Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:03 We start first in West Lafayette inside Mackey Arena.
00:06 Purdue upset on the road on Sunday in Columbus by Ohio State.
00:11 You knew the Boilers were coming out with a vengeance.
00:14 And boy, did they have a vengeance and an axe to grind last night against Rutgers.
00:19 Back at home inside Mackey, nearly a 30 point win for the Boilermakers.
00:25 Purdue victorious 96-68 over the Scarlet Knights.
00:30 They cover as a 14 and a half point home favorite.
00:34 What does that resilience show you about Matt Painter's team,
00:38 J-Y, in West Lafayette?
00:41 >> You know, Ben, we were talking during the break and I had my, I guess my jersey
00:45 bias, kind of looking at the track record of Rutgers versus Purdue.
00:50 But when Purdue loses, they usually thunder punch teams.
00:55 The next game, and I thought that was what I saw in first half.
00:59 Rutgers, one of the best defensive teams in the country.
01:01 Folks, they don't like to give up 60 points in the game.
01:04 They give up 52 at the half.
01:06 And you didn't have the Zach Eadie 40 point game.
01:11 I know he had 25 points in 27 minutes.
01:14 And shout out to Zach Eadie.
01:16 Any big man who goes 11-11 from the foul line gets a shout out from a big man
01:21 coach like myself.
01:22 But to me, it just looked like a Purdue team that looked focused.
01:26 And here's the thing to look at, folks.
01:28 I know it wasn't so much Braden Smith, even though he shot the ball only twice
01:33 from three.
01:33 When you shoot 12 for 23 from three, and you have a dominant big like Zach Eadie,
01:41 you're in trouble, right?
01:42 Because the big man's scoring down low, you can't stop him.
01:46 Then you're giving up threes, and I think it was plus, not a thing,
01:49 I think plus 21 points at the three-pointer for Purdue.
01:53 If they can get those guys to shoot the ball from three well, Ben,
01:58 along with Zach Eadie scoring inside, as a coach, you are officially stuck.
02:04 Because you will want to eliminate one of the two things.
02:07 If you can't eliminate both, you give up 96 points.
02:10 And that's what Purdue did last night.
02:13 - Coach, let's look forward here at Purdue, because you brought up a great point here.
02:16 They have three losses on the season, and every game after that loss,
02:19 they absolutely put the team away, whether it be Iowa, Penn State,
02:22 and/or as we just saw with Rutgers.
02:23 Four games left in the season, but here's the question.
02:26 Once you get to March Madness, coach, "Hey, we lost that basketball game.
02:29 Well, let's crush the next team we play."
02:31 There is no tomorrow in there.
02:33 How do we trust Purdue knowing what we've seen over the past couple of years?
02:36 And is this a better version of Purdue from what we've seen the past previous years?
02:41 - You know what, Donnie?
02:41 I think it is.
02:43 I think because what you have is...
02:44 My issue with Purdue, folks, has never been about the big man.
02:49 It's always been about guard play and the ability for their guards to knock down shots.
02:54 But if you got Jones shooting at 37%, Smith shooting at 43%,
02:58 Laurie shooting at 41.3%, and Gillis coming off the bench shooting at 48.8%,
03:04 that is going to be where Purdue can make their run.
03:08 It's not the big man, folks, because, listen, once you get into the tournament,
03:13 the game slows down, they're going to cut the head off at the snake,
03:16 which means it's Zach Eaddy.
03:18 If their guard play can shoot the ball, they're going to make a run.
03:23 I think this team is a Final Four team.
03:25 I think they're one of the four best teams in the country,
03:27 and I think they can do it.
03:29 It's just about making shots.
03:32 So plus 800, yes, they're...
03:34 I mean, I don't know if you would call that a value.
03:36 Ben Hovsey will get at me, so I'm not calling them a value
03:38 because they're one of the top plays right now.
03:41 But I do think Purdue is positioned to make a deep run in March,
03:45 provided the guards shoot the ball the way they're shooting it this year.
03:49 (MUSIC)
03:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]