I've been watching for 40 years and don't ever remember a team that was this cool under pressure.
20-1...who the hell saw this coming in the preseason?
- Thread starter Abugabby
- Start date
Even though B10 is in a down year, it is remarkable how this team plays on the road, where even in a down year is incredibly tough, with 2 unflappable frosh guards who deliver at every stop.
They got ICE in their veins ......playing above their years
I had us 13-8 at this point. Thought that was somewhat optimistic.
Rather than saying this is a down year for the big 10 and college basketball it’s time we started saying it’s as strong as ever and Purdue has just risen to the top.
Can they finally get to that elusive Final Four. That'll be the question. Seeming to be Purdue's best chance ever to collect their first ever national title as well. Good for you all. I'm young but have at least gotten to witness a Final Four run. It's exciting.
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It's really nice not holding my breath at the free throw line at the end of games. Loyer, Smith, Newman, Zachen, Gillis. We are closing it out.
When this season began,I wondered if this team would do very well at all.I thought around 23 wins was their ceiling.Now I think the sky is their limit.Boiler up!
Honestly, I thought this team would go something like 20-11 (12-8) and get maybe a #10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
I thought the team had enough talent to compete, and I had faith that Painter would do something productive with this group.
Starting 20-1 never crossed my mind. Never.
I thought the team had enough talent to compete, and I had faith that Painter would do something productive with this group.
Starting 20-1 never crossed my mind. Never.
good post, like my posts over on the football boards griping that we never have great LB's, one of my biggest gripes about BBall is alot of missed FT's and deserving to lose the game.
I'm kind of disappointed we're not 21-0 at this point.
[Kidding]
This is just absolute proof of what an incredible coach we have in Painter. Great recruiting. Put the right players in place to win, even in what was supposed to be a "down" year.
[Kidding]
This is just absolute proof of what an incredible coach we have in Painter. Great recruiting. Put the right players in place to win, even in what was supposed to be a "down" year.
I am the eternal optimist, believing every year that the team will outperform expectations. But, no. I wasn't this optimistic.
Nope.
Like several on here I had a hunch Zach would be a monster with more minutes, Braden would be a gamer and hold his own, and Fletch had potential to be more of well rounded Etwaun Moore type scorer than a Sasha like shooter.
Never in a million years would I have thought all 3 would be THIS good and the team would be 20-1. Still lots of games left and just enjoying the ride.
Like several on here I had a hunch Zach would be a monster with more minutes, Braden would be a gamer and hold his own, and Fletch had potential to be more of well rounded Etwaun Moore type scorer than a Sasha like shooter.
Never in a million years would I have thought all 3 would be THIS good and the team would be 20-1. Still lots of games left and just enjoying the ride.
Yea love that foul shooting both in quantity and quality. It has been great. Their determination and end game execution has been marvelous.
Still, I ask should the #1 team in the land be in a position game in, game out, where foul shooting matters? I would think a few close games and more blow outs by 10-20 would be expected from a #1? They sure would be welcome in this viewers eyes...lol.
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I know this is wishful thinking, but it would be good if the fan base, especially those who love to gripe over the small stuff (or really over anything), remembers preseason expectations and not share their outrage if this team does not make a F4. Same goes if by luck/skill/miracle they make it to but lose the title game.
Nothing we can do about trolls and IU fans coming to rub it in, though the irony would be deep, but seeing IMSKRONG’s post above could be a set-up in that it is an emotion trap for us Boilermakers (i.e. get fans hopes/expectations/excitement up then crap on us if the team “fails” to win it all).
Just some perspective to keep in mind as this coach/team has universally exceeded all expectations this year, and no matter how far they go in the Tourny, I believe deserve the accolades and respect of a successful season.
Nothing we can do about trolls and IU fans coming to rub it in, though the irony would be deep, but seeing IMSKRONG’s post above could be a set-up in that it is an emotion trap for us Boilermakers (i.e. get fans hopes/expectations/excitement up then crap on us if the team “fails” to win it all).
Just some perspective to keep in mind as this coach/team has universally exceeded all expectations this year, and no matter how far they go in the Tourny, I believe deserve the accolades and respect of a successful season.
At Purdue it's nice to be a fan of a team that has a FF as a realistic option these last few years.
I am sure you have been highly disappointed and sad as an iu fan, this is so rarely the case for you these last 20+ years.
Purdue has earned the #1 ranking, but I don’t think that anyone views this team as a team that consistently dominates the competition like, say, Kentucky in 2015. This is a young team of talented, but under recruited, players who probably won’t be NBA first round picks, but who know how to win. They are good decision makers, are cool under pressure, and support each other. Based on talent alone, they really don’t even stand out in the Big Ten, but they have earned what they have accomplished so far.
I am not going to take a Final Four for granted as that would be doing a great disservice to these young men. If they get there, it will be a huge accomplishment and they will have defied what we could have reasonably expected of them heading into the season.
Well it has sucked. Is what it is I guess. Like I said, I got to at least witness 1. So that's better than nothing.
Well said. They seem to have all bought in to the idea of team balance. Not so common these days. Refreshing to see and enjoy..
Saw Purdue in 1980. Hopefully see a few more in the coming future.
I think foul shooting is always in play...not getting there...not making them or making a lot of them. I expect closer games in the conference as many teams do when in conference play and with the big appearing to swallow the whistle sometimes that would tend to bring teams closer together. All that said, games against teams like Minny are few between.
Consistency of play eliminates the highs and lows of games, but generally puts a team in position to win...Purdue has done that. I'm sure we all would like larger win gaps, but this team is still young by any standard and probably playing "closer" to it's current ceiling than many. A team that gets to #1 is good and rarely gets a bad game by an opponent and so how long it can stay in that spot is another indicator of how good it is. I have seen improvement recently in perimeter shot selection and some quickness concerns for Zach, but in teh growth pains it appears Purdue has been good enough for some time and will continue to improve over the season.
This has probably been the best clutch FT shooting team Painter has ever coached. and in the tournament, it's going to be Fts that win games.
second thought about this being a down year. I'm not going to make any predictions. I will just say, some team is going to win the NCAA championship this year. and next year and the year after and the year after that, people are not going to say 2022-2023 was a down year for college basketball and the BIG 10. . What they will say is that team won an NCAA championship.
Hard to believe, but only 5 years ago the team was 23-2, and 12-0 in the B10 before hitting a 3-game speed bump, and finishing conference regular season play at 26-5, 15-3. Finished the year 30-7...maybe an Isaac Haas broken elbow away from the FF. Who knows?
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That was 5 years ago? Seems such a distant memory...I would have guessed 10!
The narrative has always been teh Big is down when Purdue is at the top. There are a lot of games to play in guessing if the Big is down. If the Big dows well for a week or two in the tourney was it down. If a team that is good doesn't do well in the Big does that mean it is down? What couple of weeks results indicate a conference is down and does that only happen in hand selected opponent games on maybe a nuetral floor. The big ten is a tough league with a few teams that could win the Sweet 16...if so does that one game matchup determine if the conference is up or down?
gotta get to the line to shoot them... which also means other teams with perhaps less depth are lsoing playing time possibly to their better players
No people will look back and remember how down it was. Just like people look back and remember how good the Big Ten was in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. How good the conference is, is based on the top.
I’m sorry but I don’t really recall the big 10. Being good or bad in 2011-2012 or 2012-2013. And I highly doubt anybody else does either. As I look back the only things I recall is Duke, Duke and more Duke. I doubt they even won anything, but that’s all Dickie V ever talks about. Has he even talked about Purdue’s diaper dandies? Or does he not use those words anymore?
I knew iu would underachieve this year....that was obvious....
Well Duke was good at the time. 11-12 was Robbie Hummels last season. Ohio State had Jared Sullinger, Draymond Green won POY. Ohio State went to the Final Four. Only 6 of 12 went to the tourney but the top of the conference was very good. Big Ten had 5 teams finish in the AP Top 16.
2012-2013 the Big Ten had STARS. Zeller and Oladipo for Indiana, Burke and Hardaway at Michigan, Harris, Appling, Dawson and Payne at MSU, Wisky had Brust, Evans and a frosh Dekker. Minny had the Hollins, Williams and Mbakwe. Illinois had Brandon Paul. 7 of 12 teams got in. 6 of them made the 2nd round. 4 made the Sweet 16. Michigan made the Final Four and almost won the national title. Was actually the last time the Big Ten was even close to winning one. 4 teams finished in the AP Top 10.
Sorry. Did any of those stars ever amount to anything? The same case could be made every year about the big 10 having star players. Didn’t IU have a guard drafted by Boston in the first round a couple of years ago? And almost every year the big ten has a team that looks good in the tourney and 4 that choke! Will this year be any different
Does it matter what they turned out to be? I mean Zeller had a 10 year NBA career, Oladipo was an All-Star at one point, Hardaway is still playing, Harris is still playing, Dekker played for a few years. Hulls is on the bench. Hummel is announcing. Either way, those Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State teams from 12-13 are better than any team in the B1G right now and probably any in the country. I'd say the same for the Louisville, Duke and Kansas team that year. Honestly Syracuse would probably be the best team in the nation from that years.
My point is every year the big 10 has star players and every year sends teams to the NCAA tournament. This year is no different than any other year. This year is not an up or down year for the BIG 10. It’s just another year like every year before it
