So what… Purdue got a non-conference home win? What’s the big deal?
I think all of Purdue nation was feeling a little unsure about this season. We have enjoyed watching Zach Edey dominate the last couple of years. He is gone now. We knew Purdue was still a solid team, but nobody was sure what to expect.
I feel like Purdue got off to a shaky start this year. They never looked bad (even if the exhibition loss to Creighton), but they also didn’t look comfortable. The pieces of the team weren’t really fitting together. I have nothing against Will Berg, but I didn’t really understand why he was in starting lineup in early games. Painter seemed dead-set on starting a 7-footer, so we then saw Daniel Jacobsen tip a couple games. I was feeling okay with that, but things still didn’t seem like they were meshing.
Unfortunately Jacobsen broke his leg and went out for the year. This will give him a medical redshirt and a chance to put on some lbs. Berg was back in the starting lineup vs Alabama. It made sense. Alabama is a big team. It didn’t look very good for Purdue on paper. I was expecting to see Purdue get their first non-conference regular season loss in a couple of years. The Purdue team just didn’t seem like they were ready to win a big game… even at Mackey. The last 2 years Purdue came out of the gate playing great basketball. I thought this year was going to be one where they started slow, looked unorganized, and learned to play together as the year progressed.
Berg lasted all of 2 minutes before getting into foul trouble. Painter went with the smaller lineup. Purdue played center by committee, but ultimately TKR put in the most time at the 5. It worked and the team looked more in sync than they have all year.
Even so, Purdue still found themselves down by 6 with a little over 10 minutes left in the 2nd half. Freshman CJ Cox turned the game around with 3 consecutive 3-points to put Purdue ahead and completely changed the momentum of the game. As a Purdue fan it was also reassuring to see really solid performances from Miles Colvin & Camden Heide in the win.
I thought this year was going to be a struggle. That might be a pessimistic take for a Purdue fan to have, but I expected it, and I was here to suffer through it. Now (much like the last 2 years) Purdue got a big win in November, and they got my excitement going for another great season.
Beating Alabama was a big win! I am not trying to take anything away from it. I have watched the game 3 times and I can only hope the rest of the season is just as enjoyable. However, I am trying to temper my excitement. It was great to see that Purdue is still good enough to compete against the best teams in the country. I think I doubted that. I shouldn’t have.
Purdue plays Marquette tomorrow night away from Mackey Arena. That game should be a good judge of where Purdue is at. How will they respond after a big win? How will they perform away from home against a good Marquette team? I still have questions.