Gopher/Purdue thoughts

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MinnesotaBoiler99 said:
I'll say it again. Match-ups don't always look good on paper but you still need to execute. Purdue destroyed Michigan in Ann Arbor yet the Buckeyes narrowly escaped AA with a win last night. Does that mean Purdue is THAT much better than OSU? Heck no, but on paper OSU should've also destroyed scUM but they didn't. Purdue makes up for their "patchwork frontcourt" by pressuring the hell out of the guards and forcing turnovers. They don't necessarily need to shoot well, they just need to limit their own TO's and not get JJ into foul trouble. The magic number for the Gophers tonight is 70. They hit 70 points and they'll likely win.
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You're trying to bring other teams into the discussion, but I'm not going there now. This is Minnesota-Purdue. The game in the BTT last year IS relevant to the discussion, as it's the only post-Hummel meeting between them. In that game, Purdue (with a similar frontcourt to what they have now) obviously did not handle the Gopher frontcourt very well, giving up a combined 32 points and 24 rebounds to Sampson, Iverson and Carter ... and replacing Carter with Mbakwe surely doesn't help the Boilers. Purdue obviously did not overcome their flawed frontcourt by forcing TOs/pressure D in their only post-Hummel meeting with the Gophs - while that may be the general trend of the Boilers & works against the lesser teams, it didn't work between these two teams before.
 

Hey guys, the Purdue frontcourt didn't play well in a game two weeks after they lost half of their starting frontcourt and the guy who everything on the offense funneled through. More news at 11.
 

Hey, Purdue fans, your loss tonight might be on the news at 11. So you might not want to tune in. :)
 

OSUfan said:
Hey, Purdue fans, your loss tonight might be on the news at 11. So you might not want to tune in. :)
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Might want to wait until you play some real teams on there road there, boss.
 

MinnesotaBoiler99 said:
I'll say it again. Match-ups don't always look good on paper but you still need to execute. Purdue destroyed Michigan in Ann Arbor yet the Buckeyes narrowly escaped AA with a win last night. Does that mean Purdue is THAT much better than OSU? Heck no, but on paper OSU should've also destroyed scUM but they didn't. Purdue makes up for their "patchwork frontcourt" by pressuring the hell out of the guards and forcing turnovers. They don't necessarily need to shoot well, they just need to limit their own TO's and not get JJ into foul trouble. The magic number for the Gophers tonight is 70. They hit 70 points and they'll likely win.
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We have a winner!
 




I think the game went pretty much as I thought - Hoffarber/Smith was a matchup that favored Blake - JaJuan Johnson was forced to make outside shots or tough fadeaways (which he did). The game came down to 3 point shooting (MN 43% to Purdue 34% - more specifically E'Twaun Moore 1-7).

MNBoiler99 -will you at least admit that I know more about the game and the teams than you thought I did?
 

jmag21 said:
We have a winner!
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This game played out exactly like I thought it would - but in the same breathe it didn't. I figured Minnesota would win a close game and that Hoffarber would blow up since he's done nothing against Purdue in his career. However, who would thought Purdue would've dominated the glass, go perfect from the FT line.....and lose. Purdue limited their TO's but E'Twaun Moore continued his midseason slump and that was the difference. The Gophers played their best game of the year at home in a must win situation and they simply wanted it more. It was only a matter of time before Purdue had an off night since they've been playing with house money. It was a great game and a tough road loss. Can't be too upset since holding serve at home is more important and then try to go 5-4 or 6-3 on the road.
 



Great game boiler, I was beginning to wonder if JJ was ever going to miss. I agree about Moore not playing well and that could have been the difference. Although we did miss 6 free throws again and could have a had a bigger lead down the stretch.
 

tjgopher said:
Wow. That's a lot of basketball. Your DVR must get a heavy workout.

I wish I had that kind of free time on my hands:)
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tj: What do you do with your hands when your in front of the tube? :cool:
 

JaJuan Johnson looked like Glenn Robinson tonight. Have to admit I didn't know he was that good offensively.

We're about the same as we were last year. Probably will win most of our home games, based on energy and getting the breaks, etc., and will struggle on the road due to lack of reliable scorers and guys who can create their own shots, get to the line.
 

Having watched both teams 5-7 times this year, I personally think Purdue is the better "team". If the Kraft kid from OSU can continue to improve, I think OSU will go much further in the tourney, though. Fun game tonight and our boys needed this win badly. Hoff-haters need to check themselves at the door. The guy plays hard and bleeds Maroon and Gold....one of the best player/student to ever come thru our program.
 



A little fustrating that an undersized team with one skinny post player can outrebound us by 10. I wish Sampson could pay tougher, 2 rebounds in 31 minutes. I also wish he wouldnt shoot 3's, but the free throw line shots are nice.
 

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