For the second consecutive game, the Purdue Boilermakers looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory. For the second consecutive game, however, they allowed their opposition to creep back into the game and make things a little too interesting.You have to give the Huskies credit, as they battled back into the game behind the inside-outside duo of Jon Brockman and Isaiah Thomas. Purdue, though, held off the furious comeback bid by Washington, and ended up winning a game in which it never trailed.
The star of the game for the Boilers was easily JaJuan Johnson. The lanky sophomore had 22 points, five rebounds and four blocks. Two of those blocks were a tad bit timely, too. With about a minute left in the game, and Purdue clinging to a two-point lead, Washington got two inside shot attempts which would have tied the game -- except Johnson was there. Back-to-back denials, and Purdue was still ahead.
Looking ahead, Purdue will square off against Connecticut in Glendale, Arizona on Thursday. Johnson thrived against a big body like Brockman, and now he'll be tested against Hasheem Thabeet. The Boilers could give UConn a scare in the Sweet 16 if they can put two halves together. The way they played in the first half, both on Thursday and Saturday, would be good enough to give the top-seeded Huskies a run for their money. What they gave in the second half of each game, though, won't get the job done against a team with superior talent like UConn.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-21-2009 @ 10:33PM
yarakone said...
As an old Purdue grad (BSEE 1968) with plenty of memories of Purdue teams that look like #1 one day and a zero the next week, it's nice to see a Purdue team with that just may have the mental and physical toughness to go a little deeper into this tournament. Purdue, however, has always done more with less pure talent, size, etc. than most any other team you could think of. Coach Keady may never have won an NCAA, BUT he was one helluva coach when it came to getting the most out of what he had to work with. Coach Painter is out of his mold and I think a worthy successor who may be able to finally reach that holy grail of college BB - that NCAA Championship. Lord knows there is a lot of us long suffering Boilermaker alums out here who would like to see it before we depart this earth!
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