I am never a fan when a top tier school takes on the dregs of college basketball but I think this game could be a small key to our success in the Big Ten.  The Big Ten is a physical conference and every year Purdue ends up losing a couple starters to injury during the 18 games of conference play.  This grueling schedule of physical basketball stretches out a team’s bench and forces coaches to play younger and more inexperienced players.

Coaches are allowed to be more liberal with their bench because a conference loss does not end the season and it builds depth if a couple stars get in foul trouble in the Big Dance.  This game does absolutely nothing for us in determining seeding in March or strengthening our resume but what I like about this contest is that it should look similar to the Buffalo game earlier this year.  Our starters will play about 20 minutes and be up around 25-30 points at halftime and then the bench will take the rest of this game over.

That sounds like a disadvantage however this is the last cakewalk game we have and Painter will fire up the bench players by using this as motivation and also using the possibility of high-energy defensive and offensive efficiency and production as tickets to playing time down the road.  The Boilermaker bench will look to impress offensively as they did against Buffalo and will be fired up defensively not to allow 39 second half points.

Table 1: Purdue Bench Statistics from the Buffalo @ Purdue game; Source: espn.com

Purdue’s Bench accounted for 43 points against the Bulls

Purdue will flirt with the century mark in this game and I think they will surpass it en route to a 103-55 win.

Picks

Purdue -39

Over 136

Sides Record: 2-0-1

Totals Record: 1-1-1

*Note my play for the Ball State game was not posted however I predicted a Purdue 67 – 49 win over Ball State for a Ball State Cover and Under…both hit as the final score was 69-49. Pick was Ball State +24 and Under 120

With the Midlands looming the Purdue wrestling team looks to fight its way into the top 25.  Led by the 7^th ranked 174 pounder Luke Manuel the Boilers expect to make a strong showing at the Midlands. The Midlands is a two day tournament at Northwestern University, the results of the Midlands normally mirror the national standings at the end of the year. Purdue has had a huge win against 17^th ranked Missouri( ranked in the top ten at the time)  but a slip up against Stanford is keeping them out of the top 25. The Boilers have been performing well in tournaments racking up the 26 highest point totals in the country, they look to continue this elite performance at the Midlands.

Purdue is currently 7 and 1 in dual meets with six more tune ups before the always difficult Big Ten schedule. There are currently six ranked teams in the Big Ten, lets hope that the boilers can crack the top 5 in this always difficult conference.

So, the Big 10 is expanding. Well, hopefully. At least they are looking at the possibility of expansion in the next 12 to 18 months, whatever that means. For argument’s sake, let’s just say they are going to expand. I can’t think of a better thing for the conference right now. The Big 10 is a staple of collegiate sporting and academics and the next team to join should feel privileged and honored to join such an outstanding tradition. Keep that in mind all you out there who think Notre Dame is a logical and correct choice for expansion.

Espn.com today had an article on this very subject in which they interviewed Jack Swarbrick, the athletic director of Notre Dame. When asked if they would like to join the Big 10 Swarbrick said, “Our strong preference is to remain the way we are.” “Independence is a big part of the tradition of the program and our identity. We’d sure like to try to maintain it.”

I’m all for tradition. It’s the one thing that really separates one school from another one. But come on, Jack. That is just dumb. From a monetary perspective it makes absolutely no sense. Notre Dame is paid roughly $9 million per season from the television contract they have with NBC, but Big 10 teams receive an average of $20 million per season from radio and TV fees.

Swarbrick goes on to talk about how business issues aren’t the only thing they look at in this situation. Well sure it isn’t, Jack. You like being able to play all the service academies every year so you can pad your record. Although, that hasn’t worked well lately so I guess you can call them your rival. The reality is the Irish enjoy seeing their name at the top of the IA Independent Standings every year. Well congrats, Irish fans, you were 6-6 which puts you in second place behind your fierce rival, the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy.

