For Purdue basketball, is it “Boiler Down” after disappointing end to 2011? Not This Year.

March 23, 2011 By 3 Comments
florida-gators-champs

In the aftermath of my Boilermakers’ stunning loss to VCU on Sunday, someone asked me, “Twitch, how would you build the perfect college basketball team?”

Usually, I love questions like this because it opens up the door for lots of argumentation and debate. Unfortunately, this one didn’t. Why? Because of my answer.

“It’s already been done. The 2006 and 2007 Florida Gators.”

Now, if you are a fan of UNC, Duke, Kansas, Connecticut, or any of the other recent NCAA Champions, don’t get offended. Every team that wins a championship is built for success in one way or the other. But the fact is, only one team has repeated as champion in the past 20 years, and it had nothing to do with lack of competition and everything to do with how perfectly constructed the Gators were as a team.

For most of this season, Purdue fans thought that our Boilermakers we constructed in a way that made a national title a real possibility. And we were, before…

Well before something unfortunate happened that robbed us all of a chance to see just how good this team could be.

In this post, I analyze Purdue’s 2010-11 team within the context of recent past champions to see just how much of a title contender they really were – and if it’s possible for a team that finished in such a disappointing way to actually be celebrated for overachieving, not underachieving.

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Filed Under: CBB, Uncategorized Tagged With: e'twaun moore, florida gators, jajuan johnson, Purdue Basketball, Robbie Hummel

March Madness Upsets: Breaking Down the 5-12 Matchups, Plus Other Potential Bracket Busters

March 15, 2010 By 4 Comments
ncaa-tournament-upset-picks-5-12-matchups

Right near the top of anyone’s list for why they love the NCAA Tournament is inevitable upsets that happen every year. Some years upsets are plentiful. Other years, like last year, chalk reigns more often than not.

While there is no perfect way to predict where upsets will come from (this is why they are considered upsets, after all) there are specific criteria you can look for when trying to locate which matchups are more favorable for upsets than others.

In this post, I’ll explain the criteria I use to pick upsets, then break down the 5-12 matchups, which is where most upsets come from, as well as analyze this year’s other potential bracket busters.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 5-12 matchups, e'twaun moore, jajuan johnson, March Madness, ncaa tournament, ncaa tournament predictions, ncaa tournament upset picks, Purdue Basketball

Photo Hilarity: Now That’s What I Call a ‘Cock Block’

January 21, 2010 By 4 Comments
etwaun-moore-demetri-mccamey-crotch-grab-photo

Purdue snapped a three game losing streak earlier this week when the Boilermakers beat Illinois in Champaign. In the process, Boiler guard E’Twaun Moore lent further proof to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

He also gave us today’s edition of Photo Hilarity of the Day.

As you can see, Moore clearly has taken to Matt Painter’s credo of playing tough, physical defense. Demetri McCamey of the Fighting Illini, however, is probably wishing that Moore’s defense didn’t involve E’Twaun grabbing (or tickling, not exactly sure…he is from Purdue after all) McCamey in his twig and berries while the Illinois guard attempts a jump shot.

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Filed Under: Photo Hilarity Tagged With: awesome pictures, Big Ten Basketball, CBB, demetri mccamey, e'twaun moore, Jimmy Traina, Purdue Basketball