Purdue Suffocatingly Stellar in Win

First appeared on January 5th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

With everything that happened over the weekend, Mike Leach’s firing, Ohio State winning the Rose Bowl, Tim Tebow playing his last college game (in which we saw the glass slipper finally fall off Cinderella’s hairy Bearcat foot) and our beloved Colts performing another stirring rendition of “Lay Down Sally”, Purdue’s performance in Mackey Arena Saturday against West Virginia was understandably lost in the shuffle.
While both teams rode in to West Lafayette with undefeated records, by the midway point of the second half one had to wonder if the Mountaineers wouldn’t be heading back to the Blue Ridge Mountains via stretcher. With 1993-94’s 14-0 start squarely in their sights, it would appear the Big Dog’s leash is about out of rope as a new generation of Boilermaker basketball is busy chasing history.
Simply put, Purdue did what Purdue does, they defended West Virginia 94 feet for 40 minutes. And they don’t merely guard you, they harass you. They hound you. They are in your shorts the minute you break the team huddle. They are tough. They are physical. They are well coached and they are relentless. And just when you think you have turned a corner and beaten your man to the basket for an easy score, like a high-dollar Vegas magic act, somebody ALWAYS appears from the weak side to deflect the shot or take a charge.
When ESPN Jay Bilas said Purdue was simply “outtoughing” West Virginia Saturday, it became clear he was so inspired by what he saw that he turned to using words nobody ever uses to describe it.
Handing the ball to officials and cheering for their teammates from the sidelines may give the appearance that Purdue is a clean cut and proper bunch, but they’re not the type of Boy Scouts who would help an old lady cross the street. They’d rather take a charge from a speeding bus to be certain she gets herself and her groceries home in one piece.
To borrow a page out of the Jay Bilas playbook, the Boilers were “suffocatingly” stellar in their win on Saturday. Not only were they outstanding defensively, the key to their performance against West Virginia was the fact that the Boilers shot the ball very well too. Coming in to Saturday’s game Purdue was shooting 45% as a team from the field, this included 31% from three point range. Saturday the Boilers fired 50% from the field including a blistering 60% from behind the arc in the second half.
Unappealing but effective, Purdue’s style is a lot like Picasso’s painting. The first impression is that both are relatively ugly, but true art aficionados and fans who understand basketball appreciate each for their individual beauty.
With this year’s Final Four just a few miles down the road in Indianapolis, Purdue may be able to save some money on Expedia by booking their hotel rooms now. For, even with speedy point guard Lewis Jackson out for the season following foot surgery, the Boilers showed Saturday they still have everything they need to make a run to Indianapolis.
For the most part on Saturday West Virginia appeared as if they didn’t have any business being on the floor with Purdue. But before we go feeling sorry for head coach Bob Huggins let’s understand, barring another key injury, Purdue has enough talent and tenacity to make their way to Indianapolis come March. And that should be enough to keep Boiler fans everywhere dancing; even the Big Dog himself.