Purdue Misses Opportunity; Drops Road Game to Iowa
It was really a fun game to watch for about 37 minutes for me. On multiple occasions, I said to myself, "I can't believe Purdue has the lead...let alone a five point lead."
Iowa made big shots, Jok was tough and Purdue couldn't stop him, and Iowa's bigs beat on Haas as the refs swallowed their whistles. Fran's game plan worked well...And yet, with about three minutes left, Purdue was in a very good position to win the game and stay atop the B1G.
Instead, things kinda fell apart...After a turnover by Iowa, Purdue rushed up the court, Thompson was open in the right corner for two or three seconds and no one found him...when they did, he missed a shot and the possession went back to Iowa. It didn't seem like that big of a deal; A missed opportunity, sure, but it was a back and fourth game still and a one point deficit.
But when BTN focused on Biggie yelling at his teammates, barking at them, and throwing a fit for not getting him the ball, my opinion shifted, THEN, when Swanigan turned it over the next possession, I got a little upset...finally, when he missed a well-defended five footer on the possession after that, I got pretty angry.
I hate seeing Purdue lose. I really hate seeing them not take advantage of opportunities...and tonight was an opportunity. A handful of teams in front of them lost in the top-25, and they would have been atop the conference with just MSU with a win. Instead, they fall to second place, in a fashion that's eerily familiar.
Different moving parts, same results as previous seasons...but this game could be an interesting fulcrum point. What will Painter do when he watches the film of Swanigan's fit? How will his teammates react? How will Biggie react?
Everything I read say Swanigan has been an ideal teammate. We all know he's been an amazingly hard worker...but since he told the world that coming to Purdue was a 'business decision', I've thought that Swanigan is about his business. The thing that I hope he realizes is, this is the train he's on (pun intended)...and if it gets rolling, his 'brand' grows...and his potential pick grows.
He's young...perhaps he showed his youth by taking his frustration out on his teammates. Maybe it's fleeting, maybe it was no big deal...I'm probably over-analyzing. I guess we'll see.
Had he not thrown a hissy fit directed at his teammates, then had two empty possessions, I'd be talking about how this game is just a demonstrator for the B1G as a meat grinder of a conference. Road wins are like gold. Iowa wanted retribution for the thrashing they took at Mackey two weeks ago. Purdue played really hard, Cline, Swanigan, Mathias, Haas and others all had GREAT buckets that answered Iowa runs. It felt like Purdue could have gutted it out...felt like they were going to, actually...until that possession with a little over 2:30 left. After Swanigan got angry and yelled at his teammates, Purdue didn't score again.
Cline, who had been shooting 100% from the FT line, missed two free throws...that was odd. The officials missed Iowa step out of bounds on the baseline, then missed Iowa's Cook tap the ball out of bounds, so Iowa got another possession. These three plays are tough to overcome, but they're nearly impossible to counter when a team is tearing itself apart as their star decides his touches are more important than anything else.
Swanigan had 13 points and 7 assists in the first half alone...and finished with just four additional points and one more rebound in the second half (17/8 and 3 asst total). Iowa did a good job taking it at both he and Haas in the second half and taking Swanigan out of his game offensively.
Face is part of the ball.
Purdue's double post looked good, Cline had a couple really big threes, V. Edwards was perfect from the FT line, and Haas was mentally tough as well as a rock, physically. But Iowa only hit 50% of their free throws, and Purdue was in a position to win the game with a few minutes left. This 83-78 road loss is simply another opportunity missed.
The Good Guys didn't win a conference game that they could and maybe should have...so now, the road gets harder...the pursuit of a top-4 seed gets tougher...and MSU is in the catbird seat in the B1G race.
With plenty of chances in front of them to prove their mettle, we'll see what type of team these Boilers are. With two home games versus Illinois and PSU before heading to East Lansing, Purdue has a chance to tune up a bit, before the showdown v. Sparty.
