Mook vs Iowa/Purdue

When i saw Purdue was playing Iowa, i didn't even care anymore. i wasn't going to check if they were on tv, i wasn't going to worry about checking the score. i wasn't going to bother. It was in the bag.

Apparently, the Boilers felt the same way... and thus... a major letdown.

Even when i stumbled upon the game and saw it was tied at half-time, i didn't care... Purdue will take over in the 2nd half... but then i looked to see if there were any upsets going on... and sure enough, there was... with 3:34 left in the game i turned on ESPN3 to watch the end of the game.

And it was a disaster.
Purdue did not look poised.
Smooge was nowhere to be seen.
And the shots looked ugly.
Iowa got the bounces they needed, and Purdue couldn't complete a comeback.
And the Iowa faithful stormed the court.

It's kinda nice to be good enough that when a team beats you the fans storm the court...

but this may have been more about how awful Iowa had been. It was their first win over a ranked opponent in 3 years... and only their 4th big10 win all season.
So, though Iowa had played Ohio st and Wisconsin tough- this was a game Purdue should have won.

Some thoughts - based on the last 3:34

1. Again, i don't understand why they were shooting so many 3-pointers at the end of the game- much like the Minnesota game. At least against Minnesota you could say they had some big big men.
But it's just like they panic and feel they need to come back quickly. They were only down 4 and had 3+ minutes! They should not have settled for permiter shots, let alone 3-pointers. They could have scored quickly. They could have been poised, calm, confident, relaxed- and put all the pressure on Iowa

2. It's a bit hard to blame them for those shots though- because they were wide open. Most shots were not rushed. They often made the extra pass. But they just weren't hitting. And that's scary. For this team to advance, they need to be able to hit the open shot

3. It shouldn't matter though- because they got JJ.
JJ should be big10 player of the year. If he played in the Big East, he would have been a staple highlight on ESPN and a lottery pick last year. They need to give him the ball and let him take over. They let E'twuan Moore take over against Ohio st and score 38, they need to just pound it inside with JaJuan Johnson.

4. Another disappointing loss. A close one. These guys need to be able to win the close ones. They coulda beat Minnesota, West Virgina, Wisconsin and now Iowa. If they can't win close games, how will they win in the tournament.

The sad part about this loss, was with Duke losing and BYU earlier in the week, Purdue could have- would have been rated #4 in the nation... a # 1 seed was there for them- with just a close game against Ohio St... Now they'll have to win the tourney just to get a #2.
i'm ok with a #2 seed.

My top teams to win it (not necessarily at this moment) are
1. Ohio st
2. Pit
3. BYU
4. Purdue

yes, i'm a bit of a homer. They may be more realistically an Elite 8 team. But they are good. They got good guard play, some good shooters (most of the time), killer defense, senior leadership, and a coach who gets his team far in the tourney + 2 guys who could potentially carry the team.

i hope the game serves as a wake-up call. And they rise to the challenge again.
My hope is still a championship this season... and then Robbie comes back and leads a team with a much-improved, very good LewJack, and solid role players and get back to the Final Four again.

Go Boilers!

Mook vs a crazy college basketball season

It is not that odd for a number 1 team to lose during a week.
It's not even that odd to have a new number 1 3 weeks in a row.

But this season has been nutty!

On Saturday, The number 1, 4, 5, 10,11, 13,14, 17 & 21 teams all lost- in one day!
Plus #6 lost on Sunday... and #15, 18, 22, & 24 lost earlier in the week... that's 14 of the top 24 losing! (And a couple of those teams lost multiple times)

This is not the first time this has happened this season

The week before, the top 4 teams ALL lost during the week (plus the team i had slated as #5) + 9,10,12, 16... that is 7 of the top ten teams losing in a week!

Earlier in the season:

a    #2, #3, #4, #5,#8,#9,#10,#11,#12,#13,#16, #17,#19,#20, #22, #24, #25 all lost

that's     17 of 25

 4 of the top 5

7 of the top 10

10/13

14/20

Maybe it's because the big East beat up on each other. Maybe there is more parity. Mid-majors can beat the big dogs. And the conferences are pretty even from top to bottom.

It looks like anyone could win this year. Ohio st looks pretty dominant. BYU has the superstar. i'm still holding out for Purdue. They got the Senior leadership, the good coach, great defense, amazing guard play, a couple guys who can take a game over... Robbie Hummel or not, they are still poised to make a championship run.
It has been a fun college basketball season. i hope they let some small school into the tourney (With good seedings)- like Butler, Valpo, Cleveland State, Witchita St, VCU, Old Dominion, Missouri St, George Mason, Richmond - and see what they can do... and i hope the BigTen still gets represented well - if MSU gets in, i'd still say they have a great chance at sweet 16 and even Elite 8.


i love sports. i love college basketball!