This is what makes this year's Purdue team so maddening to watch.
For the first however many minutes it was to start the second half, the Boilermakers summoned up a level of play like the one it showed against Indiana after halftime. It was some of its best basketball of the season, probably its best basketball in a road game of this Big Ten season, at least its best since Illinois.
Then, Purdue threw it away, literally.
The Boilermakers simply punted away way too many possessions down the stretch to even have a chance to win in the final minutes, and way too many possessions for the game.
Prior to this season, I wasn't alone in figuring that A.J. Hammons and Ronnie Johnson were the team's most important players because of not only their potential, but the safe assumption that experience would make each of them profoundly better. Both have improved - neither of them exponentially, though - but their inconsistency mirrors that of their team as a whole, and that's no coincidence.
Very rarely have been both 'on' in the same games. Today, Hammons was, but his classmate, not so much.
As well as Ronnie Johnson has played in some games of late, he's been equally flammable in others, and I don't mean the good kind of flammable, if there is one.
I saw the game on Big Ten Network today. And when I say I saw the game, that doesn't mean I heard the game. But no one would have needed audio to see that the Boilermakers' point guard play absolutely killed Purdue today, starting with Ronnie Johnson's seven turnovers. When your point guard has as many, or more, turnovers and fouls (five) than he does any positive statistic, that's not a good thing, typically.
And it was hoped that Purdue would have the luxury this season to turn elsewhere at the point this season when needed, but Bryson Scott has played more freshman-ish than he has at most other points this season in crucial situations the past two games. He's been instant offense for the opponent after Purdue had fought so hard to put itself in comfortable situations. I see a lot of debate over whether Scott is a "point guard" playing point guard. Who cares? No player, no matter their position or role, should be committing grotesque turnovers and taking bad shots, especially in situations where the ball must be valued most.
In 10 minutes Sunday, Scott missed all three of his shots and turned the ball over four times. That amounts to seven possessions. I don't want to sound like I'm making fun here, but that's hard to do.
Purdue needs, at worst, solid point guard play to be good, but it's not just on those guys. It's been a team-wide issue, Purdue undercutting itself with turnovers.
The Boilermakers turned it over six times in the first half Sunday and Iowa scored off most of them, it seemed like. Purdue had to keep the Hawkeyes out of transition and did anything but.
Iowa is too good an offensive team, and Purdue too bad a defensive team, for the Hawkeyes to be granted any help.
Hammons was great today, for the second game in a row, in terms of effort at least.
On top of his 16 points, 14 boards and four blocks, Hammons didn't commit a single turnover, but Purdue turned the ball over numerous times getting it to him. Hammons showed today he can be very productive and change games without getting an abundance of post touches.
Good for him, and another reason to wonder whether the post-centric approach offensively has been the best thing for this group, which has clearly struggled with it at times this year and last.
Purdue needs to take care of the ball. That's no secret.
But as part of a larger point, it just needs to be more consistent in all consistency's forms.
For Purdue to be good, Ronnie Johnson needs to be consistently, at worst, solid. He can't have a seven-assist game one night, a seven-turnover game the next. He can't make most of his free throws one night, miss most of them the next. Stability is part of that role's job description.
He is a good player. One of the biggest hurdles between him being good and being very good, even great, is consistency. His future at Purdue is bright.
So is Scott's.
But both need self-awareness and accountability on their side.
Purdue's sophomore class is pivotal to the Boilermakers both now and moving forward. Sunday, two-thirds of the puzzle was in place.
Credit Rapheal Davis for putting his money, so to speak, where his mouth is. He was outspoken after the Nebraska loss, and he's doing something about it. He's been consistently good ever since the loss at Ohio State, outstanding today at Iowa, playing with passion and aggressiveness and a spark Purdue has needed.
Kendall Stephens, too.
Purdue's fighting to stay out of last place in the Big Ten, so I'm not sure anyone outside West Lafayette cares all that much, but the past few games, I think, have secured Stephens' place on at least one Big Ten All-Freshman Team ballot. Uh, mine.
These last two games have been difficult for Purdue, which is short-handed and has put itself in position nonetheless to win back-to-back games against ranked opponents, then been too clumsy with the ball to actually do it.
Purdue has shown lately it can be good enough to win, but just can't, because it can't get all its ducks in a row long enough to actually earn victories.
It's not consistent.
And unless something ground-breaking transpires between now and late Wednesday night, Purdue will have lost five games in a row for the first time since 2006 and be a .500 team with one regular season game remaining.
If I'd told you four months ago that Purdue would be a "bubble team" come the first of March, you'd have taken that, right?
Well, it is.
Unfortunately for Purdue, it's the NIT's bubble.
