Welcome back to Welsh-Ryan Arena, where NU is set to take on upstart Purdue on Greek Day. The student section was supposed to be filled with fraternity and sorority members, but just a few minutes before tip-off, the Wildside remains largely empty. Perhaps the Greek spirit was not enough to sway people to attend what looks to be, at least on paper, a blowout in the making. The Boilermakers, led by two freshmen and two sophomores, sit at the top of the Big Ten at 11-1, having one 10 consecutive games. Conversely, the Cats are winless in the Big Ten, and haven't even come close, losing every conference game by at least 10 points.
One fan is holding up a sign that reads, "Pur-due 4 an upset." We'll see if that holds true.
Here are the starting lineups:
Purdue: G- Chris Kramer, G- Keaton Grant, G- E'Twaun Moore, F- Robbie Hummel, F- Nemanja Calasan
NU: G- Craig Moore, G- Michael Thompson, G- Sterling Williams, F- Ivan Peljusic, F- Kevin Coble
Juice Thompson was mistakenly announced as being 6-foot-10. Oooooops.
Purdue fans clearly outnumber NU fans in the stands thus far. We'll see how much that effects the game.
19:20: Ivan Peljusic with an impressive offensive move for the game's first points. Who knew? He's also grabbed a couple of rebounds so far, doing much more to justify the start than in the last game.
16:17: Thompson shakes a hard foul a minute earlier to bury a 3, giving NU an early 7-4 advantage.
14:55: E'Twaun Moore does not only have the greatest name ever. He also has four straight points to pull Purdue within one.
14:21: The NU lead was short lived. At the first timeout, Purdue is back in the lead, 11-9, after a Robbie Hummel 3. The Boilermakers will also have a pair of free throws coming when play resumes.
13:15: Capocci, Baran and Nash are all in after the timeout, and NU gets a turnover and turns it into a Moore 3-pointer to go back ahead, 12-11.
11:55: Timeout on the floor with NU leading 14-11, helped by a Purdue missed dunk. The student section is still not completely full, but the Cats don't seem bothered by it and are playing some inspired basketball right now.
10:52: NU opens up a 6-point lead on a Juice 3, and Purdue looks a little flustered.
7:12: Timeout on the floor, with NU still leading 24-20, even after a 4-0 Purdue run. The combo of Baran and Peljusic is giving the Cats far more than they've gotten from that position most of the season. But Purdue is not backing down, so NU is going to have to keep up this level of play the whole game if it wants to pull the upset.
3:40: Timeout, with NU's lead shaved to 29-27. The Cats have started missing some open shots, while the Boilermakers have been knocking down some highly contested attempts. We'll see if the Cats can hold onto their lead for the rest of the half.
3:11: NU has led for most of the half, but not anymore. E'Twaun just knocked down a 3 to put Purdue ahead 30-29.
1:47: Jason Okrzesik just tried to tip in a miss, forgetting that he's generously listed as 6-foot-1. This did not turn out well for him.
0:065: NU trails 35-31, with one last chance to close the gap before halftime. We'll see what sort of magic Carmody draws up in the huddle.
0:00: The play consisted of Juice driving all the way down the court to the basket for the layup and it would have worked had he not been soundly rejected at the last second. Purdue closes the half on a 19-7 run to take the lead. Oh well......
At halftime, E'Twaun leads all players with 16 points, while Thompson and Baran lead NU with eight apiece. Thanks mostly to Nikola, the Cats lead Purdue 10-0 in bench scoring. But the Boilers are shooting 63.6 percent, while the Cats are at 42.9 percent. That's the difference so far. NU is going to have to avoid the big runs it has consistently surrendered to its opponents in the second half this season if it wants to have a shot.
18:32: NU was only 2 of 6 from the free throw line in the first half and Sterling Williams just missed one of two in the team's first trip of the second half. NU doesn't get to the line much, but when it does, it needs to capitalize. The Cats need every point they can get with Purdue shooting the way it is.
15:45: Timeout on the floor, as Purdue has started to pull away a little, leading 45-38. E'Twaun continues to torment the Cats, with 21 points. This second half is starting to look painfully familiar for NU, which has got to figure out a way to keep this game close.
14:50: Baran just tried to flop and draw an offensive foul, but the refs weren't buying his theatrics and Grant hit a 3 for Purdue on the same possession to make it a 10-point game.
11:57: Matt Painter calls a timeout for Purdue after Coble buries a beautiful baseline runner to make it a 48-43 contest, with Purdue in front. NU is playing their little hearts out and staying within striking distance, but the Boilers are a tough team. The Cats still have a shot at an upset, but it is going to be far from easy.
11:51: Another timeout, and it's LadyCat time!
11:08: NU is back within one after Nash puts in a fastbreak layup. The small lineup of Nash, Juice, JO, Baran and Coble seems to be working.
9:48: Coble buries a 3 to put NU up 50-48 and the now-mostly-full stands go crazy.
9:10: Well, that was short-lived. Purdue is right back ahead by three after a Grant trey.
8:29: Coble clanks a pair of free throws, the second time he's done that today, and Grant responds by burying another triple to make it a 56-50 game. NU calls timeout, looking a little shell-shocked.
7:46: Nash just picked up a technical foul after shoving a Purdue player after the play. That gives Purdue two free throws and the ball and puts Nash at four fouls. 58-50 Purdue, and a timeout on the floor.
6:56: Remember those big second-half runs we were talking about? Well, here we are. Purdue is son a 12-0 spurt since NU briefly took the lead and is now ahead 60-50. Moore just tried a patented Tim Doyle no-look, backwards, over-the-head pass, perhaps trying to impress his mentor, who is calling the game for the Big Ten Network. Unfortunately for him, it didn't lead to any points, as Baran missed a 3-pointer.
3:47: E'Twaun strikes again, knocking down a 3 to make it 67-52 and stick the official dagger in the Cats' hearts. It was another valiant effort by NU, but the team simply couldn't hit enough big shots or make enough big stops when it counted, and the opponent made a big run. Again. Well, there's always next year.
0:47: All the scrubs are coming in, so it's a done deal. Purdue has even put in a player with no name on the back of his jersey. This is never a good sign for the opposing team.
Final score: Purdue 71, NU 56
That's it. Until next time, be well and stay out of trouble.
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