Sadly the Boilers’ season ended in the Sweet 16 to the eventual champions, Duke.  Given the circumstances, the season was not a failure, despite not living up to preseason expectations.  Many Boilermaker fans thought it was their destiny to play down the road in Indianapolis in the Final Four; however, in a cruel twist of mid-major fate, Butler was ultimately the team of destiny.  Instead of harping on what could have been, here is a review of the up-and-downs (mostly ups) of this past Big Ten Championship season.

Out of Conference: In a Groove

While rolling through the beginning of their schedule, Purdue faced their first tough opponent, then #11, Tennessee in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Championship.  This was a tug of war battle between two future Sweet 16 teams (Tennessee reached the Elite 8).  In the final 20 seconds of an exciting game, Freshman Kelsey Barlow had a chance to lock the game up with two free throws, but missed both.  He would redeem himself shortly thereafter by grabbing a huge defensive rebound with two seconds left following a missed Wayne Chism 3-pointer, giving Purdue a 73-72 victory.  The Boilers took home more than one trophy to West Lafayette: E’Twaun Moore was named tournament MVP of the Jam for his stellar play.  It was just a preview of his season-long excellence.

Purdue went on to beat two more solid teams, first helping the Big Ten win their first Big Ten/ACC Challenge by overcoming Wake Forest’s big men, 69-58 in West Lafayette.  A few weeks later, they travelled on the road to Alabama on the same night Bama’s Mark Ingraham was awarded the school’s first Heisman Trophy.  Purdue would spoil the celebration by coming from behind on the shoulders of senior Chris Kramer.  He had 2 consecutive steals that led to immediate layups that brought Purdue ahead of ‘Bama from what was once a 16 point deficit.  The ESPN announcer said these words, in the voice of Kramer, as the senior took over: “I am quicker then you, I am bigger then you, I’m stronger than you, I am better then you, and I want it more then you.”  He did, and it gave Purdue the tough come-from-behind road win.

After opening Big Ten play by dismantling Iowa, Purdue got ready for the game they had circled on their calendar for a year, West Virginia, a Final Four team-to-be.  Although many Boiler fans would have liked to be watching Purdue’s football team playing on January 1st, the basketball team gave fans a New Year’s treat.  Purdue demolished (the dictionary doesn’t have a word for what Purdue did to Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers) 77-62, as JaJuan Johnson’s 25 points and 10 rebounds was too much for West Va.  The game was not even as close as the score suggests.

Conference Play: The Skid

Purdue rolled over a depleted Minnesota squad, giving the Boilers a 14-0 start; matching their best ever start.  Purdue then hit a major skid and lost 3 games in a row: Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, home to Ohio State, and at Welsh-Ryan arena to Northwestern.  It should be noted that Robbie Hummel scored a career high 35 Points (29 in an unreal 1st half) against OSU, but eventual Player of the Year Evan Turner single handily beat an uninspired Purdue team with his 32 points.

Looking as though they had lost their confidence and ability to simply play basketball, the unlikliest of heroes took over the Illinois game in Champaign, his name: John Hart.  That same name wasn’t even in the scorer’s book, giving Purdue a technical foul in rare fashion.  Unphased, he scored a HUGE 14 points in 18 minutes, about 1000 times more than he averaged prior to this, and helped Purdue’s Boilermaker Special get back on the right track.

Conference Play: Life is Good, but not that good

Purdue rode that momentum, while picking up some more when Lewis Jackson returned from a foot injury.  They went on a 10 game winning streak defeating, among others, Wisconsin, the Hoosiers in Bloomington, the Spartans in East Lansing, a crucial game at Ohio State, and Illinois at home.  Unfortunately, it was the last game of the winning streak that would feel more like a loss.  The details aren’t necessary, it hurts too much to type.  Hummel tore his ACL, but Purdue rallied to beat Minnesota. 

Conference Play: The Push for the Big Ten Title

Although the next few games were rocky, Purdue managed to win a share (splitting with Evan Turner State and Michigan State) of its 1st Big Ten title in over a decade.  Following a loss at home to Michigan State, Purdue finished strong by pummeling rival IU and clinching at Penn State. 

