The good and the bad (vs. Ball State)

[charlespig]

The good:

1. ORB. Eifert, Eastern, and Haarms are all crashing the board like crazy (combined for 12 ORBs between those 3). We may be missing a ton of shots but we are grabbing a whopping 19 ORBs (47.5%)! That's the MSU bully ball model, and without as much skilled player, we really need to steal some possessions.
2. Eastern. So much for the "start Hunter / bench Nojel" or "Nojel's giving half-ass effort b/c he's transferring" sh!t. He was making a difference defensively and offensively (12 pts, 6 ORBs, including one he just ripped away from the defender for an easy 2). As soon as he took a seat in the first half, Persons took off. His complete stat-line: 12 pts (5-7 FG, 2-3 FT), 9 REBs, 2 STLs, 1 BLK, 1 AST, 1 TO.
3. Posting up Eastern. I've been wanting to see some Eastern post-up to take advantage of his size advantage, now that we don't really have an Isaac Haas eating up space down low. Painter did that and it was awesome.
4. P&R. I see we run a ton of P&R, and that's exactly how we should do it given our personnel. Haarms and E-Bo did a great job setting the screen and rolling to the basket, and Carsen and Cline are great at finding their partner.
5. Defense. I love how we are making use of our length and active hands to force 18 TOs. The pressure defense is back and I love it. The long wing span of Eastern, Wheeler and Carsen really bothered the Ball State players.
6. Intensity. Floor burns are back, led by Eifert and Sasha! And I can't count how many charges Haarms drew. This team has plenty of flaws and makes plenty of mistakes, but as long as they play hard, I will never be too upset. We may not be as good as the other team, but we should never lose the hustle battle.

The bad:

1. 3-pt shooting. We see how ugly it can be when our 3s are not falling (only 7-32, 21.9%). In one sequence before half time we got 3 ORBs, only to miss 3 open 3s and couldn't cash in. Yuck! Cline was especially bad (1-9), missing multiple open 3s, and Carsen is 2-10.
2. FTs. The final tally was actually a decent 70.8%, but it looked a lot worse early on when neither Haarms or Nojel can hit 2 consecutive FTs. The two combined for 7-11, which unfortunately is actually "not bad" by their standard.
3. Sasha. Outside for a diving on the floor (which I ABSOLUTELY adore) and won that 40-60 ball, he was horrible and flat out getting beat (TBF, Boudreaux was getting beat too multiple times, and to an extent Wheeler too, but at least E-Bo got 7 REBs and Wheeler got 2 ORBs and 2 BLKs). Sasha (and Wheeler) also committed the deadliest kind of TOs (pick-6s), which are momentum-killing.
4. Luck. It was reminiscent of the UALR game when UALR just hit some incredibly lucky shots. Ball State has multiple 3s banked in or rolled in, or desperation heave at the end of shot clock going in. Once those shots stopped falling in the 2nd half, we pulled away.
5. PFs. I understand the refs is calling tight, but we really need to be smart with our fouls. Some of them are just unnecessary, like Eastern's first when he went after an ORB when the BSU player already got position. That made Painter taking him out early, and immediately Persons came alive. The same with Haarms, EBo and Eifert, as those 3 combined for 12 fouls.
6. Final winning margin. Towards the end of the game, I was saying, "No 3; no 3." Coz we were up 12, and if they made a 3, then we would win by only 9. Why does it matter? Under the new NET system that the NCAA adopted, scoring margin is capped at 10. So in the eyes of NCAA ranking, it doesn't matter if we won by 10 or 70, but it does make a difference winning by 10 or 9. Sure, it's probably only affecting fraction of a decimal, but hey, I am for every thing that gives Purdue an edge in the NCAAT seeding.

 

[delish1]

Nice post. Dont agree in all points but good read.

A lot of guys played well tonight which is good to see. Always good to have options with the line up. Wheeler might be a year away but you can definitely see the ability (like nojel last year.) It would be huge for the team if he could develop confidence with some game experience.

