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Blog: Purdue-Pitt

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Brian_GoldandBlack.com

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Jun 18, 2003
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PITTSBURGH - Hey, Purdue's pretty good.

I guess that's kind of the takeaway again from tonight's back-and-forth win at Pitt, a game that followed the same narrative as the wins in Connecticut.

Purdue starts strong.

Opponent makes run.

Purdue closes strong.

This time, it was done without Rapheal Davis, who's so valuable. At both ends of the floor. Not sure he gets as much credit for his offense as he should, because defense and leadership are kind of what defines him, not that there's anything wrong with that.

This game was a great reflection of Purdue's poise.

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Caleb Swanigan was just 1-for-6, and it blows my mind that he's now shooting 37 percent from the floor. But otherwise he was really good, I thought, in his first road game, in a pretty energized environment. He committed only one turnover, rebounded well, passed well, and made two big free throws.

Good for him.

Yeah, Purdue was good tonight and it's embarrassment of riches in some ways was on display.

We're belaboring these points by now, but oh well.

When Ryan Cline made those four threes today in the second half, he won the game for Purdue.

In the three legitimate opponents Purdue has beaten this season, each of its "shooters" have now made the biggest shots of the game. Kendall Stephens did it against Old Dombinion and Dakota Mathias against Florida. It's like they're taking turns throwing daggers.

At the same time, Isaac Haas struggled tonight, looking human for the first time this season.

So Purdue just brings an All-Big Ten center off the bench and he dominates instead.

It bears repeating: Remember where this roster was like 20-odd months ago?

Amazing transformation.

With that reminder, good night.

These 9 p.m. games are the worst. But at least I didn't have to fly home right after the game tonight so I can get up in the morning to go to class.

Ah, student-athlete well-being trumps all, especially TV's wishes.

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