Outside the State of Indiana, the names and talents of Robbie Hummel and E’Twaun Moore were not particularly well-known at the season’s inception. It was the darlings of Major Media, IU’s Eric Gordon and Thad Matta’s next great recruiting class led by Kosta Koufos and John Diebler, who received the acclaim rather than Matt Painter’s Indiana bred freshman four.
But now, after a season sweep and a resounding victory on Saturday night in Madison against the Badgers (19-4, 9-2), the rest of the Country is starting to grasp what knowledgeable Big Fan fans have known all along: the young Boilermakers have coalesced into the Big Ten’s paragon.
A Foundation of Belief
On January 31, Indiana traveled to Dane County untested but undefeated in conference play. The Hooisers left the Kohl Center bearing a loss and bruised with the scars of a thorough Bo Ryan basketball clinic. What IU couldn’t do in Madison, Matt Painter’s Boilermakers resoundingly accomplished in Saturday’s Big Ten nightcap. Purdue (19-5, 10-1) played confident, aggressive and disciplined basketball as a team from the center court tip to the final horn. As a result, they emerged with a 72-67 victory.
Where IU wilted under the volume of the Kohl Center, Wisconsin’s surgically executed swing offense and intense Badger defense, Purdue charged from the plush locker rooms prepared to compete. In a sense, the Boilermakers knocked Badgers onto their heels with an aggressive start led offensively by Nemjana Calasan.
Forcing Bo’s Hambone
Matt Painter prepared Purdue so well for this road game that Bo Ryan was uncharacteristically forced to adapt to the Boilermaker’s pace on his own court. The Badgers had difficulty defending the perimeter throughout and as a result, Ryan was forced into shortening his rotation with Greg Stiemsma playing a quick three minutes while Brian Butch watched Jason Bohannon for long stretches from the bench.
With Purdue executing their offense as well it has all season, with excellent spacing and crisp passes, the Boilermakers got open looks and made them count. Just as E’Twaun Moore did against Illinois last week, Robbie Hummel emerged offensively with 21 points on 8-12 shooting. Like Moore, Hummel has found confidence in his intelligent and sound game, highlighted with a collection of deft and unselfish passes including one to JuJaun Johnson late in the game, put the Badgers’ neck on the butcher’s block.
Still, Wisconsin remained true to its identity. They out-rebounded Purdue by 20 and made 22 more free throws than the Boilermakers. Falling behind by 15 points midway through the second half, the Badgers continued to play their core defense and they stayed within their offense. With four minutes to play, their unrelenting belief in themselves was validated as the lead was cut to four without having taken panic driven shots.
With Defense
When Wisconsin finally threatened the lead they had worked so hard to build, it was the sophomore upon whom the Boilermakers relied offensively for much of the season who made the game’s biggest defensive plays as the Kohl Center’s dull murmur grew to a roar in the game’s closing minutes. With his jump shot having abandoned him in recent games, Keaton Grant blocked one shot and recorded an open-court steal with both plays leading to breakaway baskets, one a layup by Chris Kramer and one an emphatic Grant dunk.
While Purdue certainly shot well, the Boilermakers ultimately beat the Badgers in the Kohl Center by parlaying unrelenting team defense into 18 Wisconsin turnovers and 32% shooting. And in the end, the clutch defense of Grant essentially finished off the Badgers.
Transcendence of a Team
Heading into Tuesday night’s showdown in Mackey against an 11th-ranked Michigan State team that is still looking for its groove, Purdue will have confidence aplenty. The unglamorous black and gold Boilermaker uniforms contain four of the best freshmen from the State of Indiana who collectively, have brought an uncanny maturity and perhaps destiny to Purdue basketball. Through Painter’s efforts, Hummel and Moore have seamlessly complimented sophomores Kramer and Grant, and in the process, Purdue has become a true team in the Boilermaker tradition, one forged in steel by Gene Keady.
Flux in Cook County
Northwestern is one of the finest academic institutions on the Country, on a plain occupied by Stanford, Vanderbilt, and a tobacco baron’s basketball school, Duke, among others. It’s a charter member of the Big Ten and even hosted the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1939 in the old Patten Gym. But unlike the academic stalwarts mentioned above, including Illinois down stater and Gene Keady acolyte Vandy’s Kevin Stallings, Northwestern has never made the Tournament.
Unfortunately, year eight of Bill Carmody’s tenure is rapidly turning into one of the most forgettable Wildcat seasons in a memory chock full of them. With the root of Northwestern’s futility being Carmody’s inability to recruit players complimentary to his principles, the Wildcats are en route to a perfect conference record of futility.
Human nature is inclined to short term memories and, as such, it’s easy to forget that just two years ago Purdue endured a rancid stretch of basketball, going 6-26 in conference and 0-22 on the road. Now, in Painter’s third season, those days are indeed forgettable while Northwestern continues to wallow in the muck.
New coaching hires of John Beilein, Todd Lickliter and Tubby Smith have taken the level of competition to another level and importantly for Carmody, it banished his easy marks of Tommy Amaker, Steve Alford and Dan Monson. One fears the Conference is rapidly passing Northwestern by this season as the Wildcats continue to lose and lose badly. Despite the best of intentions, it’s becoming more undeniably apparent that Carmody’s ability to turn Northwestern into the Duke of Cook County is but a delusion better off remedied sooner than later.
Big Brother Carl
Last week, Matt Painter took his team on a field trip to Conseco Fieldhouse to watch former Boilermaker and current NBA rookie Carl Landry. Marcus’ big brother Carl, a hallowed Hoopraker favorite and a second round pick of the Houston Rockets, responded with 22 points.
Perfect Lakers
As the Spartans prepare for Purdue on Tuesday, Ric Wesley and his #2 (DII) Grand Valley State upped its record to 26-0 on the year with a 74-41 pummeling of Northern Michigan.
Nice post.
Left by PurdueMatt on February 11th, 2008