The NCAA selection committee got it wrong.
Obviously it's up to Purdue now to prove me right there, but this Boilermaker team is playing its best basketball of the season, just stood toe-to-toe with a Final Four team in a Four Four environment, is playing some of its best defense of the season and has a distinct advantage over everyone with its size.
It's ranked 13th in the polls and 10th on KenPom - yes, I know the committee doesn't look at that, but maybe it should - and is somehow No. 18 on the seed list.
The Big Ten as a whole got jobbed - Michigan State's not a 1, huh? - but Purdue was undervalued.
I think the Big Ten Tournament showed Purdue to be an NCAA-dangerous team and the games prior did the same. Purdue shot the ball well, moved the ball well, saw Vince Edwards and Caleb Swanigan come of age, Dakota Mathias hit his stride and A.J. Hammons prove himself time again and again as one of the best in the game. Isaac Haas isn't bad either.
Maybe it's myopic of me to look at things that way, but it just looks like the time is right for Purdue to make a run here. I'm not saying Final Four, but I am saying March is for surprises and maybe Purdue can be one of those surprises.
I think Purdue got shorted on its seeding, but got a decent draw no less. Iowa State in Round 2 - provided it unfolds that way - is no picnic, but no roadblock either. If the Boilermakers can get through it, suddenly they're three hours from their campus playing against a Virginia team, presumably, that's really good in a season in which no one is unbeatable.
But the things Purdue didn't do today - rebound, make good decisions and shoot well - it has to do in NCAA play. Understand, though, that today Purdue played a smoldering-hot team that makes it very difficult to rebound, make decisions and shoot well. And Purdue had a chance in the final 20 seconds anyway.
Matt Painter talks often about the importance of being "on edge." Maybe today's outcome against Michigan State has that effect on a team that shouldn't need motivation but can never have enough.
I thought you saw someone statement-type play tonight from Purdue in Rapheal Davis' defense, Johnny Hill's effort and Vince Edwards' aggressiveness off the dribble.
That stuff continues and some other things - rebounding, shooting and Hammons' productivity - normalize, Purdue is going to be a tough out.
And short turnarounds help Purdue. Seeing its size on film and seeing it up close are two different things and 48-hour game prep windows don't exactly allow for implementation of defensive sophistication or maximum matchup exploitation.
That goes both ways, but it's Purdue that sits with the greatest matchup advantage, so good for it.
We'll see what happens, but Purdue has to feel pretty good about things.
Obviously it's up to Purdue now to prove me right there, but this Boilermaker team is playing its best basketball of the season, just stood toe-to-toe with a Final Four team in a Four Four environment, is playing some of its best defense of the season and has a distinct advantage over everyone with its size.
It's ranked 13th in the polls and 10th on KenPom - yes, I know the committee doesn't look at that, but maybe it should - and is somehow No. 18 on the seed list.
The Big Ten as a whole got jobbed - Michigan State's not a 1, huh? - but Purdue was undervalued.
I think the Big Ten Tournament showed Purdue to be an NCAA-dangerous team and the games prior did the same. Purdue shot the ball well, moved the ball well, saw Vince Edwards and Caleb Swanigan come of age, Dakota Mathias hit his stride and A.J. Hammons prove himself time again and again as one of the best in the game. Isaac Haas isn't bad either.
Maybe it's myopic of me to look at things that way, but it just looks like the time is right for Purdue to make a run here. I'm not saying Final Four, but I am saying March is for surprises and maybe Purdue can be one of those surprises.
I think Purdue got shorted on its seeding, but got a decent draw no less. Iowa State in Round 2 - provided it unfolds that way - is no picnic, but no roadblock either. If the Boilermakers can get through it, suddenly they're three hours from their campus playing against a Virginia team, presumably, that's really good in a season in which no one is unbeatable.
But the things Purdue didn't do today - rebound, make good decisions and shoot well - it has to do in NCAA play. Understand, though, that today Purdue played a smoldering-hot team that makes it very difficult to rebound, make decisions and shoot well. And Purdue had a chance in the final 20 seconds anyway.
Matt Painter talks often about the importance of being "on edge." Maybe today's outcome against Michigan State has that effect on a team that shouldn't need motivation but can never have enough.
I thought you saw someone statement-type play tonight from Purdue in Rapheal Davis' defense, Johnny Hill's effort and Vince Edwards' aggressiveness off the dribble.
That stuff continues and some other things - rebounding, shooting and Hammons' productivity - normalize, Purdue is going to be a tough out.
And short turnarounds help Purdue. Seeing its size on film and seeing it up close are two different things and 48-hour game prep windows don't exactly allow for implementation of defensive sophistication or maximum matchup exploitation.
That goes both ways, but it's Purdue that sits with the greatest matchup advantage, so good for it.
We'll see what happens, but Purdue has to feel pretty good about things.
