Given new life in a Big Ten race it had previously played its way out of, it seemed, Purdue's starting to look like a champion.
The Boilermakers have now won five straight and on Saturday they shed their just-find-a-way ways and bludgeoned a good team.
Michigan State isn't typical Michigan State. It's not going to the Final Four this season. Hell, it might not even make the NCAA Tournament. But it was an eight-win Big Ten team coming into tonight, one that had won four of its prior five.
Purdue played well. Purdue won big.
Never at any point in time was there any reason to believe Purdue's focus was going to waver here. It started well, shot well in the first half, started the second half well, blew the game open when given the opportunity to, played to its strengths and defended from start to finish.
It was a championship-team sort of dispatching of a good team, but an inferior one.
This team has a chance to win the Big Ten, a golden one. Three out of four on the road or not, this is a schedule that won't terrify anyone. That being said, there are games Purdue left to play in which Purdue can play well and still get beat. But the effort and consistency issues seem off the table.
This team is different.
It's different because of Caleb Swanigan.
This, tonight, this 24-point, 15-rebound, five-assist résumé game, this is a career game for most players. This is what Swanigan calls just another Saturday night.
Purdue's never had a player that I've covered this consistent, in every sense of the term. You know what you're getting every single game from your best player, beyond basketball productivity. It's a 180-degree change from the past few seasons. And it has to be a great comfort to all involved, heading into four games that will determine whether or not Purdue will emerge from this season again with more Big Ten championships to its credit than any of its peers.
Others are coming along at the right time, too.
No one ever would have thought coming into this season that Vincent Edwards would spend part of this season coming off the bench, nor would they have ever figured Isaac Haas would spend the back half of the season doing the same.
Tonight, both of those upperclassmen were terrific. This season's not been a straight line for either players, but right now for Purdue, all sorts of things are starting to line up at the right time.
It should be a really interesting next two weeks.
The Boilermakers have now won five straight and on Saturday they shed their just-find-a-way ways and bludgeoned a good team.
Michigan State isn't typical Michigan State. It's not going to the Final Four this season. Hell, it might not even make the NCAA Tournament. But it was an eight-win Big Ten team coming into tonight, one that had won four of its prior five.
Purdue played well. Purdue won big.
Never at any point in time was there any reason to believe Purdue's focus was going to waver here. It started well, shot well in the first half, started the second half well, blew the game open when given the opportunity to, played to its strengths and defended from start to finish.
It was a championship-team sort of dispatching of a good team, but an inferior one.
This team has a chance to win the Big Ten, a golden one. Three out of four on the road or not, this is a schedule that won't terrify anyone. That being said, there are games Purdue left to play in which Purdue can play well and still get beat. But the effort and consistency issues seem off the table.
This team is different.
It's different because of Caleb Swanigan.
This, tonight, this 24-point, 15-rebound, five-assist résumé game, this is a career game for most players. This is what Swanigan calls just another Saturday night.
Purdue's never had a player that I've covered this consistent, in every sense of the term. You know what you're getting every single game from your best player, beyond basketball productivity. It's a 180-degree change from the past few seasons. And it has to be a great comfort to all involved, heading into four games that will determine whether or not Purdue will emerge from this season again with more Big Ten championships to its credit than any of its peers.
Others are coming along at the right time, too.
No one ever would have thought coming into this season that Vincent Edwards would spend part of this season coming off the bench, nor would they have ever figured Isaac Haas would spend the back half of the season doing the same.
Tonight, both of those upperclassmen were terrific. This season's not been a straight line for either players, but right now for Purdue, all sorts of things are starting to line up at the right time.
It should be a really interesting next two weeks.
