Purdue Shut Down

The Boilers were not on the top of their game on Tuesday night's loss to Duke 76-60. Purdue came out flat and it seemed to stay like that the rest of the night. We were never able to get a good run going that would give us the momentum to get back into the game. Purdue was never able to take the lead or fight back from Duke's 7-0 point run at the start of the game.

Duke's plan coming into the game was to shut down sophomores E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel. The Blue Devils were able to do this without much trouble. Hummel seemed to disappear on the court since he never got an open look at the basket and was held to shoot only 50 percent from the field and only allowed one 3-pointer on several attempts which was when Purdue was shooting 3-pointers desperately towards to end of the game to get something going. E'Twaun Moore was completely shut down in the 1st half and didn't score until the 2nd half, but he did manage to come away with 10 points, only shooting 5 of 12 from the field and scoreless from beyond the arch. The Boilers had to look to other players to step up and make plays.

Purdue looked to their big men down low, Johnson and Calasan, to step up and play big. These two seemed to have the best chance of scoring since Duke was focusing on stopping our perimeter shooting. Johnson and Calason both had relatively good games compared to the rest of the team. They were able to get down low and play physical, get rebounds, and draw fouls while getting shots off. Unfortunately, 2 big men were not able to pull out a win for the Boilers.

The Duke game is one that we Boilers wish we could forget about. It was not a pretty game. Duke and Purdue was, what I believe, the biggest game of the year for the Boilers. There is no better rival than Duke. I am excluding Indiana since they are having a bad year coming off of the coaching incident last year. There is no doubt that Purdue will be able to bounce back from having two losses in a row. They are a good enough team that this will not get inside their heads. I am predicting a blow out this Saturday when we play Arkansas-PB.

UNC Looks Unbelieveable

If you have watched any of North Carolina's basketball games this year, then you know that they are the team to beat in college basketball. I mean, their teams looks unbeatable. They are 8-0 right now and just defeated number 13 Michigan State by 35 points. That is unbelievable. Beating a ranked opponent by that much. They did not just have one good game that blew Michigan State away, but they have been beating opposing teams by anywhere from 15 to 68 points. I don't think that there is a weak point to this Tar Heel basketball team.



This North Carolina offense does not have one star player that they go to. Some may argue that Tyler Hansbrough is their star forward. Yes, he does dominate whoever is guarding him, but he is not the only one that makes plays for the Tar Heels. There are 6 plays who are averaging double figures in the points category so far this season.



Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson are two key players that make this team so good. Tyler Hansbrough has been averaging 22 points and about 7 rebounds per game. The most impressive stat that Hansbrough brings to the game is his free throws. So far this season he has made 41 free throws out of 44 attempts giving him a 93 free throw percentage. He is clearly an offensive threat to any team. The only bad things I have notices about Hansbrough is that he does not pass the ball that well and thus averages less than one assist per game.



Ty Lawson is the "team player" that every coach wishes he could have. In the last 5 games, Lawson has 38 assists compared to only 3 turnovers. He is one that you feel safe giving the ball to knowing that he won't give it up. Averaging about 16 points and 7 assists per game, this guy is one you need to keep your eye on at all times.



At this rate, I don't see UNC losing a single game this season. They have all of their basics down pat without a single weak point. This team is loaded with players that could be stars on almost any other college team, but the way they play is what makes them better. No one on the team wants to be the star, but they share the wealth and contribute to the team and don't worry about pumping up their stats. I would put money on this team going very very far in March Madness this year.

Purdue Loses…Again!!!!!

