No. 22 Irish Clash With Boilermakers In Indy’s Crossroads Classic
By Doug Griffiths
The last time Notre Dame and Purdue played one another in men’s basketball in the regular season, Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States and the United States had yet to put a man on the moon.
Yes, it’s been more than 45 years since the two instate rivals met on the hardwood in the regular season.
That regular-season drought, however, will come to an end at 4:32 p.m. Saturday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the 22nd-ranked Irish clash with the Boilermakers in the second annual Crossroads Classic. Prior to the Notre Dame-Purdue game, No. 1 Indiana will face Butler in the first game of the doubleheader.
The Irish will enter the game on a roll, having won six games in a row to improve their record to 8-1.
While Notre Dame is rolling, Purdue is not. The young Boilermakers, who are in the post-Robbie Hummel era, are just 4-5, losing to Eastern Michigan, Xavier, Oregon State, Villanova and Bucknell.
It’s worth noting that all of those losses were by eight points or less.
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey didn’t waste anytime telling his players this week in practice not to take Purdue for granted.
Brey knows his veteran squad will get Purdue’s best when the two teams clash.
“They are coming after us,” said Brey about the Boilermakers. “Their fans will be ready for us down there. Purdue traditionally has played very well in Bankers Life (formerly Conseco Fieldhouse).
“It’s a high-level game. I’m not looking at their record. They’re going to really be ready to go after us, but I think we’ll be excited about the challenge.”
One Notre Dame player you know is looking forward to playing the Boilermakers is guard Scott Martin. The Valparaiso native played for Purdue his freshman season before transferring to Notre Dame.
In public, Martin says the game doesn’t have any significant meaning. But you’ve got to believe behind closed doors that Martin would like nothing better than to beat his former coach Matt Painter.
“I don’t see it as anything different than us going down there and playing IU last year,” Martin said. “I don’t really know any of the guys on the team now so it’s not like I’m going back and playing a bunch of guys I played with before.
“I’m excited for it.”
Of course, Martin was part of a very heralded Purdue recruiting class that was one of the best in the nation, consisting of Hummel, Martin, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore.
Johnson and Moore graduated following the 2010-11 season after incredibly successful collegiate careers, which included leading Purdue to a 107-33 overall record, including 54-18 in the Big Ten, and four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (and a pair of Sweet Sixteen appearances). Hummel graduated after last season’s after redshirting during the ’10-11 season due to a knee injury.
Last season Purdue went to its sixth straight NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 22-13 record (10-8 in the Big Ten).
Now, the Boilermakers are suffering the growing pains with a roster dominated by youth and inexperience not to mention one minus of Hummel, the program’s heart and soul for so many seasons.
Purdue’s starting lineup usually features just one senior – D.J. Byrd, whose game-high 22 points (18 of which came from three-point land) helped the Boilermakers win at Clemson earlier this season in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
That same starting lineup also only usually has one junior – Terone Johnson – in it.
A pair of talented freshmen A.J. Hammons and Donnie Hale, who redshirted last season, are expected to start against the Irish. Hammons is a 7-footer that Brey tried to recruit out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Hammons is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 9.3 points per game, and top rebounder (6.0 rebounds per game).
“I love Hammons,” said Brey, who also recruited Byrd. “We recruited him and loved him when I saw him as a young player. He’s really blossoming.”
Terone Johnson is Purdue’s leading scorer, averaging 13.0 points per game.
Johnson is the only Boilermaker averaging double figures in scoring.
He and his brother, Ronnie, who has started at point guard in three game for Purdue as a true freshman this season will be playing in their hometown as both starred at Indianapolis North Central High School.
Another player Notre Dame will have to pay attention to is guard Anthony Johnson. Three times this season the sophomore guard has scored in double figures.
Johnson and his teammates are struggling mightily when it comes to shooting the basketball.
That’s a big reason Purdue has a losing record. The Boilermakers are sinking a Big Ten-low 26 percent of their three-point shots (39-of-149). Johnson is just 7-of-23 from distance (30.4 percent).
Another problem for the Black and Gold has come at the charity stripe. Purdue is 11th in the Big Ten, hitting 64 percent of its freebies (116-of-181).
Despite the Boilermakers’ struggles, Brey expects a dogfight with Painter’s club.
“One of the things you think about Purdue is they are really going to guard you, pressure the ball and physically defend you,” Brey said. “It’s what Matt has done with his teams every year. They rely on that and they really rebound the ball.
“We may not be able to get into a beautiful flow offensively against them. If it’s an ugly one, can we be mentally prepared to play like that?
“We’re going to have to work offensively to get good shots against Purdue’s defense,” Brey added.
Following the Purdue game, the Irish will return to action at 7 p.m. Monday when they host IPFW.
NOTRE DAME NUGGETS
– Saturday’s game will be televised by ESPN2. Dave O’Brien will handle the play-by-play duties, while Dan Dakich will be the analyst.
– Although Saturday will mark the first regular-season meeting between the Irish and Boilermakers since the 1960s, the two schools did meet in the 2004 postseason NIT.
– After missing the Brown game, center Garrick Sherman will is “back,” according to Brey for the Purdue game. Sherman missed Notre Dame’s last game due to what Brey said was a banged up knee.
– Saturday’s meeting will be the 41st all-time between Notre Dame and Purdue. Each school has 20 wins apiece.
– Brey’s mother, the former Betty Mullen, graduated from Purdue.
– Notre Dame has a 5-10 record against Big Ten teams under Brey.
