Greetings from the bowels of Mackey Arena and what will be a full media room tonight now that all the Iowa writers who'll be in Indy anyway for the Big Ten title game tomorrow will be double-dipping.
This. Seat. Is. Mine. Motherf---s.
Anyway, Purdue can take its first step toward what it'll hope winds up being a Big Ten championship season tonight against the Hawkeyes.
As we outlined yesterday, this is a season where if you offered Purdue a shootout, Purdue might tell you to bring it on. The Boilermakers can score with anyone.
That doesn't mean it's the preferred option.
This is a great opportunity to really set a tone for this Big Ten season from a defensive perspective. Whether they approach this that way or not, that will be a test of their maturity and view of the big picture.
This is the time of the year where we start to find out who's sustainably good and who's maybe not so much. I don't think that applies as much to Purdue, but Iowa, it might. This will be an enormous test for them, much like that early season trip to Iowa last year was an enormous test for Purdue and one that made the Boilermakers better for the long run.
Keegan Murray might be limited tonight, and that would be a big deal. He's a superstar, part of this league's next generations of greats — him, Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey, Johnny Davis maybe, and some others.
That would make this a really tall task for Iowa, but hey, you never know. Purdue football went to Iowa and beat a second-ranked Iowa team. Funny how things work out sometimes.
A couple more things ...
• Jaden Ivey is Purdue's most important player tonight. His defensive matchup with Jordan Bohannon will be a massive test for him, as he has to keep maturing as an off-ball defender with his attentiveness and discipline. At the other end, Purdue will want to be the pace-setter here, and that will fall on Iowa to make sure the game is played fast when the Boilermakers want it to be, and played slow when Iowa wants it played by fast.
• Great experience tonight for Caleb Furst, with whichever Murray he has to guard. These aren't the last skilled and dynamic 4s Purdue will see this season, so best get used to it now. Dawson Garcia and Malik Osborne have already come through the schedule, but these guys are good, too.
Purdue is — and will always be — extremely vulnerable against small ball, against teams who can spread them out and shoot from multiple positions, especially the frontcourt. Iowa will put that matchup dynamic to the test once again, though I don't know if they necessarily have the quickness outside of Joe Touissant to really kill Purdue off the dribble.
• Joe Touissant. Huge key to this game, Purdue keeping Iowa's much-improved point guard under wraps. Isaiah Thompson, you're up. We know that Eric Hunter can handle matchups like this one because he's done it most of his career, but this is a big game for Thompson, who's been really good on defense, I think, but needs to continue to be in Big Ten play.
• Rebounding. This ought to be a big advantage for Purdue post-Luka Garza. Especially on the offensive glass.
That's what I've got. I'm gonna go look for William Berg now.
Thanks everybody.
Follow along in-game here or on Twitter at @brianneubert
This. Seat. Is. Mine. Motherf---s.
Anyway, Purdue can take its first step toward what it'll hope winds up being a Big Ten championship season tonight against the Hawkeyes.
As we outlined yesterday, this is a season where if you offered Purdue a shootout, Purdue might tell you to bring it on. The Boilermakers can score with anyone.
That doesn't mean it's the preferred option.
This is a great opportunity to really set a tone for this Big Ten season from a defensive perspective. Whether they approach this that way or not, that will be a test of their maturity and view of the big picture.
This is the time of the year where we start to find out who's sustainably good and who's maybe not so much. I don't think that applies as much to Purdue, but Iowa, it might. This will be an enormous test for them, much like that early season trip to Iowa last year was an enormous test for Purdue and one that made the Boilermakers better for the long run.
Keegan Murray might be limited tonight, and that would be a big deal. He's a superstar, part of this league's next generations of greats — him, Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey, Johnny Davis maybe, and some others.
That would make this a really tall task for Iowa, but hey, you never know. Purdue football went to Iowa and beat a second-ranked Iowa team. Funny how things work out sometimes.
A couple more things ...
• Jaden Ivey is Purdue's most important player tonight. His defensive matchup with Jordan Bohannon will be a massive test for him, as he has to keep maturing as an off-ball defender with his attentiveness and discipline. At the other end, Purdue will want to be the pace-setter here, and that will fall on Iowa to make sure the game is played fast when the Boilermakers want it to be, and played slow when Iowa wants it played by fast.
• Great experience tonight for Caleb Furst, with whichever Murray he has to guard. These aren't the last skilled and dynamic 4s Purdue will see this season, so best get used to it now. Dawson Garcia and Malik Osborne have already come through the schedule, but these guys are good, too.
Purdue is — and will always be — extremely vulnerable against small ball, against teams who can spread them out and shoot from multiple positions, especially the frontcourt. Iowa will put that matchup dynamic to the test once again, though I don't know if they necessarily have the quickness outside of Joe Touissant to really kill Purdue off the dribble.
• Joe Touissant. Huge key to this game, Purdue keeping Iowa's much-improved point guard under wraps. Isaiah Thompson, you're up. We know that Eric Hunter can handle matchups like this one because he's done it most of his career, but this is a big game for Thompson, who's been really good on defense, I think, but needs to continue to be in Big Ten play.
• Rebounding. This ought to be a big advantage for Purdue post-Luka Garza. Especially on the offensive glass.
That's what I've got. I'm gonna go look for William Berg now.
Thanks everybody.
Follow along in-game here or on Twitter at @brianneubert