The Conference Tournament: No Repeat

After avenging an earlier loss, Purdue beat Northwestern in Indy in the conference tournament.  They then faced a hot Minnesota team who was coming off a win against Michigan State.  Purdue had a first half to forget to open against Minnesota, trailing 37-11 at the break.  Purdue never recovered, and their subsequent NCAA seed would suffer.

The NCAA Tournament: Proving EVERYONE Wrong (Including Obama)

“I feel bad for Purdue”  -President Barack Obama

Every girl in your office pool picked Siena to beat Purdue.  It was trendy…it was wrong.  A Hummel-less #4 seeded Purdue team beat Siena by 12 in Spokane, Washington as JaJuan dropped 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.  The underdog Purdue squad met Texas A&M in the second round.  This became the Purdue senior show.  Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer would not end their career in the second round.  Grant played truly inspired basketball down the stretch energizing the Boilermakers who trailed at one point in the second half by more than 10.  However, it was Chris Kramer who made arguably the play of his career in overtime.  Somewhat ignoring Coach Matt Painter’s play call, Kramer crossed over his defender and drove past a host of Texas A&M defenders and layed up the ball over future NBA big man Bryan Davis, giving Purdue the win while punching their ticket to the Sweet 16. 

Although Purdue would lose a good game to Duke, the season gave Boiler fans so many great memories and hope for next year.  Andy Katz has next year’s team as #1 in the country in the way-too-early top 25. 

Thank you for a GREAT season Boilermakers!

Season Notables

• Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant ended their career as the winningest players in Purdue history
• Hummel and Moore were honorable mention All Americans
• Matt Painter was named Big Ten Coach of the Year
• Hummel and Moore were 1st Team all Big Ten; Johnson was 2nd Team; Kramer was Honorable Mention
• Barlow was named Big Ten All-Freshman Team
• Kramer set the Purdue steal record and also won his 2nd Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Purdue holds the current longest streak for consecutive 1st round tournament wins (12, next best is Maryland with 10)
• Purdue reached as high as #3 in the country
• Purdue became the first EVER team to beat IU, MSU, OSU, ILL, and MINN on the road in the same season

-Fitz

It was a tough loss on Friday, but you have to give it to Purdue for stepping up and making the most without Robbie.  The future is definitely bright for Purdue Basketball and I am already counting down the days to next November. While Purdue keeps the “big three” and has some great talent coming in, there is no doubt they will miss Keaton Grant and especially Chris Kramer.  The guy probably had less natural basketball talent then most Big Ten starters, but ends his career proving he is one of the best players in the Big Ten.  That’s right, he is one of the best players in the Big Ten.  He is the guy that every coach dreams of having on their team, he’s the guy that every fan wishes they were, he’s the guy that sleeps with your girlfriend and you’re proud of it.

You hope that some of his work ethic and passion for Purdue Basketball rubs off on every other player on this team.  Because if they play at all like Kramer did every game throughout his career, the Final Four is almost a foregone conclusion next year. Regardless, he is going to be sorely missed.

My Top 5 Chris Kramer moments:

1.”I want the ball”  – What Kramer demands for, he gets (go to 1:15 in video)

Fast Tube by Casper

2.Kramer’s first time finding that use of legs are not necessary to prove ownership of opposition

Fast Tube by Casper

3.Normal steals have become too rudimentary for Kramer; Again decides use of legs are not necessary

Fast Tube by Casper

4.Kramer decides to defeat Alabama through pure awesomeness

Fast Tube by Casper

5.Kramer sends word to Penn State quickly that the result of this game is not in question

Fast Tube by Casper

Honorable mentions: Kramer uses face of opposition against them, DJ White learns of Chris Kramer, This game is OVER

-Flood

Cowboy UP (GBI Tom Campbell)

Let me start this off with I hate Duke…I have hated Duke all my life…I hated them growing up because I am from Maryland and loved the terps…I partied when Duke lost to IU in the 2002 tourney and I partied harder when Maryland beat IU in the finals of that tourney.  Then I attended Purdue in the fall and gave up the terps but still kept the hate for the Dukies.  Since then I have placed some large bets on the Blue Devils because I do not let my fanhood get in the way of free cash…but no matter what happens tomorrow I will be hammered because of Bade and the Boiler drinking game and still hating Duke and coach gay.  By the way I’ll be at Jerry Remy’s bar in Boston.

