A few final musings from Purdue's 76-64 win over Penn State ...
• Once this season ends, the focus will shift to Carsen Edwards, whether he returns or not. He's the centerpiece of this team. But Saturday's win serves as another reminder that the Boilermakers have a really nice team growing in behind him, reason to believe it'll be fine no matter what he does.
Aaron Wheeler and Sasha Stefanovic have shown all season to be players Purdue's going to be able to win with long-term, and today, it might not have won without them. Had the two redshirt freshmen not been the steadying forces for Purdue in the first half, this might have been another Minnesota situation, when the Boilermakers were down big in the second half. Mackey Arena or not, you're gonna lose that more than not.
The two second-year freshmen came up big. Stefanovic carrying Purdue during its key first half run, and Wheeler spreading his productivity over the whole half.
Purdue needed these guys tonight, because it was playing without Trevion Williams basically and Carsen Edwards was in foul trouble. The Stefanovic run came just as Edwards went to the bench after his second foul.
Neither are finished products yet but helping Purdue win now, and will help Purdue win a lot more long-term. They're a big part of the Boilermakers' present and a huge part of their future.
• Can't say enough about Matt Haarms tonight, because Purdue needed his best badly with Williams sidelined, for the most part. Haarms was not coming off his best day at Maryland, and with Mike Watkins this matchup was a bit of more of the same. Watkins was a non-factor. Haarms was very much a factor. Under the circumstances, I'm not sure Purdue could have asked for more. He scored, he rebounded, he defended and he made big plays when Purdue needed them.
• This game was an eyesore for Purdue in one very obvious area, and that has to be considered a concern. The turnovers were mind-blowing to those who've watched this team all year, the opposite of what this group has been.
But maybe Penn State did Purdue a favor, perhaps creating a hyper-awareness to just what got Purdue to this point, if it needed a reminder. The turnovers, I think, were more about Purdue than Penn State, because Penn State's pressure was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that the Boilermakers haven't navigated without incident this season.
It's now been 60 straight minutes of basketball in which opponent's pressure has rankled Purdue in some way and forced it out of character. At Maryland it was halfcourt pressure making the Boilermakers a panicky, quick-triggered bunch and today it was stall-tactic pressure turning it over a turnover machine.
Here's guessing Purdue's guards see some modest differences in how they're defended during the end of the Big Ten season as opposed to the start.
If Penn State just sharpened Purdue's focus toward such things, than it did the Boilermakers a real solid.
• Purdue's had some really offensively savvy teams of late, and this team, surprisingly, has been just that, with some notable lapses the last two games.
But some highlights, too.
Amidst a debacle of turnovers, Purdue also made some really sharp plays, some outstanding extra passes for threes. When Purdue shares the ball, Purdue is the best Purdue.
Anyway, this, too: Maybe the biggest shot of the game came courtesy of the most impactful fundamental possible.
All it took was a pass fake for Grady Eifert to part Penn State's defense, like a damn Jedi, for his driving bucket that stopped the bleeding for Purdue after the Nittany Lions had gotten within five.
Amazing the impact such simplicity can make.
• Once this season ends, the focus will shift to Carsen Edwards, whether he returns or not. He's the centerpiece of this team. But Saturday's win serves as another reminder that the Boilermakers have a really nice team growing in behind him, reason to believe it'll be fine no matter what he does.
Aaron Wheeler and Sasha Stefanovic have shown all season to be players Purdue's going to be able to win with long-term, and today, it might not have won without them. Had the two redshirt freshmen not been the steadying forces for Purdue in the first half, this might have been another Minnesota situation, when the Boilermakers were down big in the second half. Mackey Arena or not, you're gonna lose that more than not.
The two second-year freshmen came up big. Stefanovic carrying Purdue during its key first half run, and Wheeler spreading his productivity over the whole half.
Purdue needed these guys tonight, because it was playing without Trevion Williams basically and Carsen Edwards was in foul trouble. The Stefanovic run came just as Edwards went to the bench after his second foul.
Neither are finished products yet but helping Purdue win now, and will help Purdue win a lot more long-term. They're a big part of the Boilermakers' present and a huge part of their future.
• Can't say enough about Matt Haarms tonight, because Purdue needed his best badly with Williams sidelined, for the most part. Haarms was not coming off his best day at Maryland, and with Mike Watkins this matchup was a bit of more of the same. Watkins was a non-factor. Haarms was very much a factor. Under the circumstances, I'm not sure Purdue could have asked for more. He scored, he rebounded, he defended and he made big plays when Purdue needed them.
• This game was an eyesore for Purdue in one very obvious area, and that has to be considered a concern. The turnovers were mind-blowing to those who've watched this team all year, the opposite of what this group has been.
But maybe Penn State did Purdue a favor, perhaps creating a hyper-awareness to just what got Purdue to this point, if it needed a reminder. The turnovers, I think, were more about Purdue than Penn State, because Penn State's pressure was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that the Boilermakers haven't navigated without incident this season.
It's now been 60 straight minutes of basketball in which opponent's pressure has rankled Purdue in some way and forced it out of character. At Maryland it was halfcourt pressure making the Boilermakers a panicky, quick-triggered bunch and today it was stall-tactic pressure turning it over a turnover machine.
Here's guessing Purdue's guards see some modest differences in how they're defended during the end of the Big Ten season as opposed to the start.
If Penn State just sharpened Purdue's focus toward such things, than it did the Boilermakers a real solid.
• Purdue's had some really offensively savvy teams of late, and this team, surprisingly, has been just that, with some notable lapses the last two games.
But some highlights, too.
Amidst a debacle of turnovers, Purdue also made some really sharp plays, some outstanding extra passes for threes. When Purdue shares the ball, Purdue is the best Purdue.
Anyway, this, too: Maybe the biggest shot of the game came courtesy of the most impactful fundamental possible.
All it took was a pass fake for Grady Eifert to part Penn State's defense, like a damn Jedi, for his driving bucket that stopped the bleeding for Purdue after the Nittany Lions had gotten within five.
Amazing the impact such simplicity can make.
