Advantage: Hoosiers
by BoilerTMill on Feb 4, 2012 11:25 PM EST
in Men's Basketball
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PrintLike a tennis official, the advantage in this bitter rivalry has shifted back to Bloomington. After dominating the series for almost four years our time on top is over until we work to get it back. It is hard to deny it after tonight, either. Rivalries are made to have the tide turn, however. it means it is now our turn to bide our time to get back on top.
In a game full of critical plays it is hard to pick just one that lost it. In fact, what lost it was Purdue's maddening inability to combine the times where its defense is working with the time its offense is working. Still, there was a chance with 2:23 left when Robbie Hummel got a steal and kicked it ahead to Lewis Jackson. We were down only four and on a break to cut it to two, but credit needs to be given to Will Sheehey for zipping back on defense. Instead of pulling back out, LewJack attacked, missed the basket, and IU came up with the loose ball.
Despite everything, a basket there is huge and puts the pressure on Indiana like in their loss to Nebraska. Unlike in that loss, the Hoosiers got better. Christian Watford got the rebound and was fouled. He hit a pair of free throws, Remy Abell hit a dagger of a three, and the game was over as Purdue fell apart, again. What could have been a close game, if not an improbable win, ballooned to an ugly 17 point loss as the Boilers suffered death by papercuts from the free throw line at the end.
Really, this game was the same old story. Purdue went long stretches without being able to hit a jump shot. Purdue could not get a stop in the critical first five minutes of the second half, either given up a basket or bailing Indiana out with a foul late in the shot clock. Now, what has been a frustrating season is spiraling away from the NCAA Tournament.
A ton of credit needs to be given to Indiana, who went out and won this game. They were the ones that got better when it mattered. Purdue had no answer for Victor Oladipo even though Cody Zeller was contained for the most part. Zeller still made plays when he needed to, however. In a way, Indiana won this game by doing what Purdue prides itself on. Their defense made Lewis Jackson a complete non-factor. They got after every loose ball and made every shot difficult. They hit key baskets when they needed to and Zeller was a defensive stalwart protecting the rim.
They didn't even beat us in the way I expected they would. If you had told me before the game Indiana would only take 10 three-pointers and hit three of them I'd think it was an easy win for Purdue. Instead, The Hoosiers shredded Purdue's defense by driving to the basket with Oladipo, getting critical offensive rebounds, and getting to the free throw line.
Basically, they did everything Purdue should be doing, and they were the better, tougher team tonight. Period. Yes, the officiating was questionable at best for most of the night, but that still doesn't change that Indiana was the better team. They earned this win by doing exactly what they needed to do to beat Purdue, and Purdue did itself no favors by once again having a disjointed offense that couldn't hit open jump shots and by failing to make plays defensively. It was odd to see the team in red playing the style of basketball we're used to playing, but that's what happened. It's also incredibly frustrating when you're sitting there in person.
Once again, I am not sure what is wrong with this team. People are questioning Matt Painter, and he deserves some of it, but Painter isn't missing shots. Painter isn't missing free throws. I think it is clear the talent is there because guys like Terone Johnson, Anthony Johnson, D.J. Byrd, and others are solid recruits. It is simply not meshing as it has in the past five seasons. It has made for a terribly frustrating season that manifested itself in nearly every aspect tonight. The only time we felt totally in control was when Ryne Smith score the opening basket. In a way, it was a lot like the 2008 Duke game, where a great atmosphere in the arena was quickly spoiled by a good, but awfully flawed team. It's been so frustrating it has been personally wearying.
All we can do now is move forward, however. We have a very difficult game at Ohio State next, then the schedule eases up a bit. The goal is still to make the NCAA tournament and it is a very attainable goal, but it is also a goal that took a major hit tonight.
So, Boiler fans, tip your cap to the Hoosiers. They are better than us right now. All that means is that we have a little more work to do.
