Good afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen. It's a scheduled 1:00 pm (Eastern) tip-off in Mackey Arena for the visiting Maryland Terrapins and the #3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers as part of the CBS national broadcast. This is the only regular season meeting between Maryland and Purdue and both teams are coming off very disappointing efforts. Maryland lost at home to Iowa, giving up 110 points and 19 3-pt FG's, while Purdue played its worst game of the year in falling at Michigan, 82-58.
On paper, this game appears to be a mismatch, as Maryland struggles both on offense and defense and are near the bottom in the conference standings (3-10; 11-13 overall). However, Eric Ayala is quite capable of scoring from the backcourt and has had his moments against the Boilers. Fatts Russell is also coming off a 20-pt game performance. I expect Maryland will play better than its dismal showing against the Hawkeyes - little pressure on them, and despite being routed, they did shoot 14-26 from beyond the arc on TH. So, if Purdue isn't focused again on the defensive end, Maryland could hang around if they hit some shots early.
For the Boilers, Jaden Ivey had a decent offensive game in Ann Arbor, but that was still off from his recent performances, and he didn't get much help other than from Trevion Williams, as Zach Edey was limited from foul trouble. It was hopefully just one of those nights as an outlier....a tired team on a rough schedule.....and one to forget about. However, we really won't know one way or the other from today.....but the Boilers have a trip to Evanston this week before taking on a now red-hot Rutgers squad next Sunday. And it gets even tougher after that. The Boilers definitely need Eric Hunter, Jr. to continue his recent surge, and they can't afford any more off nights from Sasha Stefanovic given the defensive problems for the team.
So, it's back to the basics for the Boilers - execute.....don't get concerned with the officials.....make enough of the good shots......take better care of the basketball.....control the glass......and start getting more of the 50/50 opportunities. On defense, they have to somehow eliminate the mental breakdowns and show a little more urgency.
All is not lost with one subpar performance.....sure, they now trail Illinois again, but Purdue is still right there with three other teams with four conference losses and the conference title is certainly still attainable and within reach......but, in the words of John Houseman - "They'll have to EARN it." NCAA tournament seeding may have taken a hit, but again.....there is still time to get that back on track.....no time to get complacent or caught up in one disappointing loss.
Can the Boilers get things back on track, starting today? We shall see.
Boiler up, my friends.
On paper, this game appears to be a mismatch, as Maryland struggles both on offense and defense and are near the bottom in the conference standings (3-10; 11-13 overall). However, Eric Ayala is quite capable of scoring from the backcourt and has had his moments against the Boilers. Fatts Russell is also coming off a 20-pt game performance. I expect Maryland will play better than its dismal showing against the Hawkeyes - little pressure on them, and despite being routed, they did shoot 14-26 from beyond the arc on TH. So, if Purdue isn't focused again on the defensive end, Maryland could hang around if they hit some shots early.
For the Boilers, Jaden Ivey had a decent offensive game in Ann Arbor, but that was still off from his recent performances, and he didn't get much help other than from Trevion Williams, as Zach Edey was limited from foul trouble. It was hopefully just one of those nights as an outlier....a tired team on a rough schedule.....and one to forget about. However, we really won't know one way or the other from today.....but the Boilers have a trip to Evanston this week before taking on a now red-hot Rutgers squad next Sunday. And it gets even tougher after that. The Boilers definitely need Eric Hunter, Jr. to continue his recent surge, and they can't afford any more off nights from Sasha Stefanovic given the defensive problems for the team.
So, it's back to the basics for the Boilers - execute.....don't get concerned with the officials.....make enough of the good shots......take better care of the basketball.....control the glass......and start getting more of the 50/50 opportunities. On defense, they have to somehow eliminate the mental breakdowns and show a little more urgency.
All is not lost with one subpar performance.....sure, they now trail Illinois again, but Purdue is still right there with three other teams with four conference losses and the conference title is certainly still attainable and within reach......but, in the words of John Houseman - "They'll have to EARN it." NCAA tournament seeding may have taken a hit, but again.....there is still time to get that back on track.....no time to get complacent or caught up in one disappointing loss.
Can the Boilers get things back on track, starting today? We shall see.
Boiler up, my friends.
