Purdue @ Penn State predictions
- Thread starter Summy1
- Start date
Just like the Michigan State game, Purdue needs to focus on not letting people go off on us. The one thing about the Rutgers game was they let someone pretty much single-handedly keep Rutgers hanging for a while. We will win these road games like Penn State, NW and Michigan if we continue to play better defense. If we don't, they will be tough - and could lead to losses. Our offense has the ability to make up for defensive lapses, but it's no guarantee.
No prediction but this game worries me and I wasn't at all worried about MSU.
Same here. PSU is rather helter-skelter it seems and can beat ...Or lose... To anyone.
Plus it's a road game and I hope we aren't looking ahead.
THIS is the classic trap game ! ! Penn State is much more aggressive at home and tends to drive more often ! That's how they beat Michigan State and thats how they beat Maryland. (ie 38 freethrow attempts !! and 7 layups/dunks)
This should be the perfect test for our paint defense and will tell us if we are getting ready for the NCAA tourney. I have been very vocal on our key to success. (ie Keep the number of easy points under 30 ! - layups, dunks and freethrows)
In our recent run (Maryland, Indiana, ) we were able to make driving teams EARN their points. (ie we only gave up 20-24 easy points) We did that by NOT fouling early in the contests and by providing good enough help inside the paint to make those driving shots difficult.
If we are truly focused on taking care of business, we will do the same thing tonight and win by 11. If not, we will be absolutely miserable tomorrow. I will be watching the best indicator of this year's success. (Layups, dunks, freethrows) The first half is even more critical in this one ! If we allow them to effectively drive in the first half, we are in trouble. (anything around 10-16 pts in layups, dunks and FT in the 1st half is a good number for us)
This should be the perfect test for our paint defense and will tell us if we are getting ready for the NCAA tourney. I have been very vocal on our key to success. (ie Keep the number of easy points under 30 ! - layups, dunks and freethrows)
In our recent run (Maryland, Indiana, ) we were able to make driving teams EARN their points. (ie we only gave up 20-24 easy points) We did that by NOT fouling early in the contests and by providing good enough help inside the paint to make those driving shots difficult.
If we are truly focused on taking care of business, we will do the same thing tonight and win by 11. If not, we will be absolutely miserable tomorrow. I will be watching the best indicator of this year's success. (Layups, dunks, freethrows) The first half is even more critical in this one ! If we allow them to effectively drive in the first half, we are in trouble. (anything around 10-16 pts in layups, dunks and FT in the 1st half is a good number for us)
This game has a lot of things that scare me but this team is different. Previous years I used to cringe when games were close but this just knows how to win.
I think it will be close heading into half time and foul trouble will ultimately doom them.
Purdue 80 - PSU 67
I think it will be close heading into half time and foul trouble will ultimately doom them.
Purdue 80 - PSU 67
I was at the their first meeting in Mackey. From what I saw, this is just a bad matchup for Penn St. They can't compete inside at all. Their athletes aren't significantly faster than ours. Dakota and Carsen slow them down considerably with their defensive skill and/or quickness. Combine this with the fact that they are bottom half in the BigTen in shooting the ball and you have a problem for them. The game I saw was never close and the talent difference was apparent throughout. We'll play solid D, they'll struggle to score, and our offense will find a weakness and exploit it.
78-62 Purdue
Now, . . you know why I called this a trap game ! Like I have been saying, . . when we spot teams 35-40 easy points on layups, dunks and FT we have a hell of a time winning ! Penn State had 42 tonight ! I still believe a zone in the last few minutes of a game would be very effective against a driving team ! ! ! Penn State lost this game because they didn't drive as much in the OT period. (only 1 layup, when we couldn't stop them the last 4 minutes of the game) All they had to do was to take PJ to the rim on every possession and we would have lost. Freshmen mistakes. I also wondered why they didn't drive in Mackey and believe it was because we got a good quick lead and they tried to shoot 3s to catch up. Again, a freshmen problem.
On a positive note, . . Vince PJ and Ryan played BIG for us tonight when it counted, although we still didn't have anyone who wanted to take the shot at the end of regulation. Maybe Ryan will now have the confidence to take it
We have lost tournament games lately because we don't have anyone willing to step up at the end. I'm glad cline was willing to take the shots and more importantly make them. Penn state has always been a tough place for us to win. Time to focus on michigan now.
