I thought Purdue was going to beat Maryland today.
Why?
No real reason other than that I just thought something was brewing with the Boilermakers based on their wins over Minnesota and Michigan and their respectable showing at Wisconsin. I thought something was percolating that was going to manifest itself in Purdue's first win over a ranked opponent in more than a dozen tries, a streak that's becoming an albatross on the program.
I was wrong.
Purdue lost 69-60 to the 11th-ranked team in college basketball.
No shame in that, but no glory, either, after the Boilermakers represented themselves OK against the (apparent) two best teams in the Big Ten without achieving the important part: A win.
The season is not lost. Purdue just lost to two really good teams.
But an opportunity was lost.
Winning at Wisconsin is one thing, but this - this - was a winnable game that Purdue undercut itself in as much as anything the Terrapins did.
Neither Wisconsin nor Maryland had an easy go of things against Purdue; but too much came easy and that's Purdue's fault.
The Boilermakers have allowed too much easy stuff for opponents, especially at the foul line. If Purdue fouls when defending the rim or preventing layups or in mismatches, fine. That's basketball. But right now, there's too much ancillary stuff. Too many illegal screens, too many fouls on defensive rebounds (or as they're otherwise known, your guy getting shouldered in the sensitive region and getting called for the foul.)
Turnovers killed Purdue against Maryland more than anything, with the Boilermakers reverting to non-conference form in that sense, whether it was Vince Edwards turning down an open three early and winding up throwing a cross-court lane entry that was picked off; Kendall Stephens throwing a pick-six when bringing the ball up; or Jon Octeus getting stripped for a layup right after Purdue had taken a three-point late-first-half lead and had momentum. It was everybody, and it was sloppy, early season muck.
That stuff matters even more now because the margin for error in Big Ten play is unforgiving.
Purdue continues to - and again, I have no data to back this up - give up too many quick scores off its own scores. Often easy stuff.
Purdue needs to make opponents work for everything, and listless passes thrown for the taking; bonus-baby fouls committed 90 feet from the basket; and either a lack of focus or abundance of bad transition defense off Boilermaker scores are the antithesis of that aim.
I don't know if it's good news that Purdue just competed with a borderline top-10 team with its post tandem not producing; Kendall Stephens firing blanks; and Edwards looking overwhelmed out there in the first half or bad news because all those things happened.
What I do know is that Purdue showed these past two games that it's a solid enough basketball team to play with this caliber of opponent but not a good enough one to beat them, at least not yet.
This was a quality win ripe for the picking and Purdue fell off the ladder.
Opportunities are few and far between from here on out.
That's a big part of the reason this was such a big game, a game Purdue let get away as much as Maryland took it away.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. 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.
Why?
No real reason other than that I just thought something was brewing with the Boilermakers based on their wins over Minnesota and Michigan and their respectable showing at Wisconsin. I thought something was percolating that was going to manifest itself in Purdue's first win over a ranked opponent in more than a dozen tries, a streak that's becoming an albatross on the program.
I was wrong.
Purdue lost 69-60 to the 11th-ranked team in college basketball.
No shame in that, but no glory, either, after the Boilermakers represented themselves OK against the (apparent) two best teams in the Big Ten without achieving the important part: A win.
The season is not lost. Purdue just lost to two really good teams.
But an opportunity was lost.
Winning at Wisconsin is one thing, but this - this - was a winnable game that Purdue undercut itself in as much as anything the Terrapins did.
Neither Wisconsin nor Maryland had an easy go of things against Purdue; but too much came easy and that's Purdue's fault.
The Boilermakers have allowed too much easy stuff for opponents, especially at the foul line. If Purdue fouls when defending the rim or preventing layups or in mismatches, fine. That's basketball. But right now, there's too much ancillary stuff. Too many illegal screens, too many fouls on defensive rebounds (or as they're otherwise known, your guy getting shouldered in the sensitive region and getting called for the foul.)
Turnovers killed Purdue against Maryland more than anything, with the Boilermakers reverting to non-conference form in that sense, whether it was Vince Edwards turning down an open three early and winding up throwing a cross-court lane entry that was picked off; Kendall Stephens throwing a pick-six when bringing the ball up; or Jon Octeus getting stripped for a layup right after Purdue had taken a three-point late-first-half lead and had momentum. It was everybody, and it was sloppy, early season muck.
That stuff matters even more now because the margin for error in Big Ten play is unforgiving.
Purdue continues to - and again, I have no data to back this up - give up too many quick scores off its own scores. Often easy stuff.
Purdue needs to make opponents work for everything, and listless passes thrown for the taking; bonus-baby fouls committed 90 feet from the basket; and either a lack of focus or abundance of bad transition defense off Boilermaker scores are the antithesis of that aim.
I don't know if it's good news that Purdue just competed with a borderline top-10 team with its post tandem not producing; Kendall Stephens firing blanks; and Edwards looking overwhelmed out there in the first half or bad news because all those things happened.
What I do know is that Purdue showed these past two games that it's a solid enough basketball team to play with this caliber of opponent but not a good enough one to beat them, at least not yet.
This was a quality win ripe for the picking and Purdue fell off the ladder.
Opportunities are few and far between from here on out.
That's a big part of the reason this was such a big game, a game Purdue let get away as much as Maryland took it away.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. 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.
