With a belly full of prime beef lathered with Roquefort cheese and washed down by a crisp Old Speckled Hen from the Spotted Pig, Hoopraker will witness the season begin in earnest for Purdue tonight in Madison Square Garden against Boston College, the red-headed step-child of the ACC. After Wisconsin was rudely awakened to the reality of competitive basketball by UConn, the Big Ten looks to its premier team to Boiler Up.
Competition Breeds Success
In blow out wins to open the season, Purdue has yet to be challenged. Perhaps a result of the inferior competition, Purdue has yet to find its jump shooting rhythm. It’ll come and hopefully it’ll come tonight against BC.
What one can certainly depend upon is Purdue’s defense. It’s a clinic. An unwavering characteristic of Matt Painter teams (unlike Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin), Purdue doesn’t take possessions off on defense. Everything Purdue accomplishes as a team comes from its aggressive, in your mug, pressure. It’s the foundation of their success and one BC will undoubtedly contend with tonight.
We shy away from prognostications at Hoopraker, but there are exceptions. Look for Keaton Grant to shoot well and JuJuan Johnson to make a difference. Purdue wins.
Where’s Iowa
John Beilein’s Michigan team, lead by sophomore scorer Many Harris, has been the sexy pick be the most improved team in the Conference. As Hoopraker has already pointed out, Penn State led by Talor Battle and Illinois led by Demetri McCamey stand an equal if not better chance of breaking through this season. But let’s not forget Iowa.
Todd Lickliter doesn’t have a high flying scorer nor a big early season win like Beilein, but he does have a proven system for winning that his players have bought into this year. Gone is the disconsolate Tony Freeman who ran possessions marked by desultory dribbling. Enter freshman Anthony Tucker, a pure-shooter, and the improved Cyrus Tate and Jeff Peterson.
Through five games, Iowa is 5-0 but untested. Competitive games begin for the Hawkeyes on Friday against West Virginia, followed by Kansas State/Kentucky and Boston College. As of Thanksgiving, Iowa’s shooting 52% overall and 42% on threes, both marked improvements over last season’s sorry 42% and 35% respectively. If the shooting touch doesn’t fail them when the competition rises, Iowa could surprise.
Well, I’m back from the Garden, which is not the World’s Greatest Arena (it’s not even close to Conseco or the Kohl Center or even old St John Arena). Purdue has some work to do. My quick perception is they’re thin (Johnson) in the post. They’ll rely heavily on defense and jump shots. Rebounding will be a problem.
Left by TD Lawlor on November 26th, 2008