Clearly haarms played well. Looks like that 3 might come around. If he was stronger he'd be a real monster but he's still really mobile for a big. Needs to stay out of foul trouble until tre or wheeler is ready.

Considering Purdue won easily with Cline and Carsen combining for 3-19 from 3, everyone pretty much showed something. Looked like a confidence builder which is awesome. Charleston is a solid but winnable tournament. It could propel a young team.

Your last point was interesting, I didnt know that detail.

 

[tjreese]

Nice post. Dont agree in all points but good read.

A lot of guys played well tonight which is good to see. Always good to have options with the line up. Wheeler might be a year away but you can definitely see the ability (like nojel last year.) It would be huge for the team if he could develop confidence with some game experience.

Clearly haarms played well. Looks like that 3 might come around. If he was stronger he'd be a real monster but he's still really mobile for a big. Needs to stay out of foul trouble until tre or wheeler is ready.

Considering Purdue won easily with Cline and Carsen combining for 3-19 from 3, everyone pretty much showed something. Looked like a confidence builder which is awesome. Charleston is a solid but winnable tournament. It could propel a young team.

Your last point was interesting, I didnt know that detail.

I didn't either...not sure it makes a lot of sense to have a defining 10 pt spread either. Obiously it makes more sense with the shortened clock over years previously, but it still is vulnerable to so much. Reminds me a bit of a "flatness reading" over a surface area rather than a slope per linear distance...they are different. Anyway, I didn't know that either.

 

[BBG]

Here is my key take away from last night (other than Eastern being a beast), we scored a LOT of points WITHOUT the 3 ball falling. I mean we were out pacing BSU who I think had a good night shooting the 3, or at least it seemed like it.

If we can score like that without our 3 ball dropping, then good things will come and it is going to be very exciting to watch.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

Wheeler has so much potential. He has a long ways to go, but it would not shock me if he eventually found a role in the NBA.

 

[JohnHoosierr]

Dumb

 

[olafmetal]

Dumb

Lazy

 

[charlespig]

Nice post. Dont agree in all points but good read.

A lot of guys played well tonight which is good to see. Always good to have options with the line up. Wheeler might be a year away but you can definitely see the ability (like nojel last year.) It would be huge for the team if he could develop confidence with some game experience.

Clearly haarms played well. Looks like that 3 might come around. If he was stronger he'd be a real monster but he's still really mobile for a big. Needs to stay out of foul trouble until tre or wheeler is ready.

Considering Purdue won easily with Cline and Carsen combining for 3-19 from 3, everyone pretty much showed something. Looked like a confidence builder which is awesome. Charleston is a solid but winnable tournament. It could propel a young team.

Your last point was interesting, I didnt know that detail.

1. Thanks the encouragement. No need to agree with all of them, b/c that's the whole point. I just love talking about basketball with fellow passionate fans.

2. I absolutely agree with you about a stronger Haarms will be a real monster. Interestingly, Ball State coach precisely said Haarms is soooo big that it gave them issue (he didn't think much of Bordreaux), although I was thinking, "Man, you should be glad you never have to deal with Haas."

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

One thing I'll add is that was entertaining to watch. Yes, shots werent falling like we would hope, but it was fun seeing the new guys hustle. We look much faster and more athletic than in the past.

 

[IndySouthsider]

I didn't either...not sure it makes a lot of sense to have a defining 10 pt spread either. Obiously it makes more sense with the shortened clock over years previously, but it still is vulnerable to so much. Reminds me a bit of a "flatness reading" over a surface area rather than a slope per linear distance...they are different. Anyway, I didn't know that either.

So now teams won’t try and get their 9,10,11, 12, & 13 players off the bench. Great thinking by the ruling body of student athletes.

 

[tjreese]

So now teams won’t ver get their 9,10,11, 12, & 13 players off the bench. Great thinking by the ruling body of student athletes.

