It's that time again. Saturday night I dispelled all the myths about why Purdue cannot be an elite team in college basketball. Since it is now Monday that means it is another episode of Defend That, Digger! I also wanted to throw in some quick Boilermakings notes at the end for the other sports, so the shorter week will allow some space for that. In the meantime, Digger's love children have plenty of reasons to be ashamed this week.
If this man were to walk into Mackey Arena it would be like Curtis Painter entering a Colts game.
Exhibit A: Cornell 71, St. John's 66
Any time a Big East team drops a game to an Ivy League school it has a place here. Last Monday night the Fightin' Andy Bernards went into Madison Square Garden and topped a St. John's team that is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. The Red Storm came in at 9-1, but has now lost to a Cornell team that is building an impressive resume for the NCAA tournament. Cornell now has wins at Alabama, at UMass, and at St. John's as major conference wins. They still have a game at Kansas as well. St. John's had only lost to Duke before this one. Still, it shouldn't matter. Digger would have you believe the Big East never loses these games. Defend That, Digger!
Exhibit B: Florida Gulf Coast 64, DePaul 61
The mighty Big East drops a game to a team that is still going through the transition to Division I. This is a game the Blue Demons surely bought for an early season win, but instead it bites them in the ass. FGCU is now 4-6 with losses to mighty Longwood, Prairie View A&M, and Bethune Cookman. DePaul challenged Tennessee down in the Virgin Islands, meaning there is no excuse for this. DePaul also gets dinged for:
Exhibit C: American 62, DePaul 57
I missed this one last week, but I had to mention it here. The December 16th win for American was just its second of the season against 10 defeats. Among the great teams to fell American: Maryland-Easter Shore, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis (PA), and Maryland-Baltimore County. They're good enough to knock off a Big East team though. Defend That, Digger!
Exhibit D: South Alabama 67, Florida 66
Everyone was going nuts about Florida, especially after they beat Michigan State. Well, the Gators have done virtually nothing since. Losing to Syracuse and the mighty Big East is understandable, but Richmond and South Alabama? Don't look now. The Gators face mighty American tonight! Defend That, Digger!
Exhibit E: Loyola (MD) 72, Indiana 67
I know this makes the Big Ten look bad, but I couldn't resist. One of college basketball's sleeping giants took a huge step back with a loss to the mighty Greyhounds of Loyola. This is the same Loyola that has lost to Mount St. Mary's, Canisius, and Coppin State. Coincidentally, those are three teams IU has now removed from consideration for future schedules. The fact that IU was down in this game by 20 is sad. Here is your Big Ten ammo, Digger.
Boilermakings notes:
Women's basketball begins a turnaround - The ladies beat both Evansville and Oakland lately, but they have a lot of work to do. Next up is Wisconsin tonight.
David Boudia finishes with Silver in China - The sophomore diver was one of just two foreign divers asked to participate in the China All-Star Diving Series. He took home a silver medal in a very competitive, world-class event.
Curtis Painter makes NFL debut - Needless to say, it was shaky. He was 4 of 11 for 44 yards with an interception and a fumble recovered for a TD. Colts fans should be embarrassed for booing him the moment he entered too. It is not his fault he was asked to play. It is not his fault his left tackle missed an assignment that led to his sack/fumble. I was at the game and it was embarrassing to see these "fans" boo him. Yes, he played like a rookie, but it is not his fault the Colts are no longer undefeated. I agree with the BS guys, they lost their playoff game by pulling this crap already.
Carl Landry continues to be a badass - The SBNation Rockets blog The Dream Shake loves him.