What are our (realistic) chances against Purdue?

[GatoLouco]

I've seen Purdue live twice, at Mackey, this year. Here's what stood out to me.

On the one hand:

• Not even close to as good a team as they were last year
• Difficulties attacking a zone (even if ours continues to be dreadful)
• Nojel Eastern not being remotely the player I thought he could be
• Proctor only legit constant offensive threat

On the other hand:

• Very strong man to man defense. Putting a lot of pressure on the passing lanes. Combine that with Haarms in the middle, and they are tough to score against.
  
• Mackey continues to be one of the toughest environments to play in

I think our chances are better than the 6.7% ESPN gives us right now. But it would take a really strong shooting night to get us the W. We will struggle to get open shots.

 

[NJCat]

I've seen Purdue live twice, at Mackey, this year. Here's what stood out to me.

On the one hand:

• Not even close to as good a team as they were last year
• Difficulties attacking a zone (even if ours continues to be dreadful)
• Nojel Eastern not being remotely the player I thought he could be
• Proctor only legit constant offensive threat

On the other hand:

• Very strong man to man defense. Putting a lot of pressure on the passing lanes. Combine that with Haarms in the middle, and they are tough to score against.
  
• Mackey continues to be one of the toughest environments to play in

I think our chances are better than the 6.7% ESPN gives us right now. But it would take a really strong shooting night to get us the W. We will struggle to get open shots.

It will be NU's first real road game, with more than 75 people in the stands. Mackey is a real difficult place to play, Boiler fans are LOUD. A young team in their first true road test seem destined to come up short.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

The final score won’t matter to me as much as the “eye test”, if that makes any sense.

Want to see us:
- strategically prepared
- playing loose and confident
- run some plays offensively
- unafraid to shoot (even if they’re not falling)
- keep it under 15 turnovers

Don’t want to see:
- lazy defense
- tentative and unaggressive
- us get dominated on the boards
- offensively stagnant and passive

In other words, win or lose, we need to look like we belong on the same floor as them.

 

[DaCat]

Don't sleep on Purdue!

 

[willycat]

It will be NU's first real road game, with more than 75 people in the stands. Mackey is a real difficult place to play, Boiler fans are LOUD. A young team in their first true road test seem destined to come up short.

Why do you or anyone think that there were a lot of empty seats at BC? Weather? Bad teams?

 

[GatoLouco]

Mackey is a real difficult place to play, Boiler fans are LOUD.

A massive amount of students go to the games.

Mackey is also super uncomfortable. Other than like 200 premium seats, it is all benches. With very little leg room. And pretty narrow. It's shoulder to shoulder and knees to back in that place. Will probably be there on Sunday though.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Who knows! Every game is a roll of the dice.

 

[Jonny2TheP]

In order to win, we will need to play like we did last night and like we did versus Bradley. Purdue, while not as good as previous years, is still better than we are. It’s going to take a really good effort.

Like VirginiaWildcat, my main desire is I want a good performance that shows continued growth and bright spots. A win feels unlikely, but would be a very nice surprise.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Why do you or anyone think that there were a lot of empty seats at BC? Weather? Bad teams?

Maybe they require a donation for the premium seats and the little guy has been left behind.

 

[go cats go]

Like VirginiaWildcat, my main desire is I want a good performance that shows continued growth and bright spots. A win feels unlikely, but would be a very nice surprise.

I believe that we will have some nice surprise upsets this season. In just the first month, we have seen that the following can all have big games against decent competition:

Spencer (23 pts. vs. Bradley)
Kopp (20 pts. @ BC)
Buie (20 pts. @ BC)
Young (16 pts., 12 reb vs. Providence)
Nance (16 pts., 10 reb vs. Radford / 9 pts., 8 reb vs. Providence)

Beyond these five, Gaines is dependable and a good defender. And I expect that both Beran and Tuner will have big moments and big games coming off the bench.

Upsets will definitely be possible if multiple sets of 'Cats play well together and have big individual games.