P.S. My apologies for the game thread going all wonky. I won't load video from that site again. A Medal of Reasonableness will be presented to doublegoldandblack for his efforts in fixing it, because we all know the Open Thread issues made a bad night worse.
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Say what you want about the officials
But IU wanted this win more. The telling stat was the rebounds. Rebounding is so much about effort and fighting for position, and we were out-rebounded by 15.
The highlight of the night was Lawson’s steal and dunk. I want more of that in the next few years.
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Senior All-American Alto Sax
THISTHISTHISTHISTHIS
It also showed up in a lack of focus in running the offense and playing effective defense.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
by Boiler Bandsman on Feb 4, 2012 11:36 PM EST up reply actions
Out-rebounded by 15 is bad, but
considering we were playing Robbie at the 5 against Zeller b/c the officials decided to call any touches on Zeller a foul. What do you expect? Surprisingly, Robbie actually played Zeller reasonably well, but we are really playing out of position.
No excuse about the loss (we didn’t hit our FT or FG), but I wouldn’t conclude IU wanted the game more just based on rebounding.
I would...
The biggest example of this? Jordan Hulls running from across the court to chase down a rebound miss from Christian Watford, saving it… and IU getting a shot from Sheehy. You could tell IU wasn’t scared, in fact they were more hungry to win at mackey. Compare that to Purdue… WHO STILL HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO ON OFFENSE… but it’s really not their fault, all their games have been scouted out extensively. They either drive all the way in.. or they shoot threes. Next 3 games will be interesting
To your call once more we rally...
Purdue missed 50 (!) shots last night
IU missed 32. You would expect IU to have more rebounds.
Giving up 12 offensive rebounds on 32 misses while only getting 13 on your own 50 misses is bad though.
I was using rebound as a single example
There were obviously other factors.
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Senior All-American Alto Sax
Our Defense
We just couldn’t contain the dribbler, and our defense couldn’t turn them over. Plus our offense in the first half couldn’t shoot and people were driving toward the basket out of control.
Decision making and cohesiveness
just not there tonight. Playing as a team has been a struggle all year, but I thought Lewjack especially made some poor decisions with the ball tonight. Felt like he was forcing his drive when it wasn’t there. The steal TMill referred to should’ve been kicked out to a wide open Ryne… who probably would’ve missed, that’s all he does lately.
This makes me sick, analyzing specific plays. I can see the individual talent and heart, I just rarely see it all working together.
by BoilerGOZ on Feb 4, 2012 11:48 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
I am fine with him taking the shot though
If he hits it the roof blows off and it tightens the sphincter of IU with 2 minutes left.
A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance
HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog
The problem was he jumped away from Sheehey
in turn giving him room to elevate and block the shot. If he goes right to the rim Sheehey has to go threw him to get to the ball.
by jack'sIUdisdain on Feb 7, 2012 4:59 PM EST up reply actions
There were so many disappointing aspects about this game.
So many, that it isn’t really worth going into heavy detail about any of them. We got beat. Badly.
I’ve tried to stick with this team for as long as possible, but, honestly, I really don’t see them coming back from this one. At this point, I’d say move on to next season and hope that the incoming recruits can turn things around. Go Boilers, better luck next season.
Way to be a the fan...
backing out on your team with almost half the conference season to play yet.
I understand its going to be tough for the team to finish strong, but our job as fans is to root on THIS team, THIS year. Next year we root on next year’s team.
by mfennema on Feb 4, 2012 11:55 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
I'm not saying that I'm completely abandoning this team for the rest of the year.
Not to worry, I’ll still be at every game cheering on the Boilers as much as I ever have. I’m just saying that in terms of expectations, I’m being realistic in thinking that this team is probably going to the NIT this year and won’t really have a chance to make a deep tourney run.
I thought I was watching the volleyball team when it came to the rebounding
I swear, our players swatted the ball more times than Ariel Turner attacks per game. I don’t know how they think swatting will help, because it just ends up in the hands of the opponents every-damn-time.
Grab the ball and control it.
