LINCOLN, Neb. — A few final musings from Wendy's — the only *^$&*($** restaurant open right now in Lincoln — following Purdue's 75-72 win at Nebraska.
• Pointing out that there's nothing more that can be said about Grady Eifert's is more a comment than a thought, but it is true.
Honestly: What would Purdue's record be without Eifert, who's made about as many clutch plays for Purdue this season as any I can remember? He's been the ultimate opportunist.
We've focused on the two big plays tonight, but keep in mind, too, what he meant on the boards for Purdue today, and that might have been the key to the game, and in outplaying Isaiah Roby, one of the best athletes in the Big Ten regardless of position, and a pretty decent player.
• Look, I don't know what to make of Carsen Edwards' struggles of late, whether it's a slump or the product of some causation, nor do I have any thoughts on his way out of it, beyond the obvious: Sharing the ball, picking his spots, etc. He has to be aggressive to be good. But aggressive comes in various forms, and for as much as Matt Painter talks about playing through one's offense on defense, maybe the opposite applies. Maybe giving a little more of himself at the defensive end could trigger the sort of groove he's been unable to shoot his way into at the offensive end, I don't know.
I'll say this about his game tonight: Obviously 3-of-16 and five turnovers isn't ideal, but I don't recall him taking the water-weight YOLO shots that sometimes get him in trouble percentage-wise. I don't recall him taking many really bold shots, and a couple times Nebraska made good defensive plays to block his shots.
But I don't have to tell you that while Edwards has struggled badly the past two games, Purdue has had to make improbable, dare I say lucky, plays to beat middling teams on the road. Granted, it is true that there's no such thing as a bad road win, as they say, but there is such thing as ugly ones, and ugly can go both ways very easily the way Purdue is playing it right now.
It's living dangerously, not by choice, but because its offensive alpha is struggling.
Again, he is too good a player not to revert to his normal, but I suppose it does bear asking: What is his normal? After all, Edwards is now shooting 34 percent in Big Ten play and less than 30 from three. That's not a last-two-games number.
Purdue has won this season largely by winning the possessions column, and it's a wonder that it's been able to make so much from those possessions when such a high-volume player has been that inefficient.
• This was not the finest performance of the season for any of Purdue's perimeter defenders. The Boilermakers got beat off the dribble a lot, and at halftime, it had to move Nojel Eastern off James Palmer to try to put out the Glynn Watson fire, and Palmer sort of came alive, but that also started at the end of the first half, because he got a three off an offensive rebound and a pair of free throws after a transition opportunity.
Watson got Eastern a couple times from the same spot on the floor, but was 4-of-11 in the second half, and you wonder if the confidence he took from the first half mattered for him in the second.
By the way, two of Watson's second half field goals and five of his points came in the final seconds when the game was over, so that's probably more like 2-for-9 for five points on Eastern.
All of Purdue's backup guards and wings struggled to contain the dribble, but there were some breakdowns on the bigs involved, too, Trevion Williams on a couple of them.
Williams just doesn't look as quick - quick is relative - or proactive as he did mid-Big Ten season. Whether that's the fallout of illness or simple wear, I don't know, if it's a thing at all.
• Eifert's bucket off the inbound should have been an and-one, I think.
• SCREW YOU, WINTER
• Pointing out that there's nothing more that can be said about Grady Eifert's is more a comment than a thought, but it is true.
Honestly: What would Purdue's record be without Eifert, who's made about as many clutch plays for Purdue this season as any I can remember? He's been the ultimate opportunist.
We've focused on the two big plays tonight, but keep in mind, too, what he meant on the boards for Purdue today, and that might have been the key to the game, and in outplaying Isaiah Roby, one of the best athletes in the Big Ten regardless of position, and a pretty decent player.
• Look, I don't know what to make of Carsen Edwards' struggles of late, whether it's a slump or the product of some causation, nor do I have any thoughts on his way out of it, beyond the obvious: Sharing the ball, picking his spots, etc. He has to be aggressive to be good. But aggressive comes in various forms, and for as much as Matt Painter talks about playing through one's offense on defense, maybe the opposite applies. Maybe giving a little more of himself at the defensive end could trigger the sort of groove he's been unable to shoot his way into at the offensive end, I don't know.
I'll say this about his game tonight: Obviously 3-of-16 and five turnovers isn't ideal, but I don't recall him taking the water-weight YOLO shots that sometimes get him in trouble percentage-wise. I don't recall him taking many really bold shots, and a couple times Nebraska made good defensive plays to block his shots.
But I don't have to tell you that while Edwards has struggled badly the past two games, Purdue has had to make improbable, dare I say lucky, plays to beat middling teams on the road. Granted, it is true that there's no such thing as a bad road win, as they say, but there is such thing as ugly ones, and ugly can go both ways very easily the way Purdue is playing it right now.
It's living dangerously, not by choice, but because its offensive alpha is struggling.
Again, he is too good a player not to revert to his normal, but I suppose it does bear asking: What is his normal? After all, Edwards is now shooting 34 percent in Big Ten play and less than 30 from three. That's not a last-two-games number.
Purdue has won this season largely by winning the possessions column, and it's a wonder that it's been able to make so much from those possessions when such a high-volume player has been that inefficient.
• This was not the finest performance of the season for any of Purdue's perimeter defenders. The Boilermakers got beat off the dribble a lot, and at halftime, it had to move Nojel Eastern off James Palmer to try to put out the Glynn Watson fire, and Palmer sort of came alive, but that also started at the end of the first half, because he got a three off an offensive rebound and a pair of free throws after a transition opportunity.
Watson got Eastern a couple times from the same spot on the floor, but was 4-of-11 in the second half, and you wonder if the confidence he took from the first half mattered for him in the second.
By the way, two of Watson's second half field goals and five of his points came in the final seconds when the game was over, so that's probably more like 2-for-9 for five points on Eastern.
All of Purdue's backup guards and wings struggled to contain the dribble, but there were some breakdowns on the bigs involved, too, Trevion Williams on a couple of them.
Williams just doesn't look as quick - quick is relative - or proactive as he did mid-Big Ten season. Whether that's the fallout of illness or simple wear, I don't know, if it's a thing at all.
• Eifert's bucket off the inbound should have been an and-one, I think.
• SCREW YOU, WINTER
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