Purdue Boilermakers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Preview

Friday, Friday, gotta write posts about Robbie Hummel while skipping class on Friday, everybody's getting ready for the Robbie Hummel

In good omen news for Northwestern, my IM basketball team, which we all agree is inextricably linked to Northwestern basketball, brought 11 guys to its matchup with some seniors in Pike and won going away, 30-11, marking Sigma Nu's first victory since the 2010 season. My point is, anything is possible. If Sig Nu can win, surely Northwestern can find three to four extra scholarship athletes capable of competing on the Big Ten level by tomorrow and dress more than seven players. Mark my words: Sig Nu's improbable playoff run will coincide with NU's first ever tourney appearance. (Okay, please stop marking my words.)

Jump for talk.

Are they good?: I'm pretty shocked at how middle of the pack Purdue is this year. After losing E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, the face of this team is drastically different than it has been in years past, but I look at Purdue and I see a team with no real quality wins - maybe Illinois? - and a loss to a mediocre Butler team and a blowout loss to Penn State. I'm very "meh".

Who they got?: Purdue really comes down to two players: Robbie Hummel, the brilliant scorer who you know from his 18 years in college and $Texas horrific knee injuries , and Lewis Jackson, the point guard. Everybody else is some combination of "new", "less good", and "I'm Ryne Smith and I shoot threes." Hummel has a little bit of everything in his game - he can post, he can shoot, he can drive - notably, never, ever, ever turns the ball over, so doubling him is pretty useless. Jackson has no jumper to speak of but can finish on his way to the hoop and is a nifty passer. If I were Matt Painter, this team would be pick-and-roll/pop based with those two and Smith spotted up beyond the arc, but alas, I'm not, and instead they just play college-y motion offense. Boring.

What are they good at?: Purdue is the best team in the country in not turning the ball over. Only 14.8 percent of their possessions end up in turnovers.

What are they bad at?: Opponents shoot 36.2 percent from three against the Boilermakers, which is wheeeeeeeeeee! material for Northwestern, considering their game plan.

Do you have jokes?: Yes. The people at Wildside asked me if I could do the little sheet they give out at home games with things about opposing players. Unless they got qualms with me posting what I wrote here, these are the lies I made up about Purdue. Major hat tip to Seth Rosenthal from Posting and Toasting, who perfected this art form over the years with his Know the Opponent and Pre-Game Reconnaissance posts. Some things are modestly factual.

Dru Anthrop: Dru's career high is three points, against Alcorn State. He refuses to go any higher as a tribute to his parents' insistence on spelling "Dru" with only three letters.