 

[willycat]

I believe that we will have some nice surprise upsets this season. In just the first month, we have seen that the following can all have big games against decent competition:

Spencer (23 pts. vs. Bradley)
Kopp (20 pts. @ BC)
Buie (20 pts. @ BC)
Young (16 pts., 12 reb vs. Providence)
Nance (16 pts., 10 reb vs. Radford / 9 pts., 8 reb vs. Providence)

Beyond these five, Gaines is dependable and a good defender. And I expect that both Beran and Tuner will have big moments and big games coming off the bench.

Upsets will definitely be possible if multiple sets of 'Cats play well together and have big individual games.

Just don't like seeing Gaines and Turner on the court at the same time. What's up with Greer?

 

[torque-cat]

Why do you or anyone think that there were a lot of empty seats at BC? Weather? Bad teams?

The game was the day after the first big snowfall of the year so a lot of folks might have stayed home. I'm guessing students may either be out for semester or in exams. Both teams are mediocre.

 

[willycat]

The game was the day after the first big snowfall of the year so a lot of folks might have stayed home. I'm guessing students may either be out for semester or in exams. Both teams are mediocre.

Got it, thanks. Reported attendance?

 

[freewillie07]

Realistically, NU wins maybe two out of every 10 matchups against Purdue. It would require another hot shooting night like we saw against BC.

I’m not expecting a win at all, just looking to see how the guys handle the heat of a road conference game against the best opposition they’ve played all year. If competitive, it bodes well for winning a handful of Big Ten games.

 

[CappyNU]

I'm curious to see what Purdue looks like against UVa tonight, as Purdue has started the year playing at an uncharacteristically slow tempo for a Matt Painter-coached team and have had some real trouble scoring against the decent teams they've played so far this year. They also seem to be lacking that deadeye 3-point shooter(s) they've always seemed to have too.

 

[NJCat]

I'm curious to see what Purdue looks like against UVa tonight, as Purdue has started the year playing at an uncharacteristically slow tempo for a Matt Painter-coached team and have had some real trouble scoring against the decent teams they've played so far this year. They also seem to be lacking that deadeye 3-point shooter(s) they've always seemed to have too.

This game could end up 32-30.

 

[Alan Smithee]

I'm curious to see what Purdue looks like against UVa tonight, as Purdue has started the year playing at an uncharacteristically slow tempo for a Matt Painter-coached team and have had some real trouble scoring against the decent teams they've played so far this year. They also seem to be lacking that deadeye 3-point shooter(s) they've always seemed to have too.

Well, that was interesting.

 

[DaCat]

Whoa 69-40 win for Purdue. Maybe they'll sleep on NU for this Sunday?

 

[Titanium999]

I've seen Purdue live twice, at Mackey, this year. Here's what stood out to me.

On the one hand:

• Not even close to as good a team as they were last year
• Difficulties attacking a zone (even if ours continues to be dreadful)
• Nojel Eastern not being remotely the player I thought he could be
• Proctor only legit constant offensive threat

On the other hand:

• Very strong man to man defense. Putting a lot of pressure on the passing lanes. Combine that with Haarms in the middle, and they are tough to score against.
  
• Mackey continues to be one of the toughest environments to play in

I think our chances are better than the 6.7% ESPN gives us right now. But it would take a really strong shooting night to get us the W. We will struggle to get open shots.

Agreed

 

[Hungry Jack]

Whoa 69-40 win for Purdue. Maybe they'll sleep on NU for this Sunday?

Let's hope so. UVA was ranked #5, after all. And PU smothered them.

 

[Titanium999]

About 30% Refs screw the away teams

 

[olshin]

I've seen Purdue live twice, at Mackey, this year. Here's what stood out to me.

On the one hand:

• Not even close to as good a team as they were last year
• Difficulties attacking a zone (even if ours continues to be dreadful)
• Nojel Eastern not being remotely the player I thought he could be
• Proctor only legit constant offensive threat

On the other hand:

• Very strong man to man defense. Putting a lot of pressure on the passing lanes. Combine that with Haarms in the middle, and they are tough to score against.
  