I don't know the weighting to really understand

 

[IndySouthsider]

I don't know the weighting to really understand

Seems shortsided to use margin of victory. Ball State closed the gap because we emptied the bench. Somehow you have to account for that. To me a win is a win. And anytime they try to use margin of victory seems silly.

Besides. Anything that keeps Luce off the floor this season is a bad rule.

 

[cheeseman18]

Seems shortsided to use margin of victory. Ball State closed the gap because we emptied the bench. Somehow you have to account for that. To me a win is a win. And anytime they try to use margin of victory seems silly.

Besides. Anything that keeps Luce off the floor this season is a bad rule.

The NET uses a capped victory margin as one of it's metrics. But it also uses the net offensive and defensive efficiency data (points per 100 possessions for and against), and that data is not capped. So yes, that specific part of the formula is capped, but other parts of it take the whole margin into account. Ultimately, they tried different options for the cap, and back calculated previous seasons using different choices, and decided that capping it at 10 was the best choice. Seeing how Google was involved in coming up with this system, I'm gonna choose to trust their expertise over my own.

 

[Wolegib]

How good or bad of a team is Ball St?

 

[Boiler Buck]

Here is my key take away from last night (other than Eastern being a beast), we scored a LOT of points WITHOUT the 3 ball falling. I mean we were out pacing BSU who I think had a good night shooting the 3, or at least it seemed like it.

If we can score like that without our 3 ball dropping, then good things will come and it is going to be very exciting to watch.

Yea, I too was impressed by the scoring..... putting up 40+ point halves was always so enjoyable to watch last year......didn't know this bunch would be able to do that against a quality opponent. Hopefull it continues consistently.

 

[BoilerAndy]

So now teams won’t try and get their 9,10,11, 12, & 13 players off the bench. Great thinking by the ruling body of student athletes.

Wouldn't it help in that area? This is the first i've heard of this, but if you only have to win by 10, and running up the score gives you no benefit, won't coaches be more likely to clear the bench with a comfortable lead? Or maybe I am misunderstanding the metric.

 

[TwinDegrees2]

How good or bad of a team is Ball St?

They'll be pretty damned good in the MAC and should contend for the title. Might even make the NCAA's this year....fun to watch, limited bench, players getting used to each other.

 

[BoilerAndy]

Yea, I too was impressed by the scoring..... putting up 40+ point halves was always so enjoyable to watch last year......didn't know this bunch would be able to do that against a quality opponent. Hopefull it continues consistently.

This. 4 players in double figures and a 5th with 9 points. IMO, 8 players could score double figures on any given night.

 

[lbodel]

The good:

1. ORB. Eifert, Eastern, and Haarms are all crashing the board like crazy (combined for 12 ORBs between those 3). We may be missing a ton of shots but we are grabbing a whopping 19 ORBs (47.5%)! That's the MSU bully ball model, and without as much skilled player, we really need to steal some possessions.
2. Eastern. So much for the "start Hunter / bench Nojel" or "Nojel's giving half-ass effort b/c he's transferring" sh!t. He was making a difference defensively and offensively (12 pts, 6 ORBs, including one he just ripped away from the defender for an easy 2). As soon as he took a seat in the first half, Persons took off. His complete stat-line: 12 pts (5-7 FG, 2-3 FT), 9 REBs, 2 STLs, 1 BLK, 1 AST, 1 TO.
3. Posting up Eastern. I've been wanting to see some Eastern post-up to take advantage of his size advantage, now that we don't really have an Isaac Haas eating up space down low. Painter did that and it was awesome.
4. P&R. I see we run a ton of P&R, and that's exactly how we should do it given our personnel. Haarms and E-Bo did a great job setting the screen and rolling to the basket, and Carsen and Cline are great at finding their partner.
5. Defense. I love how we are making use of our length and active hands to force 18 TOs. The pressure defense is back and I love it. The long wing span of Eastern, Wheeler and Carsen really bothered the Ball State players.
6. Intensity. Floor burns are back, led by Eifert and Sasha! And I can't count how many charges Haarms drew. This team has plenty of flaws and makes plenty of mistakes, but as long as they play hard, I will never be too upset. We may not be as good as the other team, but we should never lose the hustle battle.

The bad:

1. 3-pt shooting. We see how ugly it can be when our 3s are not falling (only 7-32, 21.9%). In one sequence before half time we got 3 ORBs, only to miss 3 open 3s and couldn't cash in. Yuck! Cline was especially bad (1-9), missing multiple open 3s, and Carsen is 2-10.
2. FTs. The final tally was actually a decent 70.8%, but it looked a lot worse early on when neither Haarms or Nojel can hit 2 consecutive FTs. The two combined for 7-11, which unfortunately is actually "not bad" by their standard.
3. Sasha. Outside for a diving on the floor (which I ABSOLUTELY adore) and won that 40-60 ball, he was horrible and flat out getting beat (TBF, Boudreaux was getting beat too multiple times, and to an extent Wheeler too, but at least E-Bo got 7 REBs and Wheeler got 2 ORBs and 2 BLKs). Sasha (and Wheeler) also committed the deadliest kind of TOs (pick-6s), which are momentum-killing.
4. Luck. It was reminiscent of the UALR game when UALR just hit some incredibly lucky shots. Ball State has multiple 3s banked in or rolled in, or desperation heave at the end of shot clock going in. Once those shots stopped falling in the 2nd half, we pulled away.
5. PFs. I understand the refs is calling tight, but we really need to be smart with our fouls. Some of them are just unnecessary, like Eastern's first when he went after an ORB when the BSU player already got position. That made Painter taking him out early, and immediately Persons came alive. The same with Haarms, EBo and Eifert, as those 3 combined for 12 fouls.
6. Final winning margin. Towards the end of the game, I was saying, "No 3; no 3." Coz we were up 12, and if they made a 3, then we would win by only 9. Why does it matter? Under the new NET system that the NCAA adopted, scoring margin is capped at 10. So in the eyes of NCAA ranking, it doesn't matter if we won by 10 or 70, but it does make a difference winning by 10 or 9. Sure, it's probably only affecting fraction of a decimal, but hey, I am for every thing that gives Purdue an edge in the NCAAT seeding.

I think the team is generally performing how I expected. There's glimpses of some great things - but they're too inexperienced, both playing together and some in general playing college basketball, that it's very inconsistent. The good news is there's a lot of upside - to where on a good night, this team will be able to play with some very good teams. On a bad night, they could lose to some bad teams, though.

The good news is that the energy and effort are there - and there's plenty of guys playing for minutes (well, except for Carsen and Matt Haarms is playing against himself for PT). If they play hard, they will be tough to upset - but we'll see better teams than Ball State soon.

As Robbie said, Matt just needs to realize he's the tallest guy out there, no need to reach down. Just keep the arms up. Him staying out of foul trouble will be very important because he has a good motor for a big guy.

 

[Boilerrush]

How good or bad of a team is Ball St?

7 all stars! That should say enough right there, with us having so many new faces .

 

[Boilerrush]

ANyone else considering the fact that Ball state has 7 all stars on their team? This was a GREAT WIN for Purdue. Please don't think otherwise , for the ones trying to pick a few thing out.

 

[peytonrules]

I am probably going to get harassed on here being an IU fan but I watched the whole game Saturday night and I see the same issues most of Painter's teams have had. They lack athleticism, especially on the front line. Same thing that has killed them in the tournament it seems year in and year out. Granted injuries also derailed them a couple of those years. It was a very entertaining game to watch but I saw numerous times where the Ball State player was able to get right past the Purdue defender and break the defense down. Boudreaux, Cline, Sasha and Haarms are in my opinion just not athletic enough and that is a problem. If Ball State was able to expose that then other teams will definitely look to exploit that. Now Purdue will still win a lot of games because they play hard and Carson is a stud. They almost have the opposite problem IU has. IU is plenty athletic enough down low but they will struggle against teams with any height. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ignacious McNutt]

They lack athleticism,

Athleticism is one thing this team doesn't lack. If you did watch it, then you clearly don't understand what athleticism is.... it was even brought up during the game about how much Painter has.