On December 2, 2008 the Purdue Boilermakers played the Duke Blue Devils and faced a determined squad and Olympic Gold coach, Coach K. The Purdue Boilers came out and started the game the same exact way they finished the game against Oklahoma. If you happened to miss that game they played with no poise and made very stupid mistakes. So after the Duke Blue Devils pulled out to an early lead they never looked back and the game ended with a score of 76-60 Duke. The Purdue Boilermakers played like shit and could not hit a damn shot. The entire game they went 22-59 in field goals, which is a terrible 37.3 percent. This is not a good percentage for any team in Division I of the NCAA and for any team at all in college basketball. They also went 2-13 for three’s with a percentage of 15.4; this is really really bad. I mean that is the main thing that keeps us in games is the trey. When we are not hitting three’s the chances of us winning the game is very very slim, if not minimal. The stats leaders for the Purdue Boilermakers were Robbie Hummel with 15 Points, Robbie Hummel with 8 rebounds, Chris Kramer with 4 assists and 3 steals, and JaJuan Johnson with 3 blocks. The Purdue Boilermakers should have been closer in this game although I don’t think they should have won because of the way they have been playing. I noticed that their play style aggressive or suppressive depends on the crowds loudness and craziness. It seems that if the crowd is loud and into the game Purdue’s defense is extremely aggressive and their offense is just great, but the second that the crowd stops screaming and yelling “GO PURDUE” they just turn into the same Purdue; it’s as if the football team has been transferred to the basketball team. Ha Ha Ha. Duke on the other hand had an amazingly good game Scheyer had an amazing game and seemed as if he could not miss a three or a shot for that matter. He was the leading scorer with 20 points and had 2 steals. Gerald Henderson had 2 blocks and 5 assists along with 2 points; his night was not good for him because he usually is a very explosive player throughout the entire game and in this game he had only a few explosive moments that really caught my attention. Kyle Singler had a double double (having two stats that are in double digits) in that he had 20 points, tied for tops with Sheyer, and 12 rebounds. This was probably one of his best games in the season although his point total was one point from a season best, he beat his rebound season high by four boards and because of six offensive boards gave Duke plenty of second chance attempts that just helped beat Purdue even more than what happened. Although Purdue did not play the game that they wanted there is always room in the tournament and if we can get wins against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State then we should be in good shape for and NCAA tournament bid. Hopefully we can fix our little miss communications on the court and be able to get to the Big Ten Title game and win it. Purdue needs a little refining and I think they will get better and better as their young players start to get familiar with the offense and rotation off the bench.

Purdue’s Loss Questionable?

On November 28 the Purdue Boilermakers lost to the Oklahoma Sooners in the preseason NIT finals. The game went into overtime and some very questionable fouls were called. Including one in overtime that gave the Sooners the momentum to go ahead and take the game. The game was very well played and showed how good both teams were; in the first half there was a total of almost eight points scored by the two teams combined. The leading scorers for the Purdue Boilermakers were E’twaun Moore with twenty-two points and Nemanja Calasan with twenty points. The leading scorers for the Oklahoma Sooners were Willie Warren with twenty –two points, Taylor Griffin with nineteen points, and Blake Griffin with eighteen points. Blake Griffin is a beast because in this game he had more boards that points which in my opinion is just beasty. Blake Griffin pretty much dominated the entire game and came out with twenty one rebounds, nineteen points, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. I believe that although Purdue was dominated by Blake Griffin, which they should not have lost. The reason for the loss was both a little bit of Purdue’s fault; most of all though it was the refs fault because although Purdue put their team into this position that refs were not calling fair fouls. The foul that was definitely not fair was when E’twaun Moore was called for an intentional foul although it did not even look like he had fouled the other team’s player. Purdue was not playing well at all the whole night, though, they did not look like the team that came out and beat Boston College. They just didn’t seem like they were all on the same page so maybe they deserved to lose this game and get it out of the way.

An Epic Matchup

The Texas Tech Raiders take on the Oklahoma Sooners on November 22 at 8:00 pm. This will be one of the best if not the best offensive games of the year. Texas Tech with Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are averaging about 47 points a game. The Oklahoma Sooners on the other hand are averaging 51 points a game, so this is going to be an offensive game all the way. I believe that, although these are the two best offenses in football, that the game will be won by defense because whichever defense gives the best performance will win the game and be eligible for a BCS game. The defenses on both teams are pretty balanced and will both have a tough time against each team. I believe though that by the end of the game the winner will be the Texas Tech Raiders.

Lewis Jackson 23

If you have been to any of the Purdue men's basketball games this year, then you have noticed Lewis Jackson. For what he lacks in size he makes up for with speed. Standing at 5 foot 9 inches, he is one of the quickest point guards I have ever seen. It is his bursts of speed and unbelievable acceleration that makes him so quick and elusive. He is really great at catching his defenders unaware and flat-footed. The second this happens, he makes his move and is driving the lane before his defenders even know what happened. He is also capable of finishing the play with a spectacular lay-up or has the vision to dish the ball off to one of his teammates. He is a really incredible player for a freshman.

