I didn't want to my post-game wrap-up to get dominated by stats...or have a focus on the individual...so here's a supplemental analysis of tonight's performance:
JJ scored 21 points. But in the process shot below 50%...not because he wasn't shooting well in the post, but because he was 0-3 from behind the three point line. He finished with nine rebounds...it just felt like less. He had one block, but was beaten in the blocks quite a few times in the second half.
Smooge had the quietest 17 points I can remember. In fact, I was shocked to see his final point tally. He also had four assists and three rebounds. And while he drew fouls and got to the free throw line, he only shot 66% from the charity stripe. The defense that we've been spoiled by from Smooge simply wasn't there as he gave a ton of space while MSU ran a weave time and time again.
If you visit here regularly, you know that I'm a LewJack fan. Well, I've gotta be honest, Jackson played an lousy game. He didn't push the ball enough, only had three assists to go along with two rebounds and two points.
His fellow point guard, Barlow, played poorly too. He had a few ill-advised shots, three missed free throws, one point, one assist, one rebound and one steal to go along with his one turnover. Plus he had two bone-headed plays (one on defense, one on offense) that were absolute momentum killers.
Terone Johnson played for 23 minutes...but did so quietly. Same goes for DJ Byrd and Ryne Smith (with the exception of one shot, that looked big at the time). No one really was a difference-maker in the supporting cast.
I might sound negative, but if you watched the game, you probably agree. Purdue played poorly as a team...and for the second-straight game, really deserved to lose.