This is hands down probably Painter's most athletic team he has recruited.

 

[peytonrules]

Athleticism is one thing this team doesn't lack. If you did watch it, then you clearly don't understand what athleticism is.... it was even brought up during the game about how much Painter has.

This is hands down probably Painter's most athletic team he has recruited.

Like I said it is just my opinion from what I saw. Eastern, Wheeler and Edwards definitely fit the athletic mold. The rest of the rotation I saw play in my opinion did not.

 

[Ignacious McNutt]

Like I said it is just my opinion from what I saw. Eastern, Wheeler and Edwards definitely fit the athletic mold. The rest of the rotation I saw play in my opinion did not.

Then perhaps you should not base an entire perception off of one game? I mean if we did that, we could say that Romeo sucks. See how that works?

Especially when you probably know very little about our team because you have no real reason to.

 

[TwinDegrees2]

I am probably going to get harassed on here being an IU fan but I watched the whole game Saturday night and I see the same issues most of Painter's teams have had. They lack athleticism, especially on the front line. Same thing that has killed them in the tournament it seems year in and year out. Granted injuries also derailed them a couple of those years. It was a very entertaining game to watch but I saw numerous times where the Ball State player was able to get right past the Purdue defender and break the defense down. Boudreaux, Cline, Sasha and Haarms are in my opinion just not athletic enough and that is a problem. If Ball State was able to expose that then other teams will definitely look to exploit that. Now Purdue will still win a lot of games because they play hard and Carson is a stud. They almost have the opposite problem IU has. IU is plenty athletic enough down low but they will struggle against teams with any height. Just my 2 cents.

I'm guessing Lil' Archie would give his left one for Haarms. And Wheeler. And....Boudreaux is glue.

 

[peytonrules]

I'm guessing Lil' Archie would give his left one for Haarms. And Wheeler. And....Boudreaux is glue.

I would take Haarms. He is definitely a rim protector. Doesn't mean he is athletic but he can block shots. Wheeler we have enough of his type on our roster now. Boudreaux we have the same type of player in Fitzner.

 

[Boiler Buck]

. Boudreaux, Cline, Sasha and Haarms are in my opinion just not athletic enough and that is a problem. .

I think most B1G programs would be very happy with any or all of these 3 guys on their roster....athletic or not.

As to Sasha.....well lets not worry about a 2-3 minute player's impact.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

I am probably going to get harassed on here being an IU fan but I watched the whole game Saturday night and I see the same issues most of Painter's teams have had. They lack athleticism, especially on the front line. Same thing that has killed them in the tournament it seems year in and year out. Granted injuries also derailed them a couple of those years. It was a very entertaining game to watch but I saw numerous times where the Ball State player was able to get right past the Purdue defender and break the defense down. Boudreaux, Cline, Sasha and Haarms are in my opinion just not athletic enough and that is a problem. If Ball State was able to expose that then other teams will definitely look to exploit that. Now Purdue will still win a lot of games because they play hard and Carson is a stud. They almost have the opposite problem IU has. IU is plenty athletic enough down low but they will struggle against teams with any height. Just my 2 cents.

For 7’3”, Haarms looks athletic to me. This is the first time since JuJuan Johnson that Purdue has had a center with the footwork to hedge aggressively. With his length, he doesn’t need to be able to leap like Wheeler.

I agree that Cline and Boudreaux don’t have stellar quickness, but they are solid overall players.

