INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue's all set up for a trip to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, all that's standing in its way being a Michigan team that lucked into a buzzer-beating win over Indiana today and will be playing its third game in three days tomorrow.
Credit the Wolverines for getting to Day 3, but the way Purdue is playing right now, things are setting up nicely for the Boilermakers.
Or are they?
The luck of the draw has screwed Purdue from a résumé perspective, as a likely win over still-ranked Iowa was traded for a land-win game against Illinois and a résumé-and-redemption opportunity against IU now becomes becomes a very meh matchup with Michigan, who won't hurt Purdue's résumé if it wins, but won't do much for it either.
Purdue's path to a 3 seed or better probably had to include Iowa or Indiana or both.
Now, if Purdue beats Michigan, you're looking at the wear and tear of three more games with little NCAA-stock pay-out if you don't win the tournament, which I'm assuming will require a win over Michigan State. I don't know if a win there would automatically bump Purdue up a seed line.
I'm not saying you want to lose and spare yourself those extra games when your place in the NCAA field. The chance to win a championship is right there, and that has to be the most important goal. But there are practicalities to consider too.
And practically speaking, this Big Ten Tournament is setting up to do little for Purdue's NCAA fate.
It could have done quite a bit.
I do think Purdue would have beaten Iowa today had things fallen that way, and I do think they'd have beaten Indiana tomorrow had things fallen that way. Looking at the way Purdue has playing since losing in Bloomington, save for that two-minute hysteria against Maryland, there's nothing to not like.
Purdue's playing the best offense I think we've seen since Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore were Boilermakers, when you take everything into account. I think you're seeing players like Johnny Hill, Dakota Mathias and especially Caleb Swanigan and Vince Edwards comfortable and confident and empowered in roles that they've made important after maybe being a little bit marginalized early on. This has been a process, especially for Swanigan and Edwards and what has mattered most there was that it worked by March.
Well …
As for Mathias, the eventual winner of the shooting guard Hunger Games from earlier in the season, there are no more concerns about minutes. There's also no more vomiting, which helps too.
The Boilermakers destroyed Illinois Friday, in every sense of the term. Please don't lose sight of this fact: With six minutes to go Illinois had 39 points. It scored a third of its points in the trashiest of garbage time, much of it coming against walk-ons.
Look at Purdue and you see a team that's confident, loose and playing its best at the best time.
It's just too bad this tournament isn't affording it a chance to show it against higher-profile opponents.
Credit the Wolverines for getting to Day 3, but the way Purdue is playing right now, things are setting up nicely for the Boilermakers.
Or are they?
The luck of the draw has screwed Purdue from a résumé perspective, as a likely win over still-ranked Iowa was traded for a land-win game against Illinois and a résumé-and-redemption opportunity against IU now becomes becomes a very meh matchup with Michigan, who won't hurt Purdue's résumé if it wins, but won't do much for it either.
Purdue's path to a 3 seed or better probably had to include Iowa or Indiana or both.
Now, if Purdue beats Michigan, you're looking at the wear and tear of three more games with little NCAA-stock pay-out if you don't win the tournament, which I'm assuming will require a win over Michigan State. I don't know if a win there would automatically bump Purdue up a seed line.
I'm not saying you want to lose and spare yourself those extra games when your place in the NCAA field. The chance to win a championship is right there, and that has to be the most important goal. But there are practicalities to consider too.
And practically speaking, this Big Ten Tournament is setting up to do little for Purdue's NCAA fate.
It could have done quite a bit.
I do think Purdue would have beaten Iowa today had things fallen that way, and I do think they'd have beaten Indiana tomorrow had things fallen that way. Looking at the way Purdue has playing since losing in Bloomington, save for that two-minute hysteria against Maryland, there's nothing to not like.
Purdue's playing the best offense I think we've seen since Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore were Boilermakers, when you take everything into account. I think you're seeing players like Johnny Hill, Dakota Mathias and especially Caleb Swanigan and Vince Edwards comfortable and confident and empowered in roles that they've made important after maybe being a little bit marginalized early on. This has been a process, especially for Swanigan and Edwards and what has mattered most there was that it worked by March.
Well …
As for Mathias, the eventual winner of the shooting guard Hunger Games from earlier in the season, there are no more concerns about minutes. There's also no more vomiting, which helps too.
The Boilermakers destroyed Illinois Friday, in every sense of the term. Please don't lose sight of this fact: With six minutes to go Illinois had 39 points. It scored a third of its points in the trashiest of garbage time, much of it coming against walk-ons.
Look at Purdue and you see a team that's confident, loose and playing its best at the best time.
It's just too bad this tournament isn't affording it a chance to show it against higher-profile opponents.
