2/27/2023 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Off The Rails Edition

Photo: Mark Elsner

Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports

2013 the world was a completely different place. Barack Obama just began his second term as president, Alabama had won another football championship, and Louisville temporarily won a national championship in basketball, until it was quickly rescinded. The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, The Boston Red Sox won the World Series,

In 2013 Justin Timberlake topped the charts, and one of the British Princes had a baby or something. The Wolf of Wallstreet, Frozen, We’re the Millers, and Pitch Perfect were on everyone’s movie screen.

That was ten years ago.

2013 was also the last time that the Indiana Hoosiers swept Purdue in basketball.

The Game:

#17 Indiana 79, #5 Purdue 71: A game which was not nearly as close as the final score indicated, the Hoosiers controlled the entire second half, despite a hot start by the Boilermakers. Jalen Hood-Schifino was the alpha on the floor, doing everything in his power to punish the home team. He ended with 35 points, and did so with ease. Zach Edey had 26 and 16, but despite his prowess, Purdue couldn’t hang.

Indiana Photo Gallery: https://snapsbyme.smugmug.com/Purdue-Mens-Basketball/22-23/Indiana/

Break It Down:

One team wanted it more. That team wasn’t Purdue.

So here we are, in the Hoosier state. Well, well, well. how the turntables… The sweeper has become the sweepee. Purdue deserves every bit of smack talk that they receive for the next 300 some odd days.

Listen, folks, this is a black eye on an overall great season. Purdue has defeated teams this season with dynamic guards, but Hood-Schifino is a different breed. He is an all timer, and a soon to be NBA star. Indiana went out there and beat Purdue’s brains in. No ifs ands or butts.

The frustrating part about all of this is that Purdue has played 3/4 of this season as one of, if not the best team in the nation. A loss or three, and all of a sudden the Boilermakers are tanking down the stretch… or so twitter will tell you.

When I was a kid… and I’m talking a kid-kid, there was always playground trash talk following the old IU vs Purdue rivalry. Whenever Purdue would win, the IU kids would always say, “Regular season wins are meaningless, WE have our eyes on post season victories.”

That sentence was dumb then, and it is dumb now. I understand the logic, as flawed as it is. All it takes is a favorable matchup and a hot shooting stretch, and Purdue can do plenty of damage in the post season. They’ve done it already this season. Why can’t they turn it around again?

They’re going to need to find that spark.

What Went Well:

  • Feedey the Edey: Zach Edey continues doing his thing, providing 26 & 16.
  • 14: Points from Fletcher Loyer is a good sign following the slump that he has been in.
  • 16: Purdue won the rebound battle by 16 on Saturday.

Opportunities for Improvement:

  • Somebody Stop Him!: Jalen Hood-Schifino is “him”. He is him. He was getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. If Purdue wants success going forward, someone needs to be able to lock someone down.
  • Somebody Step Up!: Zach Edey can only do so much. Fletcher Loyer had 14, but there needs to be multiple alpha players out there. Who will become the second option if Edey struggles?
  • Somebody Make a Shot!: 21.7% from three will get you regularly beaten, like it did on Saturday.
  • Somebody Put the Phone Down: Purdue fans on Twitter, Saturday night, were toxic as hell. I saw supposed “fans” insulting players by name, begging for Painter to be fired, and throwing online elbows at anyone within tweeting distance. I get it, people are frustrated. People have big-boy twitter muscles. People went haywire on Saturday, and I am disgusted by the behavior. Calm down, and stop letting a home loss to a ranked opponent ruin your life.

Big Man on Campus:

Due to popular demand, the BMOC will not be awarded this week. Coffee is for closers.

Oh, By The Way:

Even though Purdue lost, and Twitter melted down, Purdue won the Big Ten Championship on Sunday by way of a Northwestern loss. That is number 25, the most of all Big Ten teams. Not the coronation that Purdue wanted in front of their rival, and a packed Mackey Arena, but still a championship.

Purdue currently has at minimum a share of the championship, and has a magic number of 1 to make it an outright championship. If Purdue wins one of the last two games, the championship is only theirs!

Congrats Boilermakers on a regular season Big Ten Championship!!

Photo: Mark Elsner

A Look Ahead:

The (as of this writing) #5 Purdue Boilermakers travel to a desperate Wisconsin on Thursday 3/2. Wisconsin is currently on the wrong side of the bubble, and will be looking for a signature victory to end the season. Look for the kitchen sink to be thrown at the Boilermakers. Also, expect a court storm if Boilers happen to lose.

Following that, Purdue returns home on Sunday 3/5 to take on Illinois for Senior Night. While Purdue will be favorites in both of these games, who knows anymore? I sure as heck don’t.

For more content like this follow @ISC_Purdue on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. For a deeper look into the mad mind of Ben Kolodzinski, follow him at @BRKolo on Twitter. WARNING: Viewer’s discretion is advised…

About Benjamin Kolodzinski 109 Articles
Blending the passion of a sports fan with years of media experience, Ben Kolodzinski is a unique personality for ISC Purdue. Since the 2017-18 NCAA seasons, Ben has written weekly columns for ISC, with a style that can only be described as snarky, irreverent, and often times irrelevant. A 2008 graduate from Purdue West Lafayette, Kolodzinski has worked for several local and regional media outlets. Best known for his television and radio work at Lakeshore Public Media (Lakeshore Public Television, and 89.1 The Lakeshore), Kolodzinski helped grow Northwest Indiana's only nightly news show Lakeshore News Tonight, along with The Region's only local sports shows Prep Sports Report, and Prep Football Report. As of 2022, Kolodzinski hosts Lakeshore Gamenight, a prep football radio show and cohosts Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard, a prep football TV highlight show. Kolodzinski is known, locally, for having a fun loving and gregarious personality, and for attempting to inject humor into his reporting... sometimes successfully.

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