But, for a young Purdue squad, Tuesday’s 58-49 victory at Penn State was much needed.  It ended a two-game losing streak in which the Boilers played arguably their worst basketball of the season.

They were by no means crisp in Happy Valley, but did show some resilience. Purdue overcame a nine-point first-half deficit to get back to .500 in the conference (5-5) and one game above for the season (12-11).

As is becoming a common theme, the Boilers were led by freshman center A.J Hammons. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

And on a night in which Purdue shot just 62 percent from the free-throw line, Hammons was the aberration.  He went 11-of-12 from the stripe.

Fellow freshman Ronnie Johnson struggled from the free throw line – converting on just two-of-eight – but he made up for it with the rest of his play. He scored a career high 16 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists, and had just one turnover. Redshirt freshman Donnie Hale chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

The young Boilers had to be big, because the upperclassmen couldn’t find their rhythm against the Nittany Lions.  Terone Johnson and D.J Byrd were a combined 3-of-18 from the field, scoring seven and two points respectively.

D.J. Newbill was the only Penn State player in double-figures.  He scored 17, with seven assists.

The Boilers still didn’t play a complete game and still are growing into maturity, but they likely gained a little confidence with a road win against another desperate team.

This is a transition year for Matt Painter’s team.  But, progress can’t happen without learning from mistakes.  Saturday at Mackey Arena against 12th-ranked Michigan State, we will find out if the Boilers paid attention to the lessons bestowed upon them by Indiana and Northwestern last week.