After Purdue lost to Wisconsin to end its 26-game home win streak, coach Matt Painter was asked if the Boilermakers were an NCAA Tournament team.
?We?ll find out,? he said. ?A lot of teams, a lot of coaches, jump up and say yes to that early. But you have to prove yourself. We have to be consistent if our answer?s going to be yes. We have to do a better job of being ready to play, rebounding, just being tougher, just doing a lot of the little things. But I do think we have the pieces to be an NCAA Tournament team.?
Much of Purdue?s postseason fate figures to hinge on a nasty stretch of eight games in the course of about a month.
Under ordinary circumstances, the Boilermakers? return to Mackey Arena against Iowa on Tuesday night would be considered the relative calm before the storm. But not in this highly unpredictable Big Ten.
Since the Boilermakers (13-5, 3-2 Big Ten) pulled out a 79-76 victory in Iowa City on Dec. 28 to open conference play, the Hawkeyes (11-8, 3-3) have gone 3-2. Iowa won back-to-back road games against Wisconsin and Minnesota, before losing to Ohio State and at Michigan State; the Hawkeyes are coming off a win against then-No. 13 Michigan on Saturday.
?They?re a more confident team. ... They know they can beat anybody anywhere in our league, and they?ve proven that,? Painter said on Monday.
?Iowa?s best offensive output in their six (conference) games so far was against us. We couldn?t stop them while we were out there. We were just fortunate enough to score more points. So we know how dangerous they are, and we know how good they are in transition.?
Senior forward Robbie Hummel agreed. ?They?ve beaten some good teams, so we?re going to have to play well to win,? he said on Monday.
?If you?re not ready to play against everybody in the league this year, you could definitely take a loss.?
The Boilermakers continue to seek that consistency. In their last four games alone, from their impressive win against Illinois, to their dreadful loss at Penn State, to their bounceback win at Minnesota, to their first home loss since Feb. 28, 2010 with the setback against the Badgers, their performance has been virtually impossible to predict.
Foul shooting remains an ongoing issue. And finishing in the paint has been a point of emphasis, as Purdue has been able to get to the rim despite the lack of a post presence.
?I think the majority of it (finding consistency) has to come within,? Painter said. ?The thing we have to do a better job of is handling adversity, handling runs. You have to be able to stop those runs and make better decisions during those runs.?
Lewis Jackson was slated to play against Iowa, as he presses on despite his back problem (as well as his foot problem), though Painter will closely monitor the play of the senior point guard. After having sat out since the game against Wisconsin, Jackson was expected to return to practice on Monday.
And redshirt sophomore center Sandi Marcius should be available against the Hawkeyes, after he missed several practices because of illness leading up to the game against the Badgers and did not play, on top of his left calf injury.
?We need him, and hopefully he can get healthy and give us quality minutes,? Painter said.
?We?ll find out,? he said. ?A lot of teams, a lot of coaches, jump up and say yes to that early. But you have to prove yourself. We have to be consistent if our answer?s going to be yes. We have to do a better job of being ready to play, rebounding, just being tougher, just doing a lot of the little things. But I do think we have the pieces to be an NCAA Tournament team.?
Much of Purdue?s postseason fate figures to hinge on a nasty stretch of eight games in the course of about a month.
Under ordinary circumstances, the Boilermakers? return to Mackey Arena against Iowa on Tuesday night would be considered the relative calm before the storm. But not in this highly unpredictable Big Ten.
Since the Boilermakers (13-5, 3-2 Big Ten) pulled out a 79-76 victory in Iowa City on Dec. 28 to open conference play, the Hawkeyes (11-8, 3-3) have gone 3-2. Iowa won back-to-back road games against Wisconsin and Minnesota, before losing to Ohio State and at Michigan State; the Hawkeyes are coming off a win against then-No. 13 Michigan on Saturday.
?They?re a more confident team. ... They know they can beat anybody anywhere in our league, and they?ve proven that,? Painter said on Monday.
?Iowa?s best offensive output in their six (conference) games so far was against us. We couldn?t stop them while we were out there. We were just fortunate enough to score more points. So we know how dangerous they are, and we know how good they are in transition.?
Senior forward Robbie Hummel agreed. ?They?ve beaten some good teams, so we?re going to have to play well to win,? he said on Monday.
?If you?re not ready to play against everybody in the league this year, you could definitely take a loss.?
The Boilermakers continue to seek that consistency. In their last four games alone, from their impressive win against Illinois, to their dreadful loss at Penn State, to their bounceback win at Minnesota, to their first home loss since Feb. 28, 2010 with the setback against the Badgers, their performance has been virtually impossible to predict.
Foul shooting remains an ongoing issue. And finishing in the paint has been a point of emphasis, as Purdue has been able to get to the rim despite the lack of a post presence.
?I think the majority of it (finding consistency) has to come within,? Painter said. ?The thing we have to do a better job of is handling adversity, handling runs. You have to be able to stop those runs and make better decisions during those runs.?
Lewis Jackson was slated to play against Iowa, as he presses on despite his back problem (as well as his foot problem), though Painter will closely monitor the play of the senior point guard. After having sat out since the game against Wisconsin, Jackson was expected to return to practice on Monday.
And redshirt sophomore center Sandi Marcius should be available against the Hawkeyes, after he missed several practices because of illness leading up to the game against the Badgers and did not play, on top of his left calf injury.
?We need him, and hopefully he can get healthy and give us quality minutes,? Painter said.
