Boilermakers find their footing in decisive win over Iowa

Purdue vs Iowa

Purdue needed more than a win over Iowa to jump-start a sluggish season on Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette. After slumbering through a difficult first half, Coach Matt Painter's team found the kind of finishing kick that could get the Boilermakers off the ground for good.
 
It's been a difficult year in West Lafayette, as the school picked to win the Big Ten in preseason polls has looked like an overrated outfit. While that's far more the fault of the media than the Boilermakers themselves, the point remains that Painter's pupils are in the midst of a crucial stretch. They might not win the league, but this ballclub has to gain confidence if wants to make a big run in March. High seeds aren't assured of victories, but demoralized ballclub’s are certain to lose. Purdue didn't have to wipe out Todd Lickliter's Hawkeyes in Mackey Arena, but the home team did have to re-establish a good vibe that's been largely missing from the program.
 
A lucky win on Thursday at Northwestern--fueled by several wacky sequences, including a missed layup by the Wildcats with just 14 seconds left in regulation--could not mask the fact that the Boilermakers were not playing to the full extent of their capabilities. With or without a Big Ten title, Purdue had to begin to flex its muscles and acquire the winning edge of a title contender.

On Sunday against Iowa, it took exactly 19 minutes and 58 seconds for Purdue to get its mojo back.
 
For most of the first half, Purdue couldn't shake the undermanned Hawks, who were still left toothless without their big man, Cyrus Tate. Leading by a tenuous 26-22 margin with just 10 seconds left before halftime, Purdue still appeared to be a team in search of a higher gear. While perhaps feeling unconcerned about their chances of winning one ballgame against a lower-tier conference opponent, everyone on the Purdue bench had to wonder when a struggling team would find its stride.
 
Enter Marcus Green.
 
The guard hit a 3-pointer with just two seconds left in the first half to bump Purdue's lead to seven at the break. Armed with this jolt of positive energy going into the locker room, the Boilermakers gained the sense that they could run away with the proceedings. After finding their legs in the first few minutes of the second half, the Big Ten's preseason No. 1 unleashed its arsenal to full effect.

That precious commodity called swagger finally entered the picture, as the Boilermakers ganged up to rain down threes on the Hawkeyes. Following an Iowa timeout, four different Purdue players hit 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions. The 12-0 flurry, achieved in a span of just 96 seconds, floored the visitors from Iowa City, but far more importantly, the shooting barrage made Purdue feel like a team worthy of competing for the Big Ten title. The Boilermakers were so balanced and deep that they attained a 49-28 lead at the 12-minute mark of the second half without having a single player reach double figures. When this game was done, Purdue had six different players score at least 9 points, a testament to a team's ability to rally 'round the flag.
 
Indeed, the value of this decisive win is that it came not from one player having a career day, but from a confident second-half performance that reached throughout the roster. Several Boilermakers were difference makers on this afternoon; many shooters improved their outside stroke, and confidence proved to be contagious. This is how an NCAA Tournament run is built, and this is how a Big Ten contender makes a run at the brass ring.
 
Purdue has a long way to go if it expects to catch Michigan State. No one would deny that the Boilermakers have a long road in front of them. But if Matt Painter can get his kids to consistently play the way they did in the final 20 minutes against Iowa, what is now a little engine could turn into a freight train by the time this Big Ten season comes to a close.

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