Boiler Up!

Purdue starts three freshmen making it the youngest starting five in the NCAA. They certainly didn't show their age on Tuesday night. The Boilers managed to stave off a Michigan State squad that fought back from an 18 point deficit at the half thanks to a few passes to absolutely no one, some unnecessary long-range three attempts, and the sudden and complete inability to rebound on our part. Here's a clip of Purdue starting the second half. Thankfully things improved after a couple of quick timeouts.

This is a huge win after beating Wisconsin in Madison (only the second time for a Big Ten team in the last decade) and marking the first time in school history that we've beaten back-to-back top ten teams.

As the lone Purdue alum here I have the responsibility to report all the good fortune to come out of West Lafayette. So far it's been a pretty easy job. But now that the Boilers are actually defending first place in something I'm obligated to toss in a little perspective. I haven't used that muscle in a while and it's going to burn in the morning. A deep burn.

After our win in Madison last week ESPN said that we had a share of the conference lead. Actually according to the numbers we were in first place. I woke up yesterday morning and the ESPN article had the standings posted with us in third place behind IU and MSU, whom we just beat. If ESPN wants to come out and say that they hate Purdue and have absolutely no respect for us that's fine but they should at least be able to tell that 11 is more than 9 or 8.

First of all Robbie Hummel is not a boy, he's a man, nay an ASSASSIN! There was a series late in the game where he missed a jumper, got his own rebound, tossed to an outlet, came back in bounds to catch a pass back, nailed the three, then hustled down the court and took a charge. He ended up with a career-high 24 points. I can't wait to see how this guy matures over the next few years.

E'Twaun Moore. What can you say? During the first half he was dropping more bombs from long distance than during the Tokyo Fire Raids. This guy OWNED Eric Gordon last year in the state finals. He's still going to need to bulk up a little bit if he wants to grab a few of those rebounds that Landry used to pull down.

Purdue managed to hold MSU's Neitzel to only 6 points and 1 FG who had previously been averaging 14 points a game. A large part of that was due to the play of Chris Kramer who played a physical game against Drew and company to disrupt their motion on offense.

Purdue has been mowing down opponents like Sherman marching across the south but after a quick stop in Evanston to beat Northwestern they're in for a dogfight against IU in Bloomington. I really wish the game was at Purdue but after watching the win in Madison I'm not as concerned about the venue. I don't think it matters where these guys play. Sure it would be nice to have The Paint Crew backing us up but if you can't get up for a Purdue vs. IU game then something's wrong. And I certainly don't mind the fact that these new recruiting scandal allegations are surfacing all of a sudden. Great coaching choice IU. I can't wait to hear what the other 4 major allegations are.

Finally I think with Wisconsin's win over the Hoosiers last night IN Bloomington with a filthy shot that looked an awfully lot like the banked 3-pointer that Eric Gordon used to squeak by U of I, Purdue may have clinched the Big Ten last night. Think about it, we swept Wisconsin who just beat IU. Even if IU somehow beats us on Tuesday then we'll split with them. We've got the leverage. This theory is still in the works...

Anyway, I know a couple of guys at Wrigleyville23 are big IU fans. I won a taco from a guy in my office after Purdue beat MSU and I would like to extend the same wager to you guys. The winner gets one free taco. I would say I'll call you to arrange the exchange but Kelvin used up all my anytime minutes.