Although Lewis does not start, he is still a huge part of our Purdue team this year. He is always one of the first players to go in off the bench. He gets a lot of playing time, averaging just over 21 minutes a game. He has not been a play maker in the sense of incredible stats. He is only averaging 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists per game; but he is definitely noticeable out on the court. His presence is definitely felt by his teammates and the opposing players. The only faults I have found with him is his perimeter shooting and his free throws. He is hasn't made any 3-points yet out of 4 attempts and is only 3 for 6 in free throws. As he matures as a player and gets more experience, his numbers will continue to go up. We need to keep in mind that he is still very young and is new to college basketball.

Even though it is early in the season and his college career, I can see this guy being a huge part of Purdue's team for years and possible one of the best point guards in college basketball, once he learns the college game a little better. Keep watching Lewis Jackson as he makes plays for our Purdue Boilermakers this season.

Purdue Boilers on a Roll

The Boilers basketball team has been doing a great job by filling seats in Mackey and by showing the Purdue fans that they can actually have faith in a sport, since the football team has been playing such bad football this year. Their first regular season opponent was the Detroit Titans who Purdue dominated late in the game to come out with a score of 82-50. Leading scorer for Purdue was E’twaun Moore with 18 and JaJuan Johnson followed with a close 17 points and because of his amazing height and wingspan (he has a 7’ 3” wingspan) he also had 4 rebounds and a block. Robbie Hummel rounds out the top three in scoring for Purdue with a total of 14 points. The top scorers for the Titans were Thomas Kennedy with 18 points and Eulis Stephens with 12 points. The Boilers just dominated this team with athleticism and defensive pressure.

Eastern Michigan was there next opponent and they dominated them in just the same fashion as the team before. They did this by out hustling, rebounding, and scoring the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The leading scorers for Purdue were Robbie Hummel with 18 points and E’twaun Moore with 17 points. The leading scorers for the Eagles were Justin Dobbins with 16 points and Brandon Bowdry with 15 points. The main reason that Purdue was able to beat the Eagles was not because of their scoring but because of their tremendously, effective defensive play. They started out losing but then their defense came into the game and changed the momentum for the rest of the game.

Loyola was Purdue’s next victim as they have advanced in the NIT pre-season easily so far and Loyola was just another day at the park. The scoring this game was much more spread out with E’twaun Moore ending with the top score of 14 points for Purdue. Robbie Hummel had 13 points, while Marcus Green had 12 points and 10 boards. The leading scorers for Loyola were Justin Cerasoli with 14 and Darrin Williams and Andy Polka both had 6 points. The Boilers won this game with heart because starting out they missed their first 10 of 15 shots from the floor but their defense was phenomenal and kept them in the game until the final buzzer went off and Purdue gained a W.

Although Purdue has had a strong showing in their first 3 games they will need to step it up because the deeper they get into the NIT Season Tip-Off the harder teams they are going to face. Next game is at Boston College and should be somewhat of a test because Boston College, although not as good as past seasons, still has some playmakers that could give Purdue a loss. Purdue should prevail though unless they keep playing the way that they have because every game they have played so far they have been under fifty percent from the file this meaning that they only make about forty seven percent of their shots each game that number needs to go up into the high fifties if they want to be contenders when March rolls around.
Now to talk about why it is that Purdue IS GOING to make it to the FINAL FOUR!! Purdue’s defense has been spectacular so far. They pressure the ball on almost all who ever touch it and Robbie Hummel’s tremendous pressure helps create frustration in whoever he is guearding which then usually leads to turnovers for their opponents and buckets for Purdue. They are also great as a cohesive unit working together for a common goal (i.e. team definition, thanks engineering 126) and that goal is to stop any team from scoring and they do a fine damn job of that. Another quality that makes them dangerous is there explosiveness and with Lewis Jackson as backup point they have that explosiveness that can be very dangerous. The final reason that they WILL make it to the FINAL FOUR is that they can change up their style of play from a run and gun fast break team to a half-court setup team and the players they have to do this are in phenomenal shape and have the athleticism to almost run with everyone. I believe that with the help of better post play by JaJuan Johnson, better shooting percentages, and keeping up with the defense the Purdue Boilermakers will be an exceptional team to watch this year.