Duke dominated Purdue on the stat board and killed us last year by opening up with a huge run and crushing it on the boards…the only major statistical advantage Purdue has is free throw shooting and that isn’t even true because our best free throw shooter will be chillin on the bench on crutches but none of that matters.  We have the heart…we want to show Obama that his bracket is worse than an autistic kid’s…and we have Kramer.  I know he is good for an awful drive and layup which gets swatted…but ask those three tamu defenders what happened in OT and they have no answer.

Can you name the last time Duke beat a 4 seed or higher in the dance?  The answer was 2001…I was dominating high school tennis that year…I was still rooting for Maryland that year…Bill Clinton ended his presidency that year…
Trends:
Duke is 4-11 against the spread in their last 15 tourney games as a favorite

Purdue is 7-3 ats as an underdog in their last 10 tourney games

Purdue is the astronaut school and Duke will be screaming Houston we have a problem all night tomorrow.

Get some Purdue…BTFU

Picks:

Purdue +8.5

Total Over 127

If you didn’t know already, E’twaun Moore is from the MIDWEST!!

Fast Tube by Casper

I recommend that Duke’s training staff put this in their medical budget for the upcoming weekend.

- Nick H

Purdue’s game against Duke begins at 9:57pm EST on a Friday.  I know many of you are thinking about going to your local watering hole to watch the game (Join Nick H and the PurdueOutsider Crew at CLYBAR if you are in Chicago.  Be sure to get there early, or you will be left waiting in line like a GDI at a frat party).  Here is a fun little game to keep you occupied while Purdue blows out the Dukies.   Print this out and bring it to the gamewatch.

Chris Kramer Drinks:

• 1 Drink every time they use any of the following terms: Little-big man, tough, tenacious, defensive-minded, ex-football star, heart, 4 year starter, Glue Guy, or any other name that you think would go on this list.
• 2 Drinks anytime they mention football or Huntington and Chris Kramer.
• 3 Drinks every time he makes a 3 pointer or they mention he was a 3 sport athlete in high school.
• 4 Drinks every time he gets a steal; HOWEVER, you must take someone else’s drink in order to achieve this.
• Unfortunately, he loves getting blocked once a game while taking it to the hole.  If one of your buddies is hitting on a girl during the game, swat his drink down and yell “What would Chris Kramer Do!?!” and then make him finish his beer.  If you couldn’t figure out this metaphor, drink until IU is good at basketball.
• Chug the rest of your beer every time they show a replay of THE LAYUP vs. Texas A&M.

E’Twaun Moore Drinks:

• 1 Drink every time they call him Smooge.
• 2 Drinks every time he dunks.
• Give out 3 Drinks every time he drains a triple while yelling “THREEEEE TWAUN!”
• Buy a round if he makes a buzzer beater (includes shot clock, half, or end of game).

JaJuan Johnson Drinks:

• 3 Drinks every three point play (aka and 1).
• Every time he blocks Zoubek or the Plumlee brothers, chug your beer and dump the rest on your head if you can’t finish (like the Dukies can’t).
• Every time he Dunks, finish your drink and slam it on the bar/table.

The rest of the team drinks:

• 2 Drinks for every LewJack assist.
• Punch someone in the shoulder until they finish their drink if they mention Kelsey Barlow’s dad played at Notre Dame.
• If Keaton Grant looks like he just came from a Snoop Dog concert (high as a kite), drink 3…so basically drink 3.
• At halftime, buy shots for people around you. 1 for every point Byrd, Smith, and Hart have.  Take 1 away for every foul Bade has.  If Bade has more fouls than those three players, kill yourself.
• Drink for every second it took me to figure out how to spell Coach K’s last name (37 seconds…I have slow internet).

WARNING: If you play by the following rules, you won’t remember the end of the game…Party on!