Volleyball Correspondent for Hammer and Rails
BTFU or GTFO
Especially
When it’s going out of bounds! So many times Purdue let it go out without grabbing the ball. Then IU gets it.
This.
I was shocked by how many times we watched the ball roll out of bounds tonight after we had clearly been the last to touch it.
I don't care what it was that cost us the game.
I HATE the fuckers from Bloomington and losing this game sucks.
I hope no one else is getting the ad at the top I am getting
It is an homage ad for IU memorabilia.
UGH! even my own site has it out for me today.
A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance
HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog
Not me
I’ve got an ad for Valentine’s personalized M&Ms…
Damn Ted Valentine!
"The goal remains the same"
by TimeToPlayHard on Feb 5, 2012 2:19 PM EST up reply actions
Nope. Headphone ad
They must know me pretty well because I’ve been on a headphone shopping craze lately.
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Senior All-American Alto Sax
I'm getting an ad for DeVry University which is a better school than IU.
Not sure if DeVry has a basketball team, though.
by GeorgiaBoiler on Feb 5, 2012 1:58 AM EST up reply actions
I think I got the best one
“Find your foreign husband,” it says.
And I’m a dude. A straight one, at that.
[Note: I live outside the US]
by septimusharding on Feb 5, 2012 4:38 AM EST up reply actions
this team has been the least 'purdue' team i can remember in a long time
we are known for toughness and outworking the opponent. any excuse you give, this team is soft. iu outplayed us on every hustle play. it seems painter has run out of options on how toget these guys going
Saw someone write that
Purdue is the only B1G team without a win against a ranked opponent this year. That true? If so, that’s embarrassing
Illinois was ranked when PSU beat them...
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
"We have the Cannon, the Bucket, the Little Caesar's Bowl trophies, and I'm pretty sure the Nation's Best Kick-Off Team Trophy as well to put in our trophy case" --Purdue Coach Danny Hope
by carmen_fanzone on Feb 5, 2012 7:28 AM EST up reply actions
As much as I hate to say this...
Iu is just the better team this year. I love my Boilers and always will but I think their talent is a little better. We’ve been spoiled the past few years with Smooge and JJ. We just have to realize this is a different team.
Can we make it to the tournament? I believe we can but we have to start playing flawless and up to the capabilities we are able to. If we do this I think we can be a team no one wants to play.
by IUPUI_BoilerUp on Feb 5, 2012 1:13 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Good comment
but the problem is if we can’t play up to our capabilities by now and come out this flat for a rivalry game after a week off, what evidence besides wishful thinking is there that suddenly we’re just going to click and get everything in gear. I love Purdue basketball and will always root for them and I know losing J.J. and Moore would hurt, but this team appears to lack chemistry and the passion that previous Painter teams have had. I hate losing to IU at home and thankfully it hasn’t happened too often, but this team seems different than previous teams and it’s not just the talent or the win-loss differential. I hope they come together and make a run, but nothing I’ve seen so far this season makes me confident that they will.
Lack of a true big man
Has truly killed us in my opinion. We get decent d out of Carroll, Chooch, and Lawson but that’s about it. Their rebounding production is way lower than I’d like to see. The thing that really kills us is not having a big that can be a low post threat.
Our team has become way too outside oriented. We have capable shooters but we aren’t hitting shots. Our “motion” offense just doesn’t fit our team in my opinion. I would love to see Painter shake it up in this last part of the month. Let the team run the break and play a high tempo offense.
by IUPUI_BoilerUp on Feb 5, 2012 1:48 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
NCAA a goal?
Given that we have yet to beat a ranked team, our RPI is over 50, we have two bad losses, and we can’t seem to win even at home…. How are we making the NCAA?
Looking at our remaining schedule:
Optimistically I see 4 wins (NW, @Illinois, Neb, PSU)
Realistically I see 2 wins (Neb, PSU) with a good shot at a 3rd (NW – we only beat them by 2).
