MADISON, Wis. — A few final musings — yes, musings — from Purdue's 69-65 loss at Wisconsin.
• You know, there's probably a conversation to be had here not about whether will make the NCAA Tournament, but whether it should make the NCAA Tournament, as so many opportunities have now come and gone, from November to now to get the wins that scream to people that this is an NCAA Tournament team. I know all about the home throttlings of four good teams, but Purdue's résumé has taken a real hit from the Badger State (where there are no badgers) alone, as either this win or the Marquette win might have changed things considerably for Purdue, and when Selection Sunday comes around, Purdue's win at Indiana may look more like reason to keep IU out than to put the Boilermakers in.
I know the hope is there that if Purdue can finish 3-0 against Minnesota and Indiana, it can get that nod due to the Big Ten's gravitational pull. But that's no given, nor is Purdue winning all the game it needs to from here on out.
And I'm still trying to adjust to life in a world where it's thought to be realistic that 11 teams from a 14-team conference can still make the tournament as of the end of February.
Anyway ...
• The missed threes by Sasha Stefanovic were opportunities for Purdue, but you could feel the Boilermakers losing this game on those offensive rebounds Wisconsin got. If the visitors cap only two of those three sequences with rebounds, I think it wins this game. It was trending that way, at least.
• Lost in all of this is that Jahaad Proctor didn't score and Eric Hunter may as well not have. This team is way too limited offensively as is, and can't win without its scorers scoring at least a little. The foul trouble got Hunter. What happened to Proctor I'll have to go back at watch tomorrow, but he'd been averaging double figures the past few weeks, and Hunter does average double-figures. Throw in the fact you're getting very little from Matt Haarms offensively right now and that's like two dozen points you didn't have tonight you've normally been able to count on even in losses.
• I'll say it again: Talk up energy and effort all you want when it comes to starts, but Purdue has to be way better defensively from a details perspective. Attentiveness and concentration have not been this roster's strength this season, and yes, I think the three-point shooting onslaught they've taken on the chin the past three games is at least in part a reflection of those things.
Thanks for reading, everybody.
Have a good night.
• You know, there's probably a conversation to be had here not about whether will make the NCAA Tournament, but whether it should make the NCAA Tournament, as so many opportunities have now come and gone, from November to now to get the wins that scream to people that this is an NCAA Tournament team. I know all about the home throttlings of four good teams, but Purdue's résumé has taken a real hit from the Badger State (where there are no badgers) alone, as either this win or the Marquette win might have changed things considerably for Purdue, and when Selection Sunday comes around, Purdue's win at Indiana may look more like reason to keep IU out than to put the Boilermakers in.
I know the hope is there that if Purdue can finish 3-0 against Minnesota and Indiana, it can get that nod due to the Big Ten's gravitational pull. But that's no given, nor is Purdue winning all the game it needs to from here on out.
And I'm still trying to adjust to life in a world where it's thought to be realistic that 11 teams from a 14-team conference can still make the tournament as of the end of February.
Anyway ...
• The missed threes by Sasha Stefanovic were opportunities for Purdue, but you could feel the Boilermakers losing this game on those offensive rebounds Wisconsin got. If the visitors cap only two of those three sequences with rebounds, I think it wins this game. It was trending that way, at least.
• Lost in all of this is that Jahaad Proctor didn't score and Eric Hunter may as well not have. This team is way too limited offensively as is, and can't win without its scorers scoring at least a little. The foul trouble got Hunter. What happened to Proctor I'll have to go back at watch tomorrow, but he'd been averaging double figures the past few weeks, and Hunter does average double-figures. Throw in the fact you're getting very little from Matt Haarms offensively right now and that's like two dozen points you didn't have tonight you've normally been able to count on even in losses.
• I'll say it again: Talk up energy and effort all you want when it comes to starts, but Purdue has to be way better defensively from a details perspective. Attentiveness and concentration have not been this roster's strength this season, and yes, I think the three-point shooting onslaught they've taken on the chin the past three games is at least in part a reflection of those things.
Thanks for reading, everybody.
Have a good night.