• When Patrick Bade commits his first foul, drink until his second foul (this will actually only allow you about 29 seconds of drinking).
• Every time you throw up in your mouth because Kyle Singler is so heinously ugly, take a shot of tequila to actually make yourself throw up.
• Every time Grad Assistant Bobby Buckets is shown on TV, drink his height in inches: 69 (haha, 69).
• Every time they show, or talk about, Gene Keady…drink (this should be about 473 times).
• Every time Hummel is mentioned, drink away your sorrows.  Every time they show him on TV (word is, he is going to Houston), pour one out for your dead homie (Torn ACL).

That’s all I can think of, but if you have more, post them in the comments section.  Have a memorable Friday night watching Purdue beat the Blue Devils…unless you’re playing this game, in which case you will remember nothing.

GO UGLY EARLY (Singler was born to that mantra)

-Fitz (unless this is my Mom reading, in which case, this was all written by Nick H because Fitz doesn’t drink)

First, my apologies to all of my fans this weekend.  I have been away from the blog because MARCH MADNESS has taken over my life.  This year’s NCAA tournament has been a dandy, and we are only through the first weekend.  The Persians have invaded Northern Iowa and smart kids are good at basketball.  You really can’t ask for anything more out of this tournament except for Purdue putting the beat down on Duke.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend.  THE FRITZER was able to grace us with his presence as he took off from his C-list celebrity lifestyle in the NYC.

The kid just was just built on cool and awesome.  By the way, I just started calling him THE FRITZER maybe 30 minutes ago.  He doesn’t know it yet, but he will appreciate it.

The PurdueOustiser.com crew had a very memorable weekend that was focused on two visits to CLYBAR. We were able to see our Boilermakers knock out a feisty Siena Saints team and tough nosed Texas A&M team.  The best part about the Siena game was we were able to meet some of THE FRITZER’s uncles who were also Purdue alums.  It was great to see Purdue fans of all generations cheering for the Old Gold & Black.

Today, the atmosphere at Clybar was very electric.  People had to wait in a line on Clybourn Avenue to get into this cozy bar in Lincoln Park Chicago.  I was there about an hour before the Purdue – Texas A&M tip and was stuck without a chair.  However, that really didn’t change the taste of the chicken quesadillas that I ate before the game.

Do you know what did change today?  All of the minds of the college basketball pundits who had the Boilermakers losing in the first round.  It’s amazing how people rise to the occasion when everyone is against them.  For those of you that missed the game today I hope you have DVR, because it was beyond awesome.  I wish I was smart enough to make up an adjective to describe this game.  I’m thinking about describing this game as AMASTIC.  Amazing and Fantastic.  I went on dictionary.com and found that this word does not exist.  Pretty cool thinking by an engineer who mispells his first name 2% of the time.  The letter “C” is silent in Nick, I’m usually good for about 1 mispelling a year and maybe two on a leap year.

My thoughts on the second round game versus the Aggies are very simple.  Kramer and Grant just wanted it more than their seniors.  Kramer led the team in scoring and made the final shot, but let’s not forget Grant’s relentless defense on the perimeter and big time defensive rebounds down the stretch.  It’s not very often where you shoot 41% from the field and get outrebounded and you still win.  But that is what happened today for our beloved Boilers and I will take it every time.  Kudos to Matt Painter who has done a helluva job coaching this team after the Robbie Hummel injury.  A lot of the guys who didn’t play much during the Big Ten regular season were instrumental in today’s victory.  Bade,Byrd, and Smith all saw significant playing time and were productive.  Painter played those guys a lot during the non-conference games and gave them valuable experience.  It sure paid off, and now the Boilers are marching to Houston with their second straight appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.

I also want to mention that Purdue is undefeated when I watch the game at Clybar (7-0) this year.  I’m debating on either going to  Houston to support the Boilers or scream at a television in a bar the same size as the bathroom at Hovde Hall.

I’ll keep you posted.

-Nick H

All I needed to hear to make this pick is the Purdue post game press conference.  All JJ and Lewjack talked about was how everybody was against them and that they played to silence all the haters…well that fire won’t be there today…the team has already reached their goal and TAMU will shut them down today.   No need to even look at the numbers just look at my streak of late…take TAMU and take the under…

Picks

TAMU -2

Under 127.5

Well…it looks like the end of the road to what could have been a legendary season and instead will end with a first round loss to Siena and the Boilers will only have their big 10 title and a long trip back to West Lafayette…at least according to Joe the Plumber, Borat, that hot chick in accounting who really isn’t that hot but your work is lacking in  talent, and every chump who never watched a college hoops game and is filling out a bracket.