Hunter looks very quick, but still plays defense like a freshman. It’s going to take a little time with him.

 

[lbodel]

They'll be pretty damned good in the MAC and should contend for the title. Might even make the NCAA's this year....fun to watch, limited bench, players getting used to each other.

Ball State plays Virginia Tech (ranked 16) this week. You can't pick and choose a game here or there to judge a team by, but will be interesting to see how they play.

Any of these teams that you play right now are gunning for you - Purdue's been good and every team we play non-conference will be giving us their best shot, whether they are quality or not.

While not necessarily against bad teams, Purdue's found itself in the "losers" bracket of a few of these early season tourneys fairly quickly. It'd be nice to stay on the winner's side - and hopefully get to play Wichita State. This tournament is good for a non-marquee tournament - but the losers side won't be as quality as you get at Atlantis/Maui.

 

[BoilerAndy]

Like I said it is just my opinion from what I saw. Eastern, Wheeler and Edwards definitely fit the athletic mold. The rest of the rotation I saw play in my opinion did not.

Once Hunter gets more playing time, you'll see more athleticism from the wing. Haarms is athletic for a 7-3 guy.

Edit: Just saw BoilerDaddy said it better.

 

[tjreese]

I am probably going to get harassed on here being an IU fan but I watched the whole game Saturday night and I see the same issues most of Painter's teams have had. They lack athleticism, especially on the front line. Same thing that has killed them in the tournament it seems year in and year out. Granted injuries also derailed them a couple of those years. It was a very entertaining game to watch but I saw numerous times where the Ball State player was able to get right past the Purdue defender and break the defense down. Boudreaux, Cline, Sasha and Haarms are in my opinion just not athletic enough and that is a problem. If Ball State was able to expose that then other teams will definitely look to exploit that. Now Purdue will still win a lot of games because they play hard and Carson is a stud. They almost have the opposite problem IU has. IU is plenty athletic enough down low but they will struggle against teams with any height. Just my 2 cents.

Purdue did struggle some in all the games in containing the dribble. Sasha and Aaron specifically. The more athleticism the more "potential" to be a good defensive player. That said Dakota was very bad early and he got better through his career. I "think" Purdue's containment will get better with more games and this team does have more athletic players than perhaps the Baby Boilers? Even in the exhibition game there was more penetration than Matt would want and Purdue won that easily.

What we do know is that Matt typically puts a team out on the floor that plays good D and I expect this team to get there as well. Now, it is true that a few spots are not athletes, but if you are a Knight fan or have some history of Knight's teams then you know you want a MIX of skill and athletes..with "maybe" the lean changing from skill to athlete due to the clock.

 

[SunnyFL24]

7 all stars! That should say enough right there, with us having so many new faces .

Didn't they beat ND up in South bend last year with pretty much the same starters?

 

[SCBoiler1]

Didn't they beat ND up in South bend last year with pretty much the same starters?

10 and 8 in the MAC last year. Lost last 4 games. Nothing special.

 

[mathboy]

10 and 8 in the MAC last year. Lost last 4 games. Nothing special.

They sort of remind of IUPUI Fort Wayne. Nothing special... Unless you are a pretentious BIG team that wears red.

 

[BoilerAndy]

Didn't they beat ND up in South bend last year with pretty much the same starters?

They added some very good transfers, so they have more talent than last year. They really should make some noise by the end of the season.

 

[SCBoiler1]

They added some very good transfers, so they have more talent than last year. They really should make some noise by the end of the season.

Ball State had two transfer starters. Brachen Hazen and KJ Walton. Brachen scored 3 points the entire year at Arkansas and KJ Walton shot 22% from 3 and under 40% overall his sophomore year at Missouri. He also had more turnovers than assist while averaging 6.7 points per game for a team that went 2-16 in their conference. Ball State had one other transfer that played 14 minutes and he is from Central Connecticut State.

