Big Ten Tournament- Running Thoughts (Friday)
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
CHICAGO — It’s Friday, and we’ve got a jam-packed day of Big Ten hoops at the United Center. Lower seeds have been playing for a few days, but the teams with double-byes, including Purdue and Indiana, are ready to suit up for the first time.
Side note: It took me entirely too long to find media parking, and took me even longer to find my media seat for the day. I asked about eight workers where to go, and nobody really had a clue. I only mention this to brag about Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis- the place this tournament should take place every year.
Purdue vs. Rutgers
Rutgers has been a thorn in Purdue’s side for the last few years, and the Boilers should expect their best again today as the Scarlet Knights try to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
•Rutgers jumps out to an early 12-point lead. Does Purdue lack motivation in this game? Or is Rutgers that hungry for a win?
•Nice run by Purdue, and the lead is quickly down to four. It’s 20-16 Rutgers with 7:28 to play in the 1st half.
•Purdue’s first lead comes with about 2 min. left in the 1st half, after a huge Edey dunk and FT. Big fella nearly got a technical for hanging on the rim. Don’t put anything past Big Ten officials.
•Purdue leads 29-28 at Halftime. Not exactly an offensive clinic for either team. Gillis and Edey each have 10 points.
•Halftime thoughts: Is Purdue locked into a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament no matter how they fare in Chicago? Or will they still get a one as many bracket projections say? What about the Hoosiers? Many of my Twitter followers think Indiana is locked as a 4-seed, but I’m not fully convinced. A loss tonight to Maryland? A 5-seed becomes very possible IMO.
•Mason Gillis came to play. He’s got 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting, while his teammates are a combined 8-for-25. We’re all tied up at 36 with 15:38 to play.
•David Jenkins came to play as well. Jenkins and Gillis are now a combined 10-for-10 from the field, and Purdue leads 50-46 with 9:03 to play.
•Once Purdue settled down, they really took control of this game. I’m still not sure what “flopping” is if that play didn’t qualify.
•After what seemed like 30 minutes of fouling and replays, Purdue holds on to the victory and will advance to play in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Game quotes:
Matt Painter: “Rutgers had beaten us five out of our last six games, and most of them have been really close games. Just thought they had a little bit more edge than we’ve had here the past three, four years in the games, just thought they were a little bit tougher than we were. Not to say we were tougher than them tonight, but we were much better than we’ve been. We just had to be a little grimy.”
Mason Gillis: “It always feels great whenever the ball
goes in, but the thing with not scoring as much is that I
have to be able to do other things on the court, whether
that’s helping my teammates score, feeding the post to
Zach, screening when I’m supposed to screen, doing what
Coach Paint says. It doesn’t always happen, but I try my
best.”
Indiana vs. Maryland
•As always, there’s a huge contingent of Hoosier fans in the building. And IU has given them a lot to cheer about early with a hot start.
•Nice early bucket from Malik Reneau. If the Hoosiers can get ANYTHING from ANYONE off the bench, they can be a dangerous team.
•As we’ve seen many times before… a hot start can quickly turn into a cold stretch for this team. The Hoosiers scoring drought is approaching five minutes now. Maryland is on a 19-6 run and leads 24-17.
•Wild end to the 1st half, and Maryland leads 34-32. This building is alive and ready for a fun 2nd half.
•9-2 run for Indiana, and this game is all tied up with 13:22 to play. Reneau is having a big game with 8 points and 7 rebounds so far.
•Now it’s Maryland’s turn to have a 5 minute drought. The Hoosiers have really stepped up on the defensive end, and Trayce Jackson-Davis is starting to take over.
•Make it a 15-0 run for the Hoosiers on a long three from Tamar Bates!
•The TJD and JHS combo has been too much for Maryland. The freshman Hood-Schifino hits the dagger with the shot clock winding down.
•Hoosiