Boilermakers make a statement, bury Golden Gophers

Purdue vs Minnesota

You know all that talk about Purdue's recent struggles? It's a distant memory at the moment.

Coach Matt Painter's pupils re-entered the top tier of the Big Ten on Thursday night in Minneapolis, as they outplayed Minnesota from start to finish in a contest that felt a lot more lopsided than the 70-62 final score. For 40 minutes, the visitors from West Lafayette outworked and outshot the Gophers, whose win over Wisconsin suddenly looks a lot less convincing than it did a week ago.

The key to this game was really rather simple: Purdue's guards dominated. While it's true that Boilermaker forward JaJuan Johnson posted 19 points, 8 boards, and 5 blocks, it's not news when a Minnesota opponent enjoys relative success in the paint. The key to gouging the Gophers is to choke off their waves of athletic, rangy backcourt players. Any team who can stifle Minnesota's guards and small forwards and then neutralize Tubby Smith's full-court press will stand a very good chance of winning. That's what Purdue did throughout an evening in which the Boilermakers led by at least six points for the final 13:35 of regulation time. This conference victory--which puts Purdue into a second-place tie with Illinois at 4-2--was that comfortable for the boys in black road jerseys.
 
The three guards who won the day for the Boilermakers--Keaton Grant, E'Twaun Moore, and Lewis Jackson--were so influential in this contest because they affected almost every aspect of play. Grant, Moore and Jackson all hit at least 50 percent of their shots, giving Painter the efficiency he needed at the offensive end. These three amigos combined to hit 5-of-7 threes to add some scoring punch to the Purdue attack. The trio of talents all secured at least 3 rebounds apiece, dished out a combined total of 8 assists, and helped to force 12 Minnesota turnovers in a first half that set the tone for the rest of the contest. 
 

JaJuan Johnson might have owned the eight feet surrounding the basket, but the Grant-Moore-Jackson law firm owned all 94 feet of the hardwood. With the Gophers unable to snap out of the offensive funk that set in last Sunday at Northwestern, the Boilermakers--fueled by their well-rounded guards--proceeded to make The Barn their own cozy cottage. As a result, Purdue now stands just one win behind Michigan State in the league standings.
 
It's amazing what the past 48 hours have done to reshape the Big Ten basketball landscape. It's equally impressive that the Purdue Boilermakers have battled through numerous hardships to regain their swagger, and the belief that they can compete for the conference title.
 

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