Lavender, Duncan & Burrell dressed and ready to play Boilers
Well, Purdue has done their job and played to their seed. The question now is, will they continue to exceed expectations and beat the talented and similarly-styled Xavier Muskies. Predictions are fourth-coming...while you ponder the game, enjoy this:
Xavier: Delicious and Delightful...Now back to the prognostications.
Tim:
I think Purdue opens a 10+ point lead late in the first half and then the game will tighten up quite a bit. I think Purdue will hang on and the final score will have the Boilers winning by about 7, but it will be closer than that in the second half.
J:
I love the energy and comfort that the Boilers are exhibiting. Looking comfortable is huge, playing far from home and in unfamiliar gyms. I see no reason the Boilers can't continue this kind of play and if they do, Xavier will go down. That said, we all know consistency is often a problem with Purdue athletics.... but I'm leaning to the comfortable side (which of course means we'll look terrible) and I'm going to assume Coach Painter has the boys ready to play again. They were fine when faced with the adversity of a leading scorer (Ostrich) not playing like himself and I really liked what I saw in round 1. Xavier plays more defense but if the Boilers are shooting well, it won't matter. If they're not shooting well, conversely, our traditional second-half falloff will be our undoing. Nevertheless, I'm feeling it... Boilers by a dozen. 83-71, something like that.
Boilerdowd:
On paper, this seems like a match made in heaven. Xavier, like Baylor doesn't have much offensive contribution from their big men...in fact, they really don't have a big man to speak of. Furthermore, X struggled when they played against St. Joe's 6'8" swingman Rob Ferguson. Ferguson is a poor, poor man's version of Robbie Hummel and one might think the Ostrich is due for a good game. Also, I think the A-10 is about a half step above the Horizon League and am simply not convinced that conference is worth a damn.
All that said, this worked in round one...So, I'm predicting a Purdue loss. Purdue won't be able to overcome the hype of over-rated, fat-faced coach, Sean Miller, nor will they be able to locate the Boilerdowd-esque Mighty Mite Drew Lavender. Xavier wins because of all of their pressure-filled preparation against teams like Duquesne, St. Bonneventure, St. Louis and Fordham.
Xavier: Delicious and Delightful...Now back to the prognostications.
Tim:
I think Purdue opens a 10+ point lead late in the first half and then the game will tighten up quite a bit. I think Purdue will hang on and the final score will have the Boilers winning by about 7, but it will be closer than that in the second half.
J:
I love the energy and comfort that the Boilers are exhibiting. Looking comfortable is huge, playing far from home and in unfamiliar gyms. I see no reason the Boilers can't continue this kind of play and if they do, Xavier will go down. That said, we all know consistency is often a problem with Purdue athletics.... but I'm leaning to the comfortable side (which of course means we'll look terrible) and I'm going to assume Coach Painter has the boys ready to play again. They were fine when faced with the adversity of a leading scorer (Ostrich) not playing like himself and I really liked what I saw in round 1. Xavier plays more defense but if the Boilers are shooting well, it won't matter. If they're not shooting well, conversely, our traditional second-half falloff will be our undoing. Nevertheless, I'm feeling it... Boilers by a dozen. 83-71, something like that.
Boilerdowd:
On paper, this seems like a match made in heaven. Xavier, like Baylor doesn't have much offensive contribution from their big men...in fact, they really don't have a big man to speak of. Furthermore, X struggled when they played against St. Joe's 6'8" swingman Rob Ferguson. Ferguson is a poor, poor man's version of Robbie Hummel and one might think the Ostrich is due for a good game. Also, I think the A-10 is about a half step above the Horizon League and am simply not convinced that conference is worth a damn.
All that said, this worked in round one...So, I'm predicting a Purdue loss. Purdue won't be able to overcome the hype of over-rated, fat-faced coach, Sean Miller, nor will they be able to locate the Boilerdowd-esque Mighty Mite Drew Lavender. Xavier wins because of all of their pressure-filled preparation against teams like Duquesne, St. Bonneventure, St. Louis and Fordham.