The numbers in the game point to Siena, Siena is coming in riding a 5 game win streak, Purdue had the worst half of their lives in their last game, Hummel is out, Lew Jack and Moore are both dinged up, and Bade still gets playing time.   The whole world is against the Boilers…and JJ is waiting for the Glenn Robinson “shock the world” text message.

The problem with all that noise is that the Boilers have heard it all week (including on the selection show) and I love it.  Kramer and the boys will be fired up and ready to play shutdown defense on a team that doesn’t shoot free throws well, doesn’t hit many 3’s, and also only plays their starting 5, one of whom is doubtful to play (Clarence Jackson). 

Give me heart and determination and pair that with a senor not wanting his last college game to be against the Siena Saints…Give me Chris Kramer and Purdue.

Picks:
Purdue -4
Under 130

That is where Purdue is going for the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  Awesome.

If it wasn’t for the Gonzaga hoops squad being such a “feel good” story during my high school days (Yes, I’m dating myself), I would have no idea where Spokane was located in Washington. I do know its about 1800 miles away from Chicago and probably a really long drive on I-90 or I-94.  Some cool, and not so cool, towns on the way to Spokane from Chicago include:

Madison, WI

Eau Claire, WI

Minneapolis, MN

Fargo, ND

Bismarck, ND

Billings, MT

Bozeman, MT

Butte, MT

Missoula, MT

You can also detour to some National Forests on the way.  Between the Missouri Grassland and Beaverhead National Forest there are many pit stops you can take for some hiking or camping.  I would do neither, because I really don’t like the outdoors that much.  So I would probably take a $900 flight and use my free first class upgrade that expires this June and rock vodka soda the whole plane ride.   

The other option for me would be to take a 37 hour train ride to Spokane for $195.  But, what do you do for 37 hours on a train?  My guess even more boozing than a plane ride.  Throw in some euchre games in between and a little debate on whether designated hitters should earn AL MVP honors and BOOM!  You won’t even notice that you spent almost two days on a train.  I can spend probably 4 to 5 good hours telling you why David Ortiz will never win an MVP.  I did that one time at Where Else on a Wednesday.

Since all of my Purdue buddies are not going to make the trip, I have decided that it is necessary for me to watch the NCAA tourney at Clybar when Purdue is playing.  I’m 5-0 this year sitting at the corner seat next to the front door.  Amazing, right?  If for some reason anyone is sitting there when I get there this Friday, I will have to ask them to trade seats.  Nothing personal, but do you really want to be the guy is sitting in my seat at Clybar if they lose?  Exactly.  I’m not that big of a guy, but I do plan on not cutting my fingernails until after the second round. 

A preview will be coming this week of the matchups Purdue will face this weekend.  Overall, I think we got a pretty good draw with the teams in our pod.

I’d like to apologize to all of our fans for the lack of info this past weekend.  Most of the guys on PurdueOutsider.com were doing their St. Patty’s day thing and we all know blogging is an afterthought.

-Nick H.

Purdue comes into this afternoons big ten tourney semifinal off of a come from behind victory over the wildcats and the gophers come in on a high after an OT victory over Sparty.

Minny guards have struggled against the Purdue defense in the past however Sampson III showed some inside post presence in the last meeting at the barn and I expect that to continue. Devoe will be a big factor if Westbrook and Hoffarber struggle from the outside but since Purdue has still not shown to be an offensive threat without Hummel and I don’t expect that to change.

Trends:
Min is 7-1 against the spread in their last 8
Purdue is 0-5-1 ats in there last 6 (0-4-1 w/o Hummel)
Under is 11-1 in the last 12 meetings
Public is 53 percent on Purdue and 56 percent on the over.

Look for another defensive battle with Minny hitting enough 3s and rebounding well enough to get the cover.

Picks:
Minny +2.5
Under 125.5