The Handsome Hour gets together to talk about setting expectations for a "successful" Purdue basketball season, Matt Painter earning these high expectations, the program's approach to recruiting, and improvements that need to be made for Purdue to take the next step under Coach Painter.
Top 3 in the Big Ten regular season, 25 wins, and a Sweet 16 berth. Are these fair goals for Matt Painter and Purdue basketball? Let's dive into the data and find out.
Our expectations were pretty positive and pretty fair...and we were disappointed a few weeks ago. If you accept the ending of the season as 'okay', you're part of the problem that Purdue athletics are mired in. The days of a class that expected to go to the Sweet 16 each year seems like ancient history.
The Boilermakers' 2015-2016 basketball season came to an end on Thursday night, when Purdue fell to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in a heartbreaking 2OT loss. Michael, Aneesh, and JMoney get together to talk about the frustrations of this ending after everything broke right for Purdue all year, Matt Painter's coaching decisions during that game, and how those same issues can be corrected after a decade of similar mistakes.
We said earlier in the season -- several times -- that this was a significant season for Matt Painter. There really were no excuses for underachievement or collapses this year. There were no major injuries, no sudden transfers, no cancerous malcontents on the team. This team had talent, depth, experience and hunger. It was time for Coach Painter to bring it all together.
Postseason play goes into full swing this week as both Purdue teams begin their quest for a title. The fifth-seeded men open against Arkansas-Little Rock at 4:30 PM Thursday on TBS, while the 11th-seeded women open against Oklahoma at 1:30 PM Saturday on WatchESPN (and possibly ESPN2).
Experience a Boiled Sports Bracketgasm!
The Boiled Sports Megazord got together on Selection Sunday to talk about Purdue's performance in the Big Ten Tournament and the Boilermakers' #5 seed in March Madness, and preview Purdue's opening matchup with UA-Little Rock.
Last year Purdue closed the pre-NCAA Tournament season with wins against hapless Illinois and Penn State, and losses against the much stronger Ohio State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. This year has been different.
The Boilers win going away for the second straight day at the Big Ten Tourney and look a bit like a team on a mission. They'll go for the completion tomorrow but for now, let's enjoy today's dismantling of Michigan. Also, retro jerseys again, for those of you who love your '90s.
Purdue beat Illinois in the Boilers’ first game of the Big Ten Tournament, 89-58. Everything is incredible.
Aneesh, Andy, and Boilerdowd recap the end of the Boilermakers' 2015-2016 regular season, the fantastic play of PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias, and Caleb Swanigan, the rough stretch from Kendall Stephens and Ryan Cline, and the way Vince Edwards and AJ Hammons have taken control of this team.
All that, plus a recap of Boilerdowd's dreams, and listener questions about preferred BTT/March Madness matchups, seeding predictions, baseline wins for a "successful" season, if Johnny Hill filled Jon Octeus' role well, and whether this class has lived up to the Baby Boilers' legacy. We also give our thoughts on Purdue's CrowdFunding campaign to raise funds for Mackey Arena.