• Mackey continues to be one of the toughest environments to play in

I think our chances are better than the 6.7% ESPN gives us right now. But it would take a really strong shooting night to get us the W. We will struggle to get open shots.

Against the Purdue I saw yesterday? I hope we score.

Realistically, I hope we look like a team that looks like it belongs on the court against a quality BT opponent on the road in a tough environment. I think 4.5 is a good O/U on conference wins this year. I don't see how this is one of the 4.5.

But this team has surprised after the Merrimack debacle ... so who knows? Still, I just want to see improvement through the year.

 

[CappyNU]

Well, that was interesting.

Uhh, yeah.....That was a very different performance than what they had shown up to this point. Yikes.

 

[haywood jahblowme]

i think this season is all about what NU does (- although ANY opposing team is a mega-challenge when they are 100% "on")

i think when this team shows up and plays with passion and energy especially on defense, shares the ball, and rebounds well they can compete with most teams. and i think they can with Purdue. I am not sure Purdue is good enough to "wipe us out" based on their personal - but they play great defense and have a knock down three point shooter. if we can still execute on "O" and play connected on "D" then i think it will be a very good game.

 

[NJCat]

Let's hope so. UVA was ranked #5, after all. And PU smothered them.

PU kicked their asses in what was probably a revenge game for UVA knocking them out of the Tournament last season. No doubt PU had the game circled before the season. And UVA just not the same team with all their player losses after winning it all last year. I doubt they bring the same intensity Sunday. I also doubt it will be a close game.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

PU kicked their asses in what was probably a revenge game for UVA knocking them out of the Tournament last season. No doubt PU had the game circled before the season. And UVA just not the same team with all their player losses after winning it all last year. I doubt they bring the same intensity Sunday. I also doubt it will be a close game.

PU with a bounce game. Question is can NU play like they did against BC to make it competitive?

 

[GatoLouco]

I am not sure Purdue is good enough to "wipe us out" based on their personal - but they play great defense and have a knock down three point shooter. if we can still execute on "O" and play connected on "D" then i think it will be a very good game.

I agree with that assessment. I don't think they are as good as last night's game might suggest. While I don't think we stand a good chance of winning, I do not think they will wipe us out.

They confirmed they are great on defense. Even though Virginia is a bit challenged on offense.

Stefanovic is a very good shooter, but not necessarily hard to keep quiet. Against Texas he had a good game. Hit 3 in a row in a short period of time. But the moment Texas clamped down on him he got quiet. And it was not a "hard clamp". Just adjusting to a player you have to be fully aware of where he is on the floor.

I'm really curious as to how our young guys react to not only the first "real away game" they've had, but also a truly really tough environment. Probably won't be as wild in there as it was last night, but it will still be very very tough.

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

I want to see consistent effort. This is a tough game that everyone expects them to lose. But the effort has to be there whether it's a gimmie (Merrimack) or they're playing with house money (Purdue on the road).

I want to see CC have them prepared from the start and come out with some energy (not just Spencer). Even if they get down early, they need to fight back. I think so many of their issues the last few years have been mental (not ready to handle post tourney success, lack of leadership, internal strife etc). They need to come ready to play and focused.

For specific players, I would love to see Boo continue his hot streak.

Big 10 looks like ti could get 7 teams to the dance this year, so the Cats should be pumped for this game.

 

[Figrating]

Purdue looked like a top 5 team against UVA.

Gotta get our best defender all over Stefanovic. Incredible shooter.

 

[Titanium999]

Our defense is dang salty! If we make some shots,we can beat Purdue!

 

[catcrazy]

I think we pull the upset with Nance leading the way

 

[haywood jahblowme]

if both teams are playing at their top level, PU is better

if NU plays top level and PU plays OK - NU has a chance

as we have seen if NU does not play top level it will be hard for them to win