A few final musings from Purdue's 61-60 loss at Maryland, because I know how you like musings.
• Purdue was fortunate to beat Maryland team the first time around and was a one-point 'dog tonight in a game KenPom had pegged as 50/50. There was no upset here tonight, nor will there be upsets should Purdue lose at Minnesota or Penn State.
That's the nature of the Big Ten. A whole bunch of teams who are just as good as most everyone on their schedule, regardless of what the records say. Maryland being winless at home prior to tonight was a meaningless factoid, same as Minnesota being winless on the road. It's not them. It's the competition.
Purdue, young as it is, is just fortunate it's not been on the wrong end of one of those superlatives. This is a tough league to be young in.
• Can't say much more about Trevion Williams. He's got to be earning some first-team All-Big Ten votes in a league with like 10 legit guys. He's been everything Purdue has hoped he'd be, seems to me.
• Last time Purdue and Maryland played, Painter put Aaron Wheeler at the 5 to guard that last ball screen. No second-guessing here, though, because Williams did fine, and you needed a rebound, too, and Trevion Williams has to be out there when you need a rebound. I can't remember how much time was on the clock the first time around.
• I get letting Jaden Ivey just make a play as much as he'd gotten done to that point, but as good as Purdue has been out of timeouts, I thought Painter would have been wise to use one prior to the possession that possession that resulted in the missed turnaround. To Maryland's credit, I think they guarded both those possessions really well, but a post touch would have been ideal, and Purdue's been great coming out of timeouts this season and had already hit Maryland with a nice sideline out-of-bounds plays that got Williams fouled earlier in the game.
But Ivey was amazing in those final seven minutes. He is going to be a star. Nothing you don't know.
Jaden Ivey is what Purdue usually loses to in the NCAA Tournament, that level of talent. Best way I can put it.
• Not being able to get a stop against ball-screen offense late in games is not necessarily a new issue for Purdue. Last year's Michigan game in Ann Arbor and Texas and Rutgers games at Mackey come to mind.
It's the difficulty of playing big sometimes, and I do think Trevion Williams did as well as could have been expected guarding that drive. Just one of those things. Purdue had one of the best rebounders in the country out of position, and every other Boilermaker blocked out and wound up doing so to Eric Ayala's benefit.
That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
• Purdue handled things well without Sasha Stefanovic all things considered.
I still say the Michigan game plays out different if they just have a chance to practice much beforehand, but for Purdue to be down such an important piece and still beat a good team, then come this close to another road win, good for them.
• Maryland can be a really tough guard, 'cause these teams where everybody on the floor is between 6-3 and 6-7, their interchangeable nature is a real pain. Ohio State had teams like that a few years back.
There's going to be a mismatch somewhere at all times, and posting Purdue's guards was a sound strategy. If you're complaining about Isaiah Thompson, well, he had to guard someone and they're all the same size. If it wasn't him being picked on, they'd have gone after Eric Hunter or Jaden Ivey. Just the nature of the beast.
Purdue would do the same thing on its front line, where its advantages lie.
• Brandon Newman's inconsistency has been well documented and explainable by his youth, but Purdue could really use more consistency from Eric Hunter. I figured he'd score much more than he's been lately, but that's not the bigger issue. The turnovers are. Purdue has a turnover problem, has all season, and the solution starts with the guys with the ball in their hands the most. I'm stunned to see him shooting 28 percent from three, too.
Hunter was awesome against Minnesota, but has been up and down a lot this season, and balancing out the unevenness and being as consistent as classmates Stefanovic and Trevion Williams would really help Purdue.
• Reminder that Purdue endured an event that had folks on that plane contemplating their own mortality and praying to their savior.
In the grand scheme of things, you'll probably agree a one-point loss at Maryland isn't that big a deal.
Thanks for reading, everyone, and have a good night.
• Purdue was fortunate to beat Maryland team the first time around and was a one-point 'dog tonight in a game KenPom had pegged as 50/50. There was no upset here tonight, nor will there be upsets should Purdue lose at Minnesota or Penn State.
That's the nature of the Big Ten. A whole bunch of teams who are just as good as most everyone on their schedule, regardless of what the records say. Maryland being winless at home prior to tonight was a meaningless factoid, same as Minnesota being winless on the road. It's not them. It's the competition.
Purdue, young as it is, is just fortunate it's not been on the wrong end of one of those superlatives. This is a tough league to be young in.
• Can't say much more about Trevion Williams. He's got to be earning some first-team All-Big Ten votes in a league with like 10 legit guys. He's been everything Purdue has hoped he'd be, seems to me.
• Last time Purdue and Maryland played, Painter put Aaron Wheeler at the 5 to guard that last ball screen. No second-guessing here, though, because Williams did fine, and you needed a rebound, too, and Trevion Williams has to be out there when you need a rebound. I can't remember how much time was on the clock the first time around.
• I get letting Jaden Ivey just make a play as much as he'd gotten done to that point, but as good as Purdue has been out of timeouts, I thought Painter would have been wise to use one prior to the possession that possession that resulted in the missed turnaround. To Maryland's credit, I think they guarded both those possessions really well, but a post touch would have been ideal, and Purdue's been great coming out of timeouts this season and had already hit Maryland with a nice sideline out-of-bounds plays that got Williams fouled earlier in the game.
But Ivey was amazing in those final seven minutes. He is going to be a star. Nothing you don't know.
Jaden Ivey is what Purdue usually loses to in the NCAA Tournament, that level of talent. Best way I can put it.
• Not being able to get a stop against ball-screen offense late in games is not necessarily a new issue for Purdue. Last year's Michigan game in Ann Arbor and Texas and Rutgers games at Mackey come to mind.
It's the difficulty of playing big sometimes, and I do think Trevion Williams did as well as could have been expected guarding that drive. Just one of those things. Purdue had one of the best rebounders in the country out of position, and every other Boilermaker blocked out and wound up doing so to Eric Ayala's benefit.
That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
• Purdue handled things well without Sasha Stefanovic all things considered.
I still say the Michigan game plays out different if they just have a chance to practice much beforehand, but for Purdue to be down such an important piece and still beat a good team, then come this close to another road win, good for them.
• Maryland can be a really tough guard, 'cause these teams where everybody on the floor is between 6-3 and 6-7, their interchangeable nature is a real pain. Ohio State had teams like that a few years back.
There's going to be a mismatch somewhere at all times, and posting Purdue's guards was a sound strategy. If you're complaining about Isaiah Thompson, well, he had to guard someone and they're all the same size. If it wasn't him being picked on, they'd have gone after Eric Hunter or Jaden Ivey. Just the nature of the beast.
Purdue would do the same thing on its front line, where its advantages lie.
• Brandon Newman's inconsistency has been well documented and explainable by his youth, but Purdue could really use more consistency from Eric Hunter. I figured he'd score much more than he's been lately, but that's not the bigger issue. The turnovers are. Purdue has a turnover problem, has all season, and the solution starts with the guys with the ball in their hands the most. I'm stunned to see him shooting 28 percent from three, too.
Hunter was awesome against Minnesota, but has been up and down a lot this season, and balancing out the unevenness and being as consistent as classmates Stefanovic and Trevion Williams would really help Purdue.
• Reminder that Purdue endured an event that had folks on that plane contemplating their own mortality and praying to their savior.
In the grand scheme of things, you'll probably agree a one-point loss at Maryland isn't that big a deal.
Thanks for reading, everyone, and have a good night.
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