Boilers Arrive in DC; Immediately Impeached
Purdue picked up right where they left off when last we saw them playing March postseason basketball, losing a lead in the final minute and then losing the game in overtime, falling to Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals, 74-70.
The Boilermakers didn’t play great defense, didn’t play sharp on offense, had to deal with uneven officiating and weren’t able to overcome it all this time.
Michigan basketball, on the other hand, is sticking to the old March adage “Survive a plane crash and advance.” They were able to get their regular blue roadies back for today’s game, while Purdue trotted out their throwbacks again -- perhaps best remembered by Purdue fans not for the streak the Boilers went on wearing them late last season but for being the unis Purdue was wearing when they blew a 14 point lead in the final minutes versus Arkansas-Little Rock.
Purdue’s offense felt discombobulated all day. Biggie went for his usual double-double, but only had 13 points before fouling out in overtime. He also had five assists but unfortunately four turnovers, too.
No one else in the starting lineup cracked double digits. VE was quiet with just eight points on 3/9 shooting and PJ had just six points -- with three coming on a more-than-half-court-heave at the half:
Perhaps more crushing, though, was Dakota Mathias and Ryan Cline going a combined 2/10 for six points. Dakota only hit 1/8 from the field for three total points, coupled with three turnovers. He did have three assists but this was a lost day for Dakota.
The reason Purdue had a chance in this game was the combined 34 points (17 each) off the bench from Carsen and Isaac. Haas shot a blistering 80% (8/10) and Carsen went for 70% (7/10). In fact, Carsen looked to have put the game away late in the second half on a speedy coast-to-coast rush that put the Boilers up 66-63 with just 35 seconds left. Hmmm, where have I seen this kind of script before?
A phantom foul on Biggie on the next possession gave him four for the game and Michigan inched closer on a free throw. PJ was then fouled with 18 seconds to go and missed the front end. Yes, Purdue had a chance to close it out on FTs and it didn’t happen. Zak Irvin then made a layup with a few seconds remaining to tie it. Purdue only scored four points after that Carsen Edwards bucket that looked to potentially salt the game away. Hey, that’s for normal teams. We’re not normal here at Purdue. We’re MAKERS. We make March disappointment.
Purdue went 6/13 from the line in this game, which certainly hurt. Michigan fans were whining about how unfair the officiating was in the first half and Coach Beilein even got himself an early tech for complaining about it. It worked, too, as Purdue wound up with four guys having four or more fouls and Michigan went to the line ten more times than Purdue. Meanwhile, Matt Painter stood stoically on the sidelines wondering what kind of culinary delights the Washington, DC area holds.
Hey, look, to some of us, winning the Big Ten Tournament doesn’t really mean all that much. We’ve said this before….but it can certainly hurt a team. Purdue is obviously a tourney lock but this loss -- this visible loss -- in their first game of the BTT probably will result in Purdue being dropped to a 5-seed for the big tourney. I don’t think anyone here at BS thinks that’s right or appropriate -- Purdue is actually a good team. But it feels especially true this season that no matter how much Purdue wins, they barely inch up the rankings (remember, for example, that IU was ranked third in the nation at one point this year), while if they lose, they’re punished severely. You lump that on top of the notion that the Big Ten is so terrible this year and Purdue will be slid down the seed line.
Player of the Game
I’m giving this to my man CBoogie Edwards. His 17 points in 27 minutes on 70% shooting was so much fun to experience. The energy he brings is just a shot in the arm for a Purdue team that can sometimes be lulled to sleep. Carsen rarely seems to partake in the halftime pasta meal.
Tweets of the Game
Yeah, the DC location was a great idea. First, the BTT tried to kill the Michigan team. Now, it’s trying to hurt the income of concession stand workers.
And yeah, someone had to do it...because it's how many Purdue fans are feeling right now:
