Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Deja Vu all over again......another week and another road challenge for the #-24 ranked Purdue Boilermakers. This time, after a flight delay yesterday, the Boilers are in College Park, Maryland to take on the Maryland Terrapins. Purdue defeated Maryland, 73-70, back on Christmas Day in a spirited contest. Expect the same this time around, except that Sasha Stefanovic will not be in the line-up, as he is missing the last of his three games due to COVID-19 protocols. Trevion Williams played only 16 minutes in the first contest as Maryland went to a small line-up at times, which gave Purdue some fits. I would expect the Boilers will see some of that again this time around, and it will be interesting to see how Purdue counters with adjustments. Look for Brandon Newman and Jaden Ivey to stay aggressive. Donta Scott was effective and is Maryland's second leading scorer and top rebounder; the Boilers will need to contain him, along with Eric Ayala and Darryl Morsell off the bench.
It's a lot of the same goals for this relatively young team, which is developing nicely. Value the possessions and limit the turnovers and stay strong on the glass. Combine that with working the inside/outside game and staying patiently aggressive. If they play like they did in the second half against Minnesota, they've got a great chance to pick up another big road win. If they play like they did in the first half, however, they might have a short stay among the ranked teams. Can't afford any letdowns as Maryland is quite capable - they have road wins @ Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, already.
Will the Boilers keep it rolling? We shall see shortly.
Scheduled tip coming up in less than an hour @ 6:30 pm. Television coverage - Big Ten Network
Boiler up, my friends.
It's a lot of the same goals for this relatively young team, which is developing nicely. Value the possessions and limit the turnovers and stay strong on the glass. Combine that with working the inside/outside game and staying patiently aggressive. If they play like they did in the second half against Minnesota, they've got a great chance to pick up another big road win. If they play like they did in the first half, however, they might have a short stay among the ranked teams. Can't afford any letdowns as Maryland is quite capable - they have road wins @ Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, already.
Will the Boilers keep it rolling? We shall see shortly.
Scheduled tip coming up in less than an hour @ 6:30 pm. Television coverage - Big Ten Network
Boiler up, my friends.
