This is just what Lewis Jackson does.
Maybe I saw something others didn't, but what I saw Tuesday night was the Boilermakers' senior point guard and the Big Ten's smallest player - unofficially; I haven't looked it up - play giant once again in crunch time of a Purdue win.
He did it against Temple in San Juan. He did it Minneapolis. And I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting another game in which Jackson closed the game out for Purdue.
Had Purdue lost to Iowa in Mackey Arena Tuesday, the term "bubble team" would all of a sudden become a compliment.
I don’t know about you, but I never once really thought Iowa might win Tuesday night, but through 16 minutes of play, it gave the impression it might, with Purdue mired in another quagmire of a first half.
A lot of things happened in the second half to change things.
Purdue rebounded.
Its sophomores, Terone Johnson and Travis Carroll, delivered big-time.
Robbie Hummel really looked like Robbie Hummel by canning back-to-back jumpers to give Purdue the lead early in the half.
Purdue made its free throws.
Melsahn Basabe got pinned to the bench with foul trouble, an occurrence I'm sure Fran McCaffery took no issue with whatsoever. You'd never think a guy that plain looking could get that. I have no idea what that even means.
But as much as anything, Jackson happened.
Jackson looked like he was beginning to take over early in the second half, but picked up his third foul trying to take a charge on Aaron White, sending him to the bench.
When he came back in at 9:40, Purdue had gone up 10 with him on the bench, only to see Iowa sucker-punch it with eight quick points in the span of roughly three seconds. I believe that's correct, at least.
Jackson came back in and the game changed, swinging decisively back in the home team's favor.
He scored four quick points, first pushing the ball in transition off a turnover, drawing a foul and making both shots, then knocking down a jump shot.
Jackson scored when Purdue needed points. When he didn't, he created easy baskets for Carroll and Terone Johnson on back-to-back trips. When he missed a long jumper, the smallest guy on the floor snuck between a bunch of bigger guys for an offensive rebound and new shot clock.
And most importantly, he made his free throws.
This is what Jackson is capable of, as he's shown time and again with his way of imposing his will on a game in key junctures.
Sometimes he can, but sometimes he can't.
We knew Jackson was going to play well tonight, because with the every-other-game plan his injured back has put him on, he was due. If trending continues, though, Michigan State this weekend will be a tough one for him.
Jackson is Purdue's catalyst. We know this.
When your catalyst can go some days, can't go others, and is inconsistent because of it, the team can't help but be wildly inconsistent itself, as Purdue's been.
Maybe I'm putting too much on one player, but when I look at the games Purdue's played well in and the game's Purdue's played bad in, then look at the point guard's line in those games, I can't help but notice a correlation.
Maybe it's just coincidence, I don't know.
But probably not.
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