Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen.....it's Friday, and it's time for Big Ten basketball. Tonight the 7-0 Iowa Hawkeyes come in to Mackey Arena to face the #2-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, who are also 7-0. This shapes up to be one of the bigger regular season contests for the Boilers in a while. It's the conference opener with what appears to be one of the top conference competitors.......it's a battle with The Most Hated Rival......and oh, if Purdue can prevail, they're most likely to ascend to the top spot in the Associated Press Poll, which would be a first in program history. The atmosphere should be electric - tip coming up @ 9:00 pm (Eastern) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Both of these teams are among the NCAA's leaders for offense and can be formidable when making shots, and for Iowa, led from the outside by 6th-year player Jordan Bohannon. Overall offensively, the Hawkeyes are led by Keegan Murray, averaging 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Unfortunately, we've just learned he is a late scratch and out of the line-up due to an ankle injury. That is a big blow to Iowa; however, they're still capable of pulling the upset. They've been better than the Boilers with turnovers, and Purdue can't afford to give away possessions. With Murray out, I think that will help Purdue focus more on trying to take Bohannon out of the game. Also without Murray, it may be tougher to go small-ball to try and neutralize Purdue's advantage in the paint.
For Purdue - it might be down to just keeping things straight-forward - run the offense, let Jaden Ivey create when he can - take the opportunistic shots, and limit the opponents' possessions from reduced turnovers and control of the glass. If they do that, they should be in good shape if they shoot anywhere near a decent percentage. Get the crowd going early and often and attack in waves.
I really don't know how this game is going to turn out - the Boilers will certainly be amped - can they channel that into the proper focused intensity and avoid distraction?
Can they keep things rolling like against Florida State? Iowa is coming off an impressive road win @ Virginia.....does Purdue knock them off and give them their first loss?
We shall see, shortly.
Boiler Up, my friends.......
Both of these teams are among the NCAA's leaders for offense and can be formidable when making shots, and for Iowa, led from the outside by 6th-year player Jordan Bohannon. Overall offensively, the Hawkeyes are led by Keegan Murray, averaging 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Unfortunately, we've just learned he is a late scratch and out of the line-up due to an ankle injury. That is a big blow to Iowa; however, they're still capable of pulling the upset. They've been better than the Boilers with turnovers, and Purdue can't afford to give away possessions. With Murray out, I think that will help Purdue focus more on trying to take Bohannon out of the game. Also without Murray, it may be tougher to go small-ball to try and neutralize Purdue's advantage in the paint.
For Purdue - it might be down to just keeping things straight-forward - run the offense, let Jaden Ivey create when he can - take the opportunistic shots, and limit the opponents' possessions from reduced turnovers and control of the glass. If they do that, they should be in good shape if they shoot anywhere near a decent percentage. Get the crowd going early and often and attack in waves.
I really don't know how this game is going to turn out - the Boilers will certainly be amped - can they channel that into the proper focused intensity and avoid distraction?
Can they keep things rolling like against Florida State? Iowa is coming off an impressive road win @ Virginia.....does Purdue knock them off and give them their first loss?
We shall see, shortly.
Boiler Up, my friends.......