Odds are, we finish with 18 wins, if we’re hopeful, 19. Even if we win one more in the BTT, how is our 20 wins worth the tourney? We’re a crappy road team, a soft home team, and we haven’t done much over the year other than to fail to impress again and again.
I think it’s time to be realistic and realize that we’re not NCAA bound. As frustrating as this team has been, it will be even more frustrating if you don’t accept what they are. We have been sitting on the bubble for a bit now, and this loss probably pushes us off it.
The B1G is so strong though
If we can beat at least one of the ranked teams left and finish with 19 or 20 wins, and then get one in the BTT we will still probably get in.
Not to say we will really deserve it or do anything there, but we can still get in.
Can't be off the bubble this early,
though I agree with your assessment in general. 18 regular season wins, no NCAA, barring a BTT tourney run. 19 wins, NCAA still iffy; probably need one BTT win to be safely in. 20 wins, I think we’re in, regardless of BTT performance.
That said, I think it’s too early to count us out. This team can win any remaining game at home. The losses against UM, UW, and IU at Mackey have all been close. Pull any one of those out and we’re still looking fairly safe.
We still have IU, UM, and UI on the road (I’m just counting OSU as a loss). Hold serve at home against 3 weak teams and 1 very good team; then steal one on the road and we’re 10-8 and at 20 wins. I wouldn’t say it’s likely, but it’s certainly possible.
If anything, I think we can all stick this season out for Robbie Hummel. Regardless of any struggles he’s had this season, dude deserves everybody believing that this team can make the tourney.
by septimusharding on Feb 5, 2012 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
Perfectly stated there at the end...
If you can’t do it for yourself or your Purdue pride, then at least do it for Robbie and Lew Jack. Neither of them have had easy careers and we all owe it to them.
Going forward
We have to use what scoring talent we do have at their natural position and give them the opportunity to be successful.
Terone Johnson is much more successful when playing the #2. He has a slight height disadvantage but he is stronger then most of his opponents and can use it against them. When he is forced to play the #3, his defender has 3"-6" on him and Terone strength advantage is no longer there.
Byrd is a #3. When put up against power forwards, he has a more difficult time getting the shot off and he gets physically beat up and in foul trouble.
When Barlow plays the #1, he has a great size advantage and is more successful at his drive to the right layup. When he plays the #3 he gets sucked into the wide open shots as his defender plays 5 feet off him to prevent the drive.
Hummel is a true #4 and shouldn’t have to be asked to carry the load in every statistical category. With no post presence, defenses collapse immediately on him forcing him to shoot 19’ jumpers that are contested. When Hummel does get the ball down low, no one slashes to the basket. They all stand from the 3 point line and watch.
Problem is if you play your best 7-8 players as Painter is suggesting, you have two PG’s (Barlow, Jackson), four SG’s (Smith, TJ, AJ, Hart), one SF (Byrd), and one PF (Hummel). To add to it, our SG’s are small which makes it difficult to move one of them to the SF position. Byrd is very undersized so PF is not a good situation for him.
What if Marcius and Carrol are like old cars and need playing time and experience to develop. I wonder if you played one of them for 30 minutes per game for three straight games and we would see improvement.
You can't play them 30 minutes a game...
…they’d foul out. Twice.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
"We have the Cannon, the Bucket, the Little Caesar's Bowl trophies, and I'm pretty sure the Nation's Best Kick-Off Team Trophy as well to put in our trophy case" --Purdue Coach Danny Hope
by carmen_fanzone on Feb 5, 2012 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
Nice thought, but ...
What if Marcius and Carrol are like old cars and need playing time and experience to develop. I wonder if you played one of them for 30 minutes per game for three straight games and we would see improvement.
that’s what you do it in non-conf against cupcakes. Not in the middle of the B1G season when the team is hanging by a thread to make the NCAA Tournament.
That’s why I am excited about next year – not just the new players – but that our players can finally play to their natural posn.
