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“And then you may ask yourself, well, how I did get here?” is arguably the most memorable line in the Talking Heads classic tune “Once in a Lifetime.”
Yes, how is it this early (W-L record wise, not calendar wise) and the Big Ten West division title could be decided on Saturday, and that decision will be reached by either Northwestern (3-0) or Purdue (2-0).
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For the first time since 1995, a 38-14 loss to Michigan, Illinois will open their home schedule against a Big Ten opponent. The Purdue Boilermakers, 4-8 last season, but surprise winners over Iowa last week despite being sans their best player and head coach, come to town on Halloween.
There is however one trick for the Boilermakers that could treat Illini fans- University of Illinois football has not lost a home opener in nearly a quarter of a century. Sure, this streak is composed of opponents which are overwhelmingly cupcake, as you have plenty of mid-majors, low-majors, some FCS and even I-AA as the streak stretches back to when FCS was known as IAA.
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When Rondale Moore first arrived at Purdue he was the highest rated recruit that West Lafayette had seen in a very long time. All the true freshman wide receiver from New Albany, Indiana did in his very first collegiate game was break Purdue’s 46-year old record for most all-purpose yards in a contest with 313 yards.
In a 31-27 loss to Northwestern Moore rushed twice for 79 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown run, and caught 11 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. He would only suit up for the gold and black just 17 more times. Today he announced that’s he opting out of the 2020 college football season, and he’ll focus on preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft.
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For Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter and his team, the margin for error is razor thin right now. Just outside the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Boilermakers need to, at the very least, reach the Big Ten Tournament title game to get back in the big dance mix. The season is not lost as of yet.
With the Big Ten Tournament final taking place after nearly all of the bracket has been filled out, the schedule works out to their advantage. Ditto for the location, as no Big Ten team is closer to Indianapolis than Purdue. Mackey Arena to Bankers Life Fieldhouse is 72.7 miles, an hour and 12 minute drive according to Google Maps.
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Another misstep or two and Purdue basketball will find itself going from Elite 8 to “must run the Big Ten Tournament table” in order to reach the postseason. The 2019-20 season came dangerously close to being a completely lost campaign tonight in Evanston, as the Boilermakers trailed nearly the entire night.
With 3:22 remaining, Northwestern’s win probability was at 92.8% according to the ESPN stats and information team. With a 1:24 left, NU was still sitting pretty at nearly 75% chance of winning. The Wildcats, who went the final 4:38 without scoring, played really tight and saw their 58-50 advantage end up yielding a 61-58 loss.
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Before former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler signed with Vanderbilt to play his college football, he strived to stay closer to home. The Santa Claus, Indiana native, who grew up a Bears fan, wanted to go to Notre Dame, but they weren’t interested.
Purdue wanted him, back in 2002 when Cutler was coming out of high school, but the Boilermakers coaching staff envisioned Cutler as a defensive back instead. Illinois offered him, Jay accepted, but then the staff told him he was lower on the priority list at the position. It proved to be a terrible mistake as then coach Ron Turner suffered through a 1-11 season in 2003, and then found himself out of a job after a 3-8 campaign in 2004.
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Absolutely anyone who cares about Big Ten basketball, no matter the size of their audience, publishes a Big Ten basketball power rankings. It’s the least original endeavor possible, and this year all of these power rankings are created equal.
From the Midwestern paper of record to somebody on Twitter with three followers and no avatar, to the people who make college basketball picks against the spread, they’re all equally valid.
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Today saw Gonzaga become the sixth different team to be ranked #1 in the AP poll. The all time record, for an entire season is seven, and today is just Christmas Eve Eve/Festivus. In other words, that record will inevitably be shattered to pieces and this fact conveys just how much chaos there really is, nationally, in college basketball this season.
Not just nationally, but on a local level too! When you’re making free college basketball picks against the spread, in the Big Ten, anything can happen! Upsets are occurring all the time and now that everyone in the Big 10 has played two conference games, 12 of the 14 teams in the league are 1-1. Michigan State is 2-0 while Northwestern is 0-2. Until MSU’s 77-72 win at Northwestern on Wednesday night, the home team had won every single Big Ten league team. So up until midweek, we had perfect symmetry in the Midwestern league.
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In a game where absolutely every single field goal made mattered, and then some, the Purdue Boilermakers got off to a rip roaring start against the reigning national champions and never looked back; cruising to a 69-40 win.
The #5 Virginia Cavaliers led 3-0, right off the first possession, but that was it. The Boilermakers quickly countered and found themselves up 26-9 at the under four media timeout in the first half. Defense lives here indeed as UVA were held scoreless for a stretch of nine minutes and nine seconds in the first half. Up 40-19 at the under 16 in the second half, it was all she wrote and Purdue had themselves what you would call “a signature win.”
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“Defense Lives Here.” It’s a slogan in West Lafayette, and thus far, the Purdue Boilermakers have certainly embodied that, holding all but one of their first seven opponents to 65 points or less. Five of those opponents have scored less than 60, with two not even reaching 50.
However, Wednesday night’s opponent, the #7 and reigning national champion Virginia Cavaliers, are the embodiment of playing hard nosed defense on steroids. Only one of their seven opponents, Vermont, has even scored 50 on them. Three opponents scored 34 of less! Yes, you read that right. That’s why the over/under is 103 on this game. If you’re gambling at slotsify or other casinos taking action on this game, you’ll see Purdue favored by two points. When doing any kind of wagering, and especially so with sports betting, you got to pay attention to their numbers. And this game will be tight because points will be at a premium.
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J.D. Dellinger was the hero for Purdue in an ending that was so exciting and interesting, it could have been written by J.D. Salinger. Purdue’s 24-22 come from behind win at Northwestern, decided by Dellinger’s 39 yard field goal in the final seconds, was as entertaining as one could expect for $2- that’s how low a price you could find tickets online for this one.
It was the nicest weather day the Chicagoland area has seen in a week and is forecasted to have for another week, absolutely perfect for a college football Saturday, but the sun is definitely not shining right now on the Northwestern football program. The Wildcats went up early 14-0, and they scored six more points today than they did all of October, but it just wasn’t enough.
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It’s astounding when you think about it- last year this game was both entertaining and overflowing with hype. ESPN sent their A-team to broadcast it. Now Purdue Boilermakers vs Northwestern Wildcats is, lackluster to say the least. For host Northwestern, it’s a season that’s long been lost, largely due to an offense that is so ineffective, watching them play could best be expressed by Sideshow Mel: “this endeavor is the height of tedium.”
If you’ve ever wondered what a power five conference team (not running the triple option or something gimmicky like that) would look like if they had absolutely no passing game, this is it. As for Purdue, well they came within three minutes of season their season pretty much over last week. The Boilers pulled out the win last weekend over Nebraska, but “let’s just roll out the basketballs already” mode could be here shortly.
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