Michigan State's 23-point margin of victory wasn't reflective of how competitive that game was in East Lansing Saturday.
Conversely, Ohio State's 10-point margin of victory wasn't reflective of how decisively it handled Purdue in West Lafayette Tuesday.
Some how, some way, the Boilermakers were down just 10 points at halftime after getting utterly dominated in the first half. And credit Purdue for whittling Ohio State's lead down to just a half dozen in the game's closing minutes.
But if you watched this game, you know that it was not as close as the halftime or final scores indicated.
Against a marquee opponent in front of a great crowd, Purdue looked a bit in the first half like the moment was too big for it. Sort of like the Duke game a few years ago, though this game wasn't nearly as anticipated as that one.
Purdue looked hurried on offense, its collective mind moving faster than its collective bodies. It failed to control rebounds it should have secured and was too often simply beaten to available balls. Strange how a team that looked too frantic could get outhustled that many times.
You know, prior to the Michigan State game, Matt Painter said of his team's rebounding basically, "Let's see if we can do it against somebody good."
Well, Michigan State and Ohio State would qualify - so would Notre Dame - and things have not gone well. The first half vs. the Buckeyes was a debacle, with Purdue needing to grab the half's last two rebounds just to get to half Ohio State's total.
And this isn't one of those gigantic, physically dominant Ohio State teams now, with Jared Sullinger a Boston Celtic and Greg Oden now, I believe, an exhibit at the Smithsonian.
Yet, the Buckeyes dominated the glass. Offensive rebounds partnered with Deshaun Thomas to make it very clear very early that Purdue would get no closer than arm's length in this one.
And Purdue did itself no favors by continuing its unfortunate penchant for missing supposedly easy shots. The Boilermakers have shifted their emphasis to getting the ball to the rim and to rebounding, based on their personnel.
But Purdue has struggled to finish from inside a foot and has gotten out-rebounded by physically equivalent teams.
Nothing's been easy for this team this season, not even the easy stuff, like lay-ups and free throws.
But there are positive signs still, even from a game that may have been over as soon as Thomas hit his first jumper, a tough J off a screen that signaled that in this game, he may as well have throwing the ball into Lake Huron on this evening.
Purdue can be good. Hell, Purdue is good when A.J. Hammons is on the floor. Just like at Michigan State Saturday, if you remove the portions of the game in which he was on the bench - too bad you can't do that - and stack up the scores, it's dead even, or close to it. He's had that significant an impact, in more ways than one.
Purdue has to get max minutes out of him. Amazingly, the most minutes he's played in a Big Ten game so far are the 27 he played at Michigan State, a game in which his foul problems in the second half directly helped along the Spartans' game-winning run.
You had to figure the 7-footer would have some issues with fouls at some point this season. It's just that it wasn't until Big Ten play started that they've really surfaced.
Even with his minutes being limited, Hammons is getting better and better.
So is Purdue's other potentially great freshman, Ronnie Johnson.
The point guard gave you his usual three or four head-scratchers against Ohio State, but in between, he was really, really good.
If it's not for the freshman point using his speed to push the ball in the first half, Purdue might have been down 20 at the half. He was an annoyance on defense and is showing more and more toughness with every game. Look at his rebounding, for one thing, and his scrap against Ohio State point guards on defense.
Purdue turned the ball over only six times against the Buckeyes, absolutely a credit to Ronnie Johnson, among others.
I said prior to the season and during non-conference, as did a lot of other people: Purdue is going to get better, but it might not necessarily show in results considering the competitiveness of the Big Ten.
You're seeing that now: There's no striking the final 16 minutes at Michigan State or the first 20 against Ohio State from the record, but you are seeing good things from Purdue.
If you're a Purdue fan, you hope they start materializing in more wins.
It has to start Sunday. Purdue should beat Penn State. It has to beat Penn State. Then, it should beat Nebraska, on the road or not. And then a so-so West Virginia team.
Half the Big Ten, seems like, is ranked, and for good reason.
If Purdue is going to be a .500 team or better this season, and I think it's fair to have recalibrated expectation in that direction, then it has to win games against everybody else, the hope being too you it can steal a couple upsets.
With continued progress, it can do that, especially at home, with help.
The atmosphere at Tuesday night's game was vintage Purdue, just a tremendous environment. Credit Ohio State for not flinching.
You've read it here before: If there was ever a season in which Purdue needs its trademark home-court edge, this is it.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2013. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
Conversely, Ohio State's 10-point margin of victory wasn't reflective of how decisively it handled Purdue in West Lafayette Tuesday.
Some how, some way, the Boilermakers were down just 10 points at halftime after getting utterly dominated in the first half. And credit Purdue for whittling Ohio State's lead down to just a half dozen in the game's closing minutes.
But if you watched this game, you know that it was not as close as the halftime or final scores indicated.
Against a marquee opponent in front of a great crowd, Purdue looked a bit in the first half like the moment was too big for it. Sort of like the Duke game a few years ago, though this game wasn't nearly as anticipated as that one.
Purdue looked hurried on offense, its collective mind moving faster than its collective bodies. It failed to control rebounds it should have secured and was too often simply beaten to available balls. Strange how a team that looked too frantic could get outhustled that many times.
You know, prior to the Michigan State game, Matt Painter said of his team's rebounding basically, "Let's see if we can do it against somebody good."
Well, Michigan State and Ohio State would qualify - so would Notre Dame - and things have not gone well. The first half vs. the Buckeyes was a debacle, with Purdue needing to grab the half's last two rebounds just to get to half Ohio State's total.
And this isn't one of those gigantic, physically dominant Ohio State teams now, with Jared Sullinger a Boston Celtic and Greg Oden now, I believe, an exhibit at the Smithsonian.
Yet, the Buckeyes dominated the glass. Offensive rebounds partnered with Deshaun Thomas to make it very clear very early that Purdue would get no closer than arm's length in this one.
And Purdue did itself no favors by continuing its unfortunate penchant for missing supposedly easy shots. The Boilermakers have shifted their emphasis to getting the ball to the rim and to rebounding, based on their personnel.
But Purdue has struggled to finish from inside a foot and has gotten out-rebounded by physically equivalent teams.
Nothing's been easy for this team this season, not even the easy stuff, like lay-ups and free throws.
But there are positive signs still, even from a game that may have been over as soon as Thomas hit his first jumper, a tough J off a screen that signaled that in this game, he may as well have throwing the ball into Lake Huron on this evening.
Purdue can be good. Hell, Purdue is good when A.J. Hammons is on the floor. Just like at Michigan State Saturday, if you remove the portions of the game in which he was on the bench - too bad you can't do that - and stack up the scores, it's dead even, or close to it. He's had that significant an impact, in more ways than one.
Purdue has to get max minutes out of him. Amazingly, the most minutes he's played in a Big Ten game so far are the 27 he played at Michigan State, a game in which his foul problems in the second half directly helped along the Spartans' game-winning run.
You had to figure the 7-footer would have some issues with fouls at some point this season. It's just that it wasn't until Big Ten play started that they've really surfaced.
Even with his minutes being limited, Hammons is getting better and better.
So is Purdue's other potentially great freshman, Ronnie Johnson.
The point guard gave you his usual three or four head-scratchers against Ohio State, but in between, he was really, really good.
If it's not for the freshman point using his speed to push the ball in the first half, Purdue might have been down 20 at the half. He was an annoyance on defense and is showing more and more toughness with every game. Look at his rebounding, for one thing, and his scrap against Ohio State point guards on defense.
Purdue turned the ball over only six times against the Buckeyes, absolutely a credit to Ronnie Johnson, among others.
I said prior to the season and during non-conference, as did a lot of other people: Purdue is going to get better, but it might not necessarily show in results considering the competitiveness of the Big Ten.
You're seeing that now: There's no striking the final 16 minutes at Michigan State or the first 20 against Ohio State from the record, but you are seeing good things from Purdue.
If you're a Purdue fan, you hope they start materializing in more wins.
It has to start Sunday. Purdue should beat Penn State. It has to beat Penn State. Then, it should beat Nebraska, on the road or not. And then a so-so West Virginia team.
Half the Big Ten, seems like, is ranked, and for good reason.
If Purdue is going to be a .500 team or better this season, and I think it's fair to have recalibrated expectation in that direction, then it has to win games against everybody else, the hope being too you it can steal a couple upsets.
With continued progress, it can do that, especially at home, with help.
The atmosphere at Tuesday night's game was vintage Purdue, just a tremendous environment. Credit Ohio State for not flinching.
You've read it here before: If there was ever a season in which Purdue needs its trademark home-court edge, this is it.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2013. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
