Purdue vs Illinois Basketball Recap

Purdue 84, Illinois 78

Welcome to the Big Ten, John Hart. You just might have saved your team's rapidly deteriorating season. A sophomore guard emerged from obscurity on a number of levels, as Purdue found a very unlikely source for renewal on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill.

Hart wasn't listed in the official score book at the beginning of this gargantuan game. Hart hadn't played since a Dec. 22 game against SIU-Edwardsville. He hadn't logged more than 10 minutes in any game this season, and he logged a grand total of just 33 minutes entering this manhood-making moment for Coach Matt Painter's ballclub. Anyone and everyone around the Purdue program had been wondering the same thing over the past few weeks: "What's missing from our team?" Quite simply, the Boilers lacked the edge and the energy John Hart reintroduced to them in an immensely gratifying win over the homestanding Illini.

Purdue trailed at halftime by a 32-28 score, but when the visitors from Indiana ripped off a 15-4 burst at the start of the second half, it was Hart who threw himself into the fray. Five quick points from the unheralded guard enabled the Boilermakers to grab a 35-32 lead. Much later in the proceedings, with Illinois still lurking and trailing by only two possessions, Hart banged in an ice-veins 3-pointer to give Purdue a 66-57 cushion with only 6:10 remaining.

For the past few weeks, fans of this preseason Final Four contender felt that the Boilermakers lacked heart. How instructive it is to contemplate the fact that a living, breathing, walking Hart gave them new spirit and soul on a night when losing was simply not an option.

Whatever Hart did on the stat sheet - and it was substantial - the true contribution of the seldom-used sophomore was that he breathed life into his teammates. Yes, Hart scored 14 points in the 18 minutes he played. Yes, Hart provided timely contributions that could be measured by the final numbers. However, the biggest benefit Hart brought to the table was that he reminded his fellow travelers of the need to carry their own freight.

JaJuan Johnson, a center who had been sleepwalking during PU's three-game slide, was roused from his slumber against Illinois and its tall-timber front line of center Mike Tisdale and forward Mike Davis. Given a shot in the arm like every other veteran starter on the Boilermaker roster, Johnson used his "Hart transplant" to throw down 24 points, snare 12 rebounds, and play up to the height of his considerable capacities. If this is the JaJuan Johnson who shows up for the rest of the year, Purdue won't find itself losing many games.

Kelsey Barlow - another player who didn't log big minutes in this game (only 13) - also felt the urgency re-introduced to the team by Hart's step-up performance. Barlow provided a big lift for Purdue on Tuesday; with slumping guard Keaton Grant staying on the bench for most of the night, it was Barlow who filled the void for Painter's squad by hitting 5 of 6 field goals en route to a high-value 12-point showing. The mediocre brand of basketball displayed by Purdue's veteran guards took a back seat in this game, as the Boilermaker backups carried the load.

Perhaps in the coming weeks, Purdue will receive contributions up and down its roster, which would make the Boilers deeper, more dynamic, and far more determined than they've been since their New Year's Day thrashing of West Virginia

John Hart's hardwood heroics gave a team in the midst of a free fall a safety net it so desperately required. Now that they've avoided death's door, perhaps the Boilermakers will realize how toxic the taste of losing has been. Poisoned for the past two weeks, this band of brothers has an opportunity to find new life on the basketball court, and the mentality that could create a bold new Hart-beat on the road to the Final Four.

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