And, really, it might not even be that right now.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. 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.
For the first however many minutes it was to start the second half, the Boilermakers summoned up a level of play like the one it showed against Indiana after halftime. It was some of its best basketball of the season, probably its best basketball in a road game of this Big Ten season, at least its best since Illinois.
Then, Purdue threw it away, literally.
The Boilermakers simply punted away way too many possessions down the stretch to even have a chance to win in the final minutes, and way too many possessions for the game.
Prior to this season, I wasn't alone in figuring that A.J. Hammons and Ronnie Johnson were the team's most important players because of not only their potential, but the safe assumption that experience would make each of them profoundly better. Both have improved - neither of them exponentially, though - but their inconsistency mirrors that of their team as a whole, and that's no coincidence.
Very rarely have been both 'on' in the same games. Today, Hammons was, but his classmate, not so much.
As well as Ronnie Johnson has played in some games of late, he's been equally flammable in others, and I don't mean the good kind of flammable, if there is one.
I saw the game on Big Ten Network today. And when I say I saw the game, that doesn't mean I heard the game. But no one would have needed audio to see that the Boilermakers' point guard play absolutely killed Purdue today, starting with Ronnie Johnson's seven turnovers. When your point guard has as many, or more, turnovers and fouls (five) than he does any positive statistic, that's not a good thing, typically.
And it was hoped that Purdue would have the luxury this season to turn elsewhere at the point this season when needed, but Bryson Scott has played more freshman-ish than he has at most other points this season in crucial situations the past two games. He's been instant offense for the opponent after Purdue had fought so hard to put itself in comfortable situations. I see a lot of debate over whether Scott is a "point guard" playing point guard. Who cares? No player, no matter their position or role, should be committing grotesque turnovers and taking bad shots, especially in situations where the ball must be valued most.
In 10 minutes Sunday, Scott missed all three of his shots and turned the ball over four times. That amounts to seven possessions. I don't want to sound like I'm making fun here, but that's hard to do.
Purdue needs, at worst, solid point guard play to be good, but it's not just on those guys. It's been a team-wide issue, Purdue undercutting itself with turnovers.
The Boilermakers turned it over six times in the first half Sunday and Iowa scored off most of them, it seemed like. Purdue had to keep the Hawkeyes out of transition and did anything but.
Iowa is too good an offensive team, and Purdue too bad a defensive team, for the Hawkeyes to be granted any help.
Hammons was great today, for the second game in a row, in terms of effort at least.
On top of his 16 points, 14 boards and four blocks, Hammons didn't commit a single turnover, but Purdue turned the ball over numerous times getting it to him. Hammons showed today he can be very productive and change games without getting an abundance of post touches.
Good for him, and another reason to wonder whether the post-centric approach offensively has been the best thing for this group, which has clearly struggled with it at times this year and last.
Purdue needs to take care of the ball. That's no secret.
But as part of a larger point, it just needs to be more consistent in all consistency's forms.
For Purdue to be good, Ronnie Johnson needs to be consistently, at worst, solid. He can't have a seven-assist game one night, a seven-turnover game the next. He can't make most of his free throws one night, miss most of them the next. Stability is part of that role's job description.
He is a good player. One of the biggest hurdles between him being good and being very good, even great, is consistency. His future at Purdue is bright.
So is Scott's.
But both need self-awareness and accountability on their side.
Purdue's sophomore class is pivotal to the Boilermakers both now and moving forward. Sunday, two-thirds of the puzzle was in place.
Credit Rapheal Davis for putting his money, so to speak, where his mouth is. He was outspoken after the Nebraska loss, and he's doing something about it. He's been consistently good ever since the loss at Ohio State, outstanding today at Iowa, playing with passion and aggressiveness and a spark Purdue has needed.
Kendall Stephens, too.
Purdue's fighting to stay out of last place in the Big Ten, so I'm not sure anyone outside West Lafayette cares all that much, but the past few games, I think, have secured Stephens' place on at least one Big Ten All-Freshman Team ballot. Uh, mine.
These last two games have been difficult for Purdue, which is short-handed and has put itself in position nonetheless to win back-to-back games against ranked opponents, then been too clumsy with the ball to actually do it.
Purdue has shown lately it can be good enough to win, but just can't, because it can't get all its ducks in a row long enough to actually earn victories.
It's not consistent.
And unless something ground-breaking transpires between now and late Wednesday night, Purdue will have lost five games in a row for the first time since 2006 and be a .500 team with one regular season game remaining.
If I'd told you four months ago that Purdue would be a "bubble team" come the first of March, you'd have taken that, right?
Well, it is.
Unfortunately for Purdue, it's the NIT's bubble.
And, really, it might not even be that right now.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. 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.