I also agree that Barlow should play more at the #1 (given LewJack’s health), which allows us to be bigger and also let Byrd be the #3. TJ is better at the #2 and Robbie at #4. I have faith that TC will step up and be a good #5 as long as it is not against Zeller where the refs will call EVERYTHING a foul, even if TC just breaths some air that happens to Zeller.
Thoughts
First off there is no way were going to the ncaa tourney even if we had won last night. I feel we will get three more wins against nw, nebraska, and psu. That puts us at 18 wins clearly not enough to get in. Second off this team really lacks heart and leadership. You have a sold out arena going nuts and yet once again we come out slow and cold. Where’s the focus and determination? This isnt painters fault. Its the players and it seems that except byrd and hummel no one wants to be out there.
if we had won last night, that would have put us at 19
agreed about the slow starts. seems like all year Purdue has had to play catchup in second half
"The goal remains the same"
by TimeToPlayHard on Feb 5, 2012 2:23 PM EST up reply actions
You got that LewJack sequence wrong
He stole the ball and tried to score 1 on 3 and got his layup blocked.
Ever Grateful. Ever True.
As awful as it sounds, I kinda wish Robbie didnt play the rest of the year
Watching him limp around on 3/4 a good leg is just painful. This isnt the robbie hummel i want to remember.
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if he wants to play
Im pretty sure he has earned the right to play. Who gives a damn about what you remember!
"The goal remains the same"
by TimeToPlayHard on Feb 5, 2012 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
if anyone watched the Gene Keady B1G Icons show after the game...
They talked about “Purdue” basketball – defense and the fact that Keady always got the absolute most out of his team each year. This year’s Boilers aren’t what we’re used to seeing. The fist is not stronger than the fingers. The sum is not greater this year. Which is hard as a Purdue fan, because as long as I’ve been watching Purdue, this is the first time in a long time that has not been the case.
by BoilerBeamer on Feb 5, 2012 11:55 AM EST via iPhone app reply actions
Take a step back and be objective.
A lot of the frustration on this boad is due to inflated expectations. It is OK to hope your team is going to be what you want them to be, but it is kinda foolish to expect it. A lot of variables didn’t break our way this year. That’s sports. Do you really think Painter and the coaching staff isn’t doing everything they can to win each game? For the most part, aren’t the players giving solid efforts? When you realistically evaluate this team, top to bottom, the talent is in the bottom third of the B1N, IMO. If they do make the tourney, it should be viewed as a significant accomplishment. Word of warning: I’m starting to hear the same high expectations for next year’s team. It’s not fair to these kids to expect them to be better than this years after losing Hummel, Smith and Lewjack. Again, it’s OK to hope, just don’t get so pissed if it doesn’t happen.
by Hummel's figurines on Feb 5, 2012 12:48 PM EST reply actions
exactly
this team pretty much sucks and the coach is mediocre…..and I’m also not buying into this next class until the offensive system changes.
with that being said, I AM pissed at the fucking debacle last night
by Boilerhoosier91 on Feb 5, 2012 1:10 PM EST up reply actions
Pretty sure that's not what he was saying at all
I agree with what he actually said. We should hope for our guys to overacheive, but not freak the eff out if they don’t.
Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be, and this team just doesn’t have the kind of spark/toughness/whatever they need to come through in the biggest moments in the game a lot of times. It seems like in all these losses there are several, “oh that would have been huge” moments where we have a chance to take the game and just don’t get it done.
Yep, you're right
We should fire Painter and release every current player on the roster from his scholarship. We’d better relegate ourselves tot eh Summit League too.
A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance
HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog
Extra Extra
After a disappointing loss to their in-state rival basketball program Saturday night, Purdue University President France Cordova has decided to follow the lead of the University of Chicago and withdraw from the Big Ten. Said Cordova, “well, my first name is France, so I know how to raise a white flag.” The surprising move was greeted with approval from the student body and alumni who just wanted the University to focus more on academics.
by PU03 on Feb 6, 2012 9:51 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
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