Tonight marked the beginning of the end for Purdue's seniors, the final home game for a guy who's been at Purdue four years (Stephen Toyra), a guy who's been committed or enrolled for seven (Rapheal Davis), a guy who's been here just a year (Johnny Hill) and a guy who wasn't supposed to be here very long at all (A.J. Hammons), but made this season possible because he was.
Their end as college basketball players is near, but tonight also represented a beginning of sorts for those players, because now it's their chance to do something memorable.
The postseason is upon us and Purdue enters it with credible high hopes.
As this season has illustrated, Purdue can beat just about anybody on the right night, and there are no more road games to be played. Is this team a sure thing each time out? Certainly not. There's been too much inconsistent, too many matchup wounds there to have Bourbon poured on.
But the Boilermakers head to the Big Ten Tournament, with the NCAA Tournament to follow, looking like a team hitting its 11th-hour stride just in the nick of time.
Purdue's size is going to be an advantage against most anyone out there, but lately Purdue hasn't been just size.
The Boilermakers are on an offensive tear. Shooters are making shots and taking only good ones. Secondary scorers are carrying themselves with the presence of primary ones. Turnovers are down.
The results: Purdue is shooting a percentage that it's too late at night for me to look up the past four games but it's really good.
The scoring totals the past three games: 83, 81, 91.
The 91 came against the Big Ten's No. 1 scoring defense tonight.
It came because P.J. Thompson took open threes in the first half and Caleb Swanigan took Wisconsin's lunch money in the second.
It wasn't A.J. Hammons dominating, though he was very good. It wasn't Vince Edwards, though he was very good. It wasn't surging Dakota Mathias, who didn't score, but no one cares because Purdue didn't need him to in order to score 91 points.
Defensively, the first half was a debacle; but the second half was as solid as the first half was the opposite of solid. I know Davis has allowed somewhere in the vicinity of five dozen points to his defensive assignments the past two games, but good offense beats good defense every time and Shavon Shields and Nigel Hayes were pretty damn special in these games.
The most important thing: The final score.
Wisconsin has been one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season and Purdue got its walk-ons on the floor at the end, it won so comfortably.
That was a great thing, because it allowed Matt Painter to tinker with his subbing in the final minute to get Davis, Hammons and Hill their deserved ovations and Toyra his deserved last trot out onto the floor.
The end is near, but the way Purdue has played lately, I don't know if anyone know how close it actually is.
Their end as college basketball players is near, but tonight also represented a beginning of sorts for those players, because now it's their chance to do something memorable.
The postseason is upon us and Purdue enters it with credible high hopes.
As this season has illustrated, Purdue can beat just about anybody on the right night, and there are no more road games to be played. Is this team a sure thing each time out? Certainly not. There's been too much inconsistent, too many matchup wounds there to have Bourbon poured on.
But the Boilermakers head to the Big Ten Tournament, with the NCAA Tournament to follow, looking like a team hitting its 11th-hour stride just in the nick of time.
Purdue's size is going to be an advantage against most anyone out there, but lately Purdue hasn't been just size.
The Boilermakers are on an offensive tear. Shooters are making shots and taking only good ones. Secondary scorers are carrying themselves with the presence of primary ones. Turnovers are down.
The results: Purdue is shooting a percentage that it's too late at night for me to look up the past four games but it's really good.
The scoring totals the past three games: 83, 81, 91.
The 91 came against the Big Ten's No. 1 scoring defense tonight.
It came because P.J. Thompson took open threes in the first half and Caleb Swanigan took Wisconsin's lunch money in the second.
It wasn't A.J. Hammons dominating, though he was very good. It wasn't Vince Edwards, though he was very good. It wasn't surging Dakota Mathias, who didn't score, but no one cares because Purdue didn't need him to in order to score 91 points.
Defensively, the first half was a debacle; but the second half was as solid as the first half was the opposite of solid. I know Davis has allowed somewhere in the vicinity of five dozen points to his defensive assignments the past two games, but good offense beats good defense every time and Shavon Shields and Nigel Hayes were pretty damn special in these games.
The most important thing: The final score.
Wisconsin has been one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season and Purdue got its walk-ons on the floor at the end, it won so comfortably.
That was a great thing, because it allowed Matt Painter to tinker with his subbing in the final minute to get Davis, Hammons and Hill their deserved ovations and Toyra his deserved last trot out onto the floor.
The end is near, but the way Purdue has played lately, I don't know if anyone know how close it actually is.
