A few final musings from Purdue's 74-69 loss to Wisconsin, because I know how you like musings.
• The thing about these two early Big Ten losses is that there have been no flukes, no randomness about them. Yeah, Ron Harper misses that shot 98 times out of 100 probably and most nights, Purdue can hold Johnny Davis to only 25, but in both those games, Rutgers and Wisconsin were better than Purdue, Purdue led in the second half anyway, and then the team that was better wound up winning the final few minutes.
Again, Purdue's not been a very good Big Ten team thus far. Doesn't mean the season's over or all hope is lost or whatever, but that light just hasn't come on yet, and the Boilermakers did not take well on Monday night to everything that changes come Big Ten play, even though the Iowa and Rutgers games highlighted all of it.
Here's hoping for Purdue's sake that such success, especially offensively, early in the season didn't make them a little soft.
• Purdue is just not bought in defensively, still. And it's Jan. 3. Expecting this to be a traditional Purdue team even though it hasn't necessarily been constructed like one might have been a flawed assumption, but I do know how and what Matt Painter coaches and this isn't it.
This team dominated non-conference play, but right now it does not look ideally built to enjoy similar success in the conference of rock fights.
This is not about any one player, but Purdue needs more from Jaden Ivey. Looking back, I think Purdue might have been begging him through the media to transform defensively when they said he could be one of the best two-way players in college basketball, just like what Painter called Johnny Davis tonight.
I thought the Butler game was a turning point. I was wrong.
• If the first half of tonight's game spurs Zach Edey to throw his weight (but not his elbows) around right from the jump from here on out, maybe there's an abstract silver lining to this. He just looked passive in that first half, for whatever reason. Maybe he's worried about the officials or something, I don't know, but this was vaguely reminiscent of some of the slow starts he got off to when he was starting.
• Just a really forgettable night for Isaiah Thompson and Eric Hunter. If you don't have great guards — and both these guys are role players, and solid ones at that, especially Thompson this season — then the guards you do have just can't hurt you, especially in games like this. Thompson's turnover at the first half was consequential and Hunter himself committed a live-ball pick-six turnover and took a couple iffy shots in the second half.
• Purdue's asking an awful lot of Ethan Morton here. An awful lot. No one else has really earned a crack at that wing stopper sort of role. Purdue's almost always had that guy, from Rapheal Davis to Dakota Mathias to Nojel Eastern when they were able to move him off the ball. This team, Morton's the closest thing they have. He's battling and doing some really positive things, but at the end of the day you're asking an awful lot of him when he's guarding Ron Harper and Dereon Seaborn and Johnny Davis at the end of these tight games.
It's too bad that it was Morton that wound up on the wrong end of some of Davis' eruption late in the game, because prior, he was great. He made a big three, rebounded, didn't turn the ball over and totaled four assists and two steals. He helped get the post established as the entry man from the top.
• What's funny is Purdue shot well (40 percent) from three for the game, and Wisconsin shot well only when it mattered most, 5-of-12 in the second half after a 1-of-12 first half.
Purdue, No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency coming in, shot only 41 percent on two-point field goals.
• Purdue's not doing a great job at the foul line. Seems like they're splitting every pair these days.
• I'll repeat: Things are never as good as they seem, never as bad as they seem.
Thanks for reading, everybody, and have a good night.
• The thing about these two early Big Ten losses is that there have been no flukes, no randomness about them. Yeah, Ron Harper misses that shot 98 times out of 100 probably and most nights, Purdue can hold Johnny Davis to only 25, but in both those games, Rutgers and Wisconsin were better than Purdue, Purdue led in the second half anyway, and then the team that was better wound up winning the final few minutes.
Again, Purdue's not been a very good Big Ten team thus far. Doesn't mean the season's over or all hope is lost or whatever, but that light just hasn't come on yet, and the Boilermakers did not take well on Monday night to everything that changes come Big Ten play, even though the Iowa and Rutgers games highlighted all of it.
Here's hoping for Purdue's sake that such success, especially offensively, early in the season didn't make them a little soft.
• Purdue is just not bought in defensively, still. And it's Jan. 3. Expecting this to be a traditional Purdue team even though it hasn't necessarily been constructed like one might have been a flawed assumption, but I do know how and what Matt Painter coaches and this isn't it.
This team dominated non-conference play, but right now it does not look ideally built to enjoy similar success in the conference of rock fights.
This is not about any one player, but Purdue needs more from Jaden Ivey. Looking back, I think Purdue might have been begging him through the media to transform defensively when they said he could be one of the best two-way players in college basketball, just like what Painter called Johnny Davis tonight.
I thought the Butler game was a turning point. I was wrong.
• If the first half of tonight's game spurs Zach Edey to throw his weight (but not his elbows) around right from the jump from here on out, maybe there's an abstract silver lining to this. He just looked passive in that first half, for whatever reason. Maybe he's worried about the officials or something, I don't know, but this was vaguely reminiscent of some of the slow starts he got off to when he was starting.
• Just a really forgettable night for Isaiah Thompson and Eric Hunter. If you don't have great guards — and both these guys are role players, and solid ones at that, especially Thompson this season — then the guards you do have just can't hurt you, especially in games like this. Thompson's turnover at the first half was consequential and Hunter himself committed a live-ball pick-six turnover and took a couple iffy shots in the second half.
• Purdue's asking an awful lot of Ethan Morton here. An awful lot. No one else has really earned a crack at that wing stopper sort of role. Purdue's almost always had that guy, from Rapheal Davis to Dakota Mathias to Nojel Eastern when they were able to move him off the ball. This team, Morton's the closest thing they have. He's battling and doing some really positive things, but at the end of the day you're asking an awful lot of him when he's guarding Ron Harper and Dereon Seaborn and Johnny Davis at the end of these tight games.
It's too bad that it was Morton that wound up on the wrong end of some of Davis' eruption late in the game, because prior, he was great. He made a big three, rebounded, didn't turn the ball over and totaled four assists and two steals. He helped get the post established as the entry man from the top.
• What's funny is Purdue shot well (40 percent) from three for the game, and Wisconsin shot well only when it mattered most, 5-of-12 in the second half after a 1-of-12 first half.
Purdue, No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency coming in, shot only 41 percent on two-point field goals.
• Purdue's not doing a great job at the foul line. Seems like they're splitting every pair these days.
• I'll repeat: Things are never as good as they seem, never as bad as they seem.
Thanks for reading, everybody, and have a good night.