By the way Taylor Persons is a career 35.6% three point shooter who has averaged less than 15 points per game for two mid major programs. The lowest percentage of any Purdue player (5 players) who shot more than 10 three pointers last year was 39.6%.

There is no judgement here, these are just facts.

Now for my opinion.

Ball Sate was 19-13 last year, 10-8 in the MAC. I don't know how good Ball State will be this year, but the statistics from prior years would indicate they will be a pretty good MAC team but that's about it. The MAC conference has won one NCAA Tournament game since 2012.

Call me crazy, but I'll reserve my judgement on whether this is the "most athletic team" Painter has had or whether Nojel is the "best Purdue defender ever" for a few more games.

 

[mathboy]

Ball State had two transfer starters. Brachen Hazen and KJ Walton. Brachen scored 3 points the entire year at Arkansas and KJ Walton shot 22% from 3 and under 40% overall his sophomore year at Missouri. He also had more turnovers than assist while averaging 6.7 points per game for a team that went 2-16 in their conference. Ball State had one other transfer that played 14 minutes and he is from Central Connecticut State.

By the way Taylor Persons is a career 35.6% three point shooter who has averaged less than 15 points per game for two mid major programs. The lowest percentage of any Purdue player (5 players) who shot more than 10 three pointers last year was 39.6%.

There is no judgement here, these are just facts.

Now for my opinion.

Ball Sate was 19-13 last year, 10-8 in the MAC. I don't know how good Ball State will be this year, but the statistics from prior years would indicate they will be a pretty good MAC team but that's about it. The MAC conference has won one NCAA Tournament game since 2012.

Call me crazy, but I'll reserve my judgement on whether this is the "most athletic team" Painter has had or whether Nojel is the "best Purdue defender ever" for a few more games.

I may not agree with his post 100%, but I like how SCBoiler his point with facts and statistics.

Watching the game, I enjoyed watching the Boilermakers start to play more as a team. I think they are just beginning to find their pace and strength. Like SCB,
I also think Ball State is a middle of the road MAC team. I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. We all know the size of the school has little to do with how good the basketball team can be. Just ask IU about those guys in Fort Wayne!

I do think Ball State had some good athletes playing, and they might have been further along as a team than we were. They are not as young and have more upperclassmen (I think) than we are putting on the court. This wasn't a "defining moment" for us. It was just another point in our growth as a team. Ball State is a good team and will finish (I predict) with a better record in their conference than last year. It was a good win over a good team. Sometimes even those wins can be hard to come by for a young team.

 

[BoilerAndy]

Ball State had two transfer starters. Brachen Hazen and KJ Walton. Brachen scored 3 points the entire year at Arkansas and KJ Walton shot 22% from 3 and under 40% overall his sophomore year at Missouri. He also had more turnovers than assist while averaging 6.7 points per game for a team that went 2-16 in their conference. Ball State had one other transfer that played 14 minutes and he is from Central Connecticut State.

By the way Taylor Persons is a career 35.6% three point shooter who has averaged less than 15 points per game for two mid major programs. The lowest percentage of any Purdue player (5 players) who shot more than 10 three pointers last year was 39.6%.

There is no judgement here, these are just facts.

Now for my opinion.

Ball Sate was 19-13 last year, 10-8 in the MAC. I don't know how good Ball State will be this year, but the statistics from prior years would indicate they will be a pretty good MAC team but that's about it. The MAC conference has won one NCAA Tournament game since 2012.

Call me crazy, but I'll reserve my judgement on whether this is the "most athletic team" Painter has had or whether Nojel is the "best Purdue defender ever" for a few more games.

You make some good points, but don't they have 7 Indiana All-Stars on the team? Some of their players were good enough to be recruited by Purdue. The talent is there to make some noise. I know nothing about their coaching, but we'll see if they get better as the season progresses and they pull together as a team. Much like Purdue with their newcomers. I'm rooting for them to have a strong season and to make the NCAA. It will help Purdue.