Notre Dame played three Big 10 schools this year, including Purdue. After losing to Michigan, they barely squeaked by with victories against the Spartans and the Boilermakers by a total of 6 points. They ended the season with 4 straight losses causing their former savior Charlie Weiss to be let go. So they change coaches, keep the same mediocre to soft schedule and expect to be put in the top tier of programs again.

I couldn’t be happier that the Big 10 is looking to expand. If I had 5 minutes with Jim Delaney I would say this, “Don’t even think about Notre Dame.” They obviously don’t want to disturb their precious recruiting tool of always being on national TV (although these days it’s hard to find a school that doesn’t have televised games), and they wouldn’t dare mess up their rivalry games with USC and Navy. In fact, they could still keep USC, Navy and Boston College on the schedule and have a full slate of Big 10 games. From an academic standpoint, Notre Dame doesn’t measure up with the Big 10 because they do not participate in any research programs. This is all not to mention that the school decided not to participate in a bowl game after the players had voted to accept an invitation. Complete arrogance from the program.

Notre Dame will always be Notre Dame, no matter what conference they are in. Lou Holtz will continue to have them as his preseason favorite to win the national title, and yet still seem to have a job next season after the Irish tank and lose their December bowl game. People across the country will still worship the school whether they went there or not for some reason unbeknownst to me, and the coaching situation will continue to plague the sports world forever. Should the Big 10 expand? Absolutely. Should an invitation be extended to Notre Dame? Why waste time with that? There are plenty of schools out there who would welcome the chance to be a part of Big 10 tradition in every sense of the word. Notre Dame is not one of them.

Purdue vs Bama Highlights

What a big win for the Boilermakers tonight in Tuscaloosa. After being outplayed and losing JaJuan Johnson for much of the game due to foul trouble, the fifth-seeded Boilers walked away with a huge non-conference road win.

Here’s a quick rundown of the major plays and players in tonight’s game:

This game more than any other showed how much this Purdue team misses Lewis Jackson. The absence of a true point guard couldn’t have been more obvious to a team that committed 17 turnovers, many of which were unforced. Purdue continued to rush their offense, take quick shots and were not very sound with the orange. This handicap was most noticeable with Johnson out of the game. The bench of Purdue is very, very young. So when first team all Big Ten Johnson has to sit, the Boilers all of a sudden are missing a starting point guard and center from the lineup. This marks the second game in which Johnson has gotten into early foul trouble against a very good SEC team. As a Boilermakers fan, you have to hope the foul trouble issue with Johnson doesn’t become a consistent problem throughout the season.

Game MVP – Robbie Hummel – 23 points, 9 rebounds, 39 minutes

With Johnson only playing 15 minutes, Hummel was called upon to pick up the inside scoring and rebounding. Robbie responded with a game-high 23 points and nine boards. Hummel was the standout player on both ends of the floor. The motion offense ran through Hummel, especially through the high post against the attacking zone the Tide was throwing at the Boilers. On the defensive end, Hummel was called upon to play the five spot most of the night and was the old gold and black’s main man on the glass with Johnson on the bench.

Prime Time Player – Chris Kramer – 14 points, 3 steals

Down the stretch, Kramer made play after play on the defensive end – converting steals to buckets for Purdue. Kramer continues to prove that he is the best defender in the conference and possibly the entire nation once again. Also lost within the game but just as important – Kramer went 8-for-8 from the line in a hostile environment.

Unsung Hero – D.J. Byrd – 9 points, 16 minutes

With the foul trouble of Johnson and the ineffectiveness of freshman Patrick Bade, Byrd was forced to play a lot of minutes throughout the game. His ability to play solid defense at the four spot proved pivotal for a team desperately trying to stay in a game that seemed to be a play or two from slipping away. In addition, Byrd knocked down two big treys in the first half on his way to eight points in the first stanza to keep Purdue within striking distance going into the break. Aside from his first two missed free throws in which he was obviously rushing, it’s hard to find many faults in Byrd’s game tonight.

