Understaffed Boilermakers Need Moore

Posted by TD Lawlor on February 8th, 2009

Riding a three game shooting slump, Illinois (19-5, 7-4) regained its footing this weekend with a combination of defense and blue collar effort in a 66-48 beating of Purdue (17-6, 6-4) in Champaign.  For its part, Matt Painter’s Boilermakers ended a rough week that saw it lose twice on the road and succumb to the reality of playing without a healthy Robbie Hummel for the foreseeable future.  Consequently, its season hangs in the balance. (more…)

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Loose Balls: February 6

Posted by TD Lawlor on February 6th, 2009

Come February in a conference as competitive as the Big Ten, the passion for the game oozes off the chins of players and coaches thick as tobacco juice.  Show up in another time zone and you’ll get drilled as Minnesota was against the Spartans.  Show up with less than your full arsenal of players and you run the risk Purdue ran against Ohio State.  There are no easy marks, definitely not Northwestern or Penn State. Not even Indiana, which finally finished a game by knocking off Iowa. It’s a great time to be a Big Ten fan. (more…)

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The Season Begins for Purdue

Posted by TD Lawlor on November 26th, 2008

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. (more…)

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