I've got to give Purdue some credit here: I thought tonight's game against Nebraska had "debacle" written all over it, the consummate "trap game" in tired media-narrative terms.
Purdue has been hot lately in terms of wins and losses, but laboring some on offense, whether it be in turning the ball over too much or struggling to make jump shots.
Here came a Nebraska team that isn't very good but can be as salty as the popcorn at Harry's on defense and turn games into low-scoring clusters. The Cornhuskers were going to clog the paint, taking away Purdue's bigs and force the Boilermakers to play to their weaknesses.
And again, Nebraska isn't very good, but capable of being better. This is an NCAA Tournament team from last season that's largely intact, remember.
This was not a high-profile opponent, a step down in terms of excitement from those Purdue has recently dispatched in Mackey Arena, ranked foes Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa. Human nature can allow for letdowns and this seemed like that proverbial "trap."
As I just babbled about in tonight's Wrap Video, good teams find ways, though, and Purdue is both a good team and finding ways. The Boilermakers keep overcoming deficiencies by elevating other portions of their game, biding their time by winning while waiting on that deficiency-less game, the one where Purdue rebounds, doesn't turn the ball over and makes threes and free throws alike on top of the defensive standard that's become its new normal.
Purdue can beat anyone it plays the rest of the season because of the way it defends. That's been the case since the calendar turned to 2015 and it's shocking, the best kind of surprise Purdue could have delivered this year in its performance.
Maybe the Nebraska game was a step toward filling that gaping void Purdue has been winning in spite of. Kendall Stephens has been a sleeping giant for this team, batting injury and seemingly wavering confidence during what was going to be a bust-out season for him, it was hoped.
Guys with a very particular set of skills may struggle for prolonged periods of time, like Stephens has, but can just as soon turn on a dime, right?
Maybe Sunday was the compass pointing north for Stephens. See, Purdue doesn't need him to be Ray Allen. They need him to be better than OK at making shots and a highly functional player when he's missing, like Dakota Mathias has been for the bulk of the season.
So much of Purdue's up-side as a team is concentrated in Stephens, who can be very, very good, but just hasn't been able to put it together for one reason or another.
If this game was his launching pad, look out. It would make so much better, but the possibility certainly exists that this one-game outburst of three-point shooting won't be sustainable. We'll see.
But if it's not, Purdue's been winning without it anyway, winning one way or another lately no matter what.
Things get real real fast, though, now. Some of the biggest tests of the season lie ahead and Mackey Arena can't help the Boilermakers in them anymore.
It starts Thursday in Bloomington, where Assembly Hall can't make Indiana taller but it always makes them better, and if you think Purdue is going to gouge the Hoosiers at the foul line like last game, well, have another.
The stiffest tests lie ahead, with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.
Is Purdue ready?
Well, what's it done these past seven games other than win?
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.
Purdue has been hot lately in terms of wins and losses, but laboring some on offense, whether it be in turning the ball over too much or struggling to make jump shots.
And again, Nebraska isn't very good, but capable of being better. This is an NCAA Tournament team from last season that's largely intact, remember.
This was not a high-profile opponent, a step down in terms of excitement from those Purdue has recently dispatched in Mackey Arena, ranked foes Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa. Human nature can allow for letdowns and this seemed like that proverbial "trap."
As I just babbled about in tonight's Wrap Video, good teams find ways, though, and Purdue is both a good team and finding ways. The Boilermakers keep overcoming deficiencies by elevating other portions of their game, biding their time by winning while waiting on that deficiency-less game, the one where Purdue rebounds, doesn't turn the ball over and makes threes and free throws alike on top of the defensive standard that's become its new normal.
Purdue can beat anyone it plays the rest of the season because of the way it defends. That's been the case since the calendar turned to 2015 and it's shocking, the best kind of surprise Purdue could have delivered this year in its performance.
Maybe the Nebraska game was a step toward filling that gaping void Purdue has been winning in spite of. Kendall Stephens has been a sleeping giant for this team, batting injury and seemingly wavering confidence during what was going to be a bust-out season for him, it was hoped.
Guys with a very particular set of skills may struggle for prolonged periods of time, like Stephens has, but can just as soon turn on a dime, right?
Maybe Sunday was the compass pointing north for Stephens. See, Purdue doesn't need him to be Ray Allen. They need him to be better than OK at making shots and a highly functional player when he's missing, like Dakota Mathias has been for the bulk of the season.
So much of Purdue's up-side as a team is concentrated in Stephens, who can be very, very good, but just hasn't been able to put it together for one reason or another.
If this game was his launching pad, look out. It would make so much better, but the possibility certainly exists that this one-game outburst of three-point shooting won't be sustainable. We'll see.
But if it's not, Purdue's been winning without it anyway, winning one way or another lately no matter what.
Things get real real fast, though, now. Some of the biggest tests of the season lie ahead and Mackey Arena can't help the Boilermakers in them anymore.
It starts Thursday in Bloomington, where Assembly Hall can't make Indiana taller but it always makes them better, and if you think Purdue is going to gouge the Hoosiers at the foul line like last game, well, have another.
The stiffest tests lie ahead, with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.
Is Purdue ready?
Well, what's it done these past seven games other than win?
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.