1. Chuck Norris
2. MacGyver
3. Chris Kramer

That is now my short list of people I need to call if I need to resolve an issue quick. I was sitting at the Clybar (Purdue’s official bar in Chicago) watching the game in silence until Chris Kramer decided to shutdown the Alabama offense by himself. What I witnessed the last 5 minutes of this ball game was a complete summary of why Chris Kramer value can not be measured in the box score.

Kramer finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 8-8 from the FT line. What the box score doesn’t tell you is that he recorded his 3 steals in the last 5 minutes of the game. The first two steals led to fast break points and got everyone at the bar in a frenzy.

At one point during the closing minutes of the game one of the JV ESPN announcers said the following about Kramer; “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.” Kramer proved him right on his last steal when he basically suffocated Anthony Brock in the corner and came up with the ball. Someone should check Brock’s white shorts, because I think they changed colors after that play.

Kramer has been on the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team since his freshman year and won Big Ten defensive player of the year his sophomore year. He is the favorite to win the award this year again. So to all the voters of the NABC Defensive Player of the Year, please watch a replay of the Alabama-Purdue game!!!!

If you don’t I’m going to send 8 x 10 photos of Chris Kramer to all of your children for Halloween next year.

I am at a bar in NY and I apologize in advance for grammar issues but its raining locks today and I am here to help you out.  I’m going to keep it short and sweet – two factors will control this game the crowd and Robbie Hummel…let me explain.  In Bama’s two loses this year they have been killed by bigs shooting 3’s; FSU’s Chris Singleton was 3 for 3 from boom goes the dynamite range and Ryan Wittman from the big red of Cornell was 5 for 8 en route to 23 points…both of these joes are forwards and over 6′7″…drum roll please for Robbie Hummel…he’s is coming off a good shooting night and bama’s defense is inept at guarding bigs on the arc.

The other key to this game is bama is done with school for the winter…commencement is the 15th and last year vs a 6-1 texas a+m team there were 9,000 fans…they usually have 11 – 13km

Also mark’s madness (similar to the paint crew) has been declining in members….in 2007 they had 1000 members…2008 down to 650…and 2009 down to 450 members…this is due to mark graduating….but without these cameron crazy poser, Purdue locks it up tonight.

Purdue – 4.5
Under 135

Record 0-0-2

Valparaiso Crusaders (3-5 SU; 3-3 ATS) out of the Horizon take on the Purdue Boilermakers (7-0 SU; 4-2-1 ATS) out of the Big Ten tonight at Mackey Arena.

The Betting Line for this game is Purdue (-24) and the Over/Under is set at 148.

These teams played last year when Purdue won 59-45 but Purdue did not cover the 25 point spread and the game went under the total of 128 points. Valparaiso has many different faces but still maintains a similar team as last years version and will look to play a stable of 6’1” – 6-6” guards around their 6’-7” forward Cory Johnson. Valparaiso’s leading scorer, Brandon Wood, is coming off his worst game of the year in which he struggled against Butler going 2/6 from the field and only 7 points.

Purdue also has a similar team as last years game but will lose a little offensive production as the rarely used Bobby “Buckets” Riddell (3/4 on three-pointers against Valpo last year) has moved on. Chris Kramer was out for the 2008 matchup with a sprained foot and getting Kramer back for this game will be key in trying to slow down Brandon Wood and force the Crusaders to chuck up three balls. Also note that Robbie Hummel was 4/14 from the field and 1/7 from the arc last year therefore if his shooting slump continues Purdue will still be able to attack with other options.

This Valparaiso team is very similar to the Central Michigan team Purdue beat 64-38 on November 28th except they are worse defensively. Look for the Boilermakers to not think ahead to the Alabama game and clamp down defensively on the smaller Crusaders. Purdue has a huge rebounds differential/game advantage (12.8/game) over the Crusaders and should out rebound them by 15-20 boards. Even though Kramer will be on Brandon Wood; look for him to get into double digits and sink a couple from downtown. Also expect Valpo to shoot a little better then CMU, however, JaJuan Johnson will still control the paint area. I like Purdue to win 83 – 55 for the cover and the under.

Take Purdue – 24
Take Under 148

LocksvilleUSA