WASHINGTON, D.C. — Well, this can go one of two ways for Purdue now.
The first way is for Friday's uncharacteristic-this-season close-game failure to prove to be validation for those worrywarts that see it as a sign of things to come in the NCAA Tournament, where Purdue is 0-for-2 the past two season in games that were all but won.
Purdue's collective mental toughness is going to be tested, because its past now meets its most recent present in do-or-die season. Boilermaker players will be reminded when they get to wherever they're going of how these things have turned out for them and they must prove that they are a different team, which they have done most of this season, this Michigan game being a glaring exception.
The opportunities came and went for Purdue left and right and Zak Irvin made a shot to force OT, just like Troy Caupin did, and just like the kid from Little Rock, whatever his name is, did.
Then, Purdue got handled in overtime, barely scoring, to lose a game it probably would have won had it made one more free throw, converted one more layup, finished one more high-percentage look around the basket or gotten one more 50-50 call.
This was not pressure that got to Purdue. This wasn't a particularly pressurized situation. And Michigan wasn't applying pressure, though it was aggressive on defense.
At a time when momentum matters, this might represent the wrong kind of momentum for Purdue.
Or, this could be nothing, just a loss to a good team obviously unaffected by its circumstances this week, an aberration of sorts for a team that's made its free throws all year except tonight, made plays in close games when it's needed to and just didn't tonight. It happens. It's just that for Purdue it happened at a time where if it happens again, it's good night and good luck.
It could turn out OK. This could piss Purdue off at the right time, reinforce the things that have made it successful and give it some energetic legs. Purdue went to the Big Ten title game last season, then came out against Little Rock looking like it was wearing shoes made of stone. Purdue lost that game at the end, but also didn't win it early.
I don't know. We'll see. But offensive rebounds and second-chance points are becoming an issue, pushing four-alarm status.
Opponents have to be made to work for their points. Right now, they are, but they're not.
It's not that Purdue allowed 11 offensive rebounds to the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference, but rather that that team was able to score off damn near every one of them.
And Purdue lost its mind a little bit on defense by playing for steals when it's M.O. is containment.
I don't see anything rock-solid about today's game that assures that this team is circling the drain when it matters most. This is one game, a game Purdue didn't play great in, but played well enough to win in and just didn't.
But the optics of this are indeed bad.
Purdue was on a collision course with its dubious recent NCAA history regardless of what happened today. This was far from comforting.
The first way is for Friday's uncharacteristic-this-season close-game failure to prove to be validation for those worrywarts that see it as a sign of things to come in the NCAA Tournament, where Purdue is 0-for-2 the past two season in games that were all but won.
Purdue's collective mental toughness is going to be tested, because its past now meets its most recent present in do-or-die season. Boilermaker players will be reminded when they get to wherever they're going of how these things have turned out for them and they must prove that they are a different team, which they have done most of this season, this Michigan game being a glaring exception.
The opportunities came and went for Purdue left and right and Zak Irvin made a shot to force OT, just like Troy Caupin did, and just like the kid from Little Rock, whatever his name is, did.
Then, Purdue got handled in overtime, barely scoring, to lose a game it probably would have won had it made one more free throw, converted one more layup, finished one more high-percentage look around the basket or gotten one more 50-50 call.
This was not pressure that got to Purdue. This wasn't a particularly pressurized situation. And Michigan wasn't applying pressure, though it was aggressive on defense.
At a time when momentum matters, this might represent the wrong kind of momentum for Purdue.
Or, this could be nothing, just a loss to a good team obviously unaffected by its circumstances this week, an aberration of sorts for a team that's made its free throws all year except tonight, made plays in close games when it's needed to and just didn't tonight. It happens. It's just that for Purdue it happened at a time where if it happens again, it's good night and good luck.
It could turn out OK. This could piss Purdue off at the right time, reinforce the things that have made it successful and give it some energetic legs. Purdue went to the Big Ten title game last season, then came out against Little Rock looking like it was wearing shoes made of stone. Purdue lost that game at the end, but also didn't win it early.
I don't know. We'll see. But offensive rebounds and second-chance points are becoming an issue, pushing four-alarm status.
Opponents have to be made to work for their points. Right now, they are, but they're not.
It's not that Purdue allowed 11 offensive rebounds to the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference, but rather that that team was able to score off damn near every one of them.
And Purdue lost its mind a little bit on defense by playing for steals when it's M.O. is containment.
I don't see anything rock-solid about today's game that assures that this team is circling the drain when it matters most. This is one game, a game Purdue didn't play great in, but played well enough to win in and just didn't.
But the optics of this are indeed bad.
Purdue was on a collision course with its dubious recent NCAA history regardless of what happened today. This was far from comforting.
