worried about us the way USC used to worry about playing Cal a few years ago.

But here's the sad thing: We're nothing to be worried about. This isn't a trap game for PSU, because even if they don't bring their top effort, how much could they possibly be losing by at halftime? Two touchdowns (generously)? And is there anyone among us who doesn't think we'll give that right back?

Winning this game would go a long way towards restoring some credibility to our season and restoring a modicum of our faith in this season's team. But I don't see it happening. I think we're done. And the death spiral is just beginning.

PSU 48

Purdue 17

Tim Says:

This one is going to be a real stinker. The offense sucks. The defense sucks. The kicker suddenly sucks. The whole sucky team just sucks.

Penn State begins it's Willie Nelson stretch. They're on the road again for 4 out of the next 5 games. The up side? PSU is 9-16 on the road since the start of the 2003 season. The down side? They own Painter and the rest of the Boilers. In three career games against Penn State, all Purdue losses, Painter has not thrown a touchdown pass in 104 attempts.

My prediction?

PSU 38
Purdue 20

boilerdowd says:

There are a lot of numbers we could look at this week...Tiller's 2-9 v. JoePa during his career. Painter has never beaten a ranked team, home or away, as a starter. Purdue's overall defense is 107th, Penn State's offense is 9th. Conversely, Purdue's offense is a less-painful 42nd (passing 21st), but PSU's defense is 14th. And the most painful is the one you'll hear about next week too- Purdue is 0-15 in their last 15 games versus ranked opponents. This doesn't look good on paper...and the gut feeling, for me is no better.

Prior to last week's UND game, I watched MSU play IU...I wasn't impressed with much other than the fact that MSU wears teams out...right before kickoff in South Bend, because of what I knew about UND's previous games, I thought Purdue would win the game. I was way off. The quotes coming out of West Lafayette aren't encouraging either. Players and coaches alike talked about how they simply weren't "up" for the Irish. If you can't be emotionally ready for a rival coached by one of your coach's least favorite people, why would you be ready for a team that is coached by one of your coach's pals and simply owns you? Sure, it's at home, and "Shout" will be getting RA crunk, but that might not even be enough (sarcasm, in case you couldn't detect it).

Last year, Tiller was robbed of his last chance to beat JoePa by officiating...this year, it won't be close enough for it to matter.

The old adage "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" seems poignant here. JoePa doesn't know how to lose big games...JoeT doesn't know how to win them (anymore).

PSU 34
Purdue 17

What You Said:
56% of you homers thought Purdue would win this game coming into the season...0% of the BS staff agrees with you...We'll see what happens Saturday.

Damnit, prove us wrong. We'll all be there this week in 119...Longing to tell a new tale of victory and the heros that made it possible...

To Your Call Once More We Rally;
Alma Mater Hear Our Praise.
Where The Wabash Spreads Its Valley;
Filled With Joy Our Voices Raise.
From The Skies In Swelling Echoes
Come The Cheers That Tell The Tale
Of Your Vict'ries And Your Heros,
Hail Purdue! We Sing All Hail!

Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
All Hail To Our Old Gold And Black!
Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
Our Friendship May She Never Lack.
Ever Grateful, Ever True,
Thus We Raise Our Song Anew;
Of The Days We've Spent With You,
All Hail Our Own Purdue!

Spoilermakers?? Not a Chance.

The label of Spoilermaker became pretty popular in the Burtnett, Akers and Colletto years simply because no one really every expected Purdue to win...so when the did, it spoiled some unexpected team's afternoon and maybe even their season.

Now, expectations are back to being low, how low? Hear what Joe Tiller had to say about last week's effort v. UND:

"I told our team at halftime, 'Fellas you couldn't be in a more enviable position. You're sitting here at 14-all and could be up, but your not. Lets go out there and get up on them like we're capable of doing.' I thought I would get a great big, 'Yea,' but I got more like an, 'OK.'"


"After watching the tape on Sunday, I can understand why they were of that mood," Tiller explained. "Even though we were in the football game and actually were in position to be ahead in the football game, they were getting knocked around pretty good, they were getting manhandled pretty good in the first half so I could see why maybe at halftime they weren't quite sure how much more they had in them if they had to go out on the field and had to stay on the field. Of course, that's exactly what happened to us.”

So, Joe asked a few years ago for fans to manage their expectations. Now, he's got what he wants...no one has any expectations of his squad...not his players, not his coaches, not even himself. He got his record, smoked his victory cigar, what more does he have to prove, right?

I think regardless of how this season goes, Tiller will be remembered by the majority of the super-soft Purdue fanbase as one of the great coaches, if not the all-time greatest...I don't agree with the idea that this season doesn't affect his legacy.

He decided to leave the cupboard pretty baren following this season; he had faith in this team during camp...it's time to show why. Afterall, it gets even harder next week.

Painful But Imperative Rebuilding Process
Tiller doesn't like the idea of rebuilding, clearly. He came in and won right away with the group that Colletto couldn't seem to win too many games with. Then the Boilers got even better as a few recruits came in. But, after the Rose Bowl, Purdue probably should have focused on rebuilding toward another great team instead of accepting just another bowl game. Tiller wanted to go to a bowl game, no matter how lousy, each season. Now, it looks like the program is finally going to need to be rebuilt next season.

A watered-down spread offense with very few weapons remaining and a defense that hasn't been the aggressor in five years is what '09 looks like. Coach Hope has a tough road ahead of him in his first season as head coach. Not only does he have to pick up the pieces of three or four poor recruiting off-seasons, but also needs to re-install a sense of discipline and accountability among the team.

The system, the attitudes and the overall culture of Purdue football desperately needs an overhaul.

My Sources Say...
Here's what Purdue football has become, according to a few people close to the program.

Young players are afraid of Tiller...he's always quiet, doesn't raise his voice, doesn't talk a lot; and the young guys are worried about what he's thinking and how he's going to punish those who step out of line.

Conversely, the older players have seen that the coach won't discipline guys that have been arrested or have been involved in conduct detrimental to the team...So many of them take it easy. In fact, I'm told some players simply don't practice as the seasons wear on. As a result, team unity is pretty lousy because these vets aren't punished for their lack of effort and instead, are rewarded with starting roles or significant playing time...while a guy buried in the depth chart who busts his hump barely sees the field.

If this is what the program's become, it's sad...but it also makes a great deal of sense. As I talked about a few days ago, individual players and the greater program no longer seems to move forward from year to year.

Tiller came into Purdue and held Chike Okeafor accountable for his actions...and made him earn his way back onto the team. This showed who was running the show and earned immediate respect from the team. Keep in mind, Okeafor was one of the only members of the Purdue defense to have received accolades coming into the '97 season...his class and previous accomplishments didn't matter...there was one standard and he had to live up to it.

It's going to be hard for this Purdue team to turn around what we've seen so far. The culture of "you only have to win by one" and "never too high, never too low" is deeply engrained in the captains and Seniors. My hope is that someone is given enough latitude that they can smack their team mates around and bring this underachieving group back to life...It's not probable, but it is possible. I'm still holding out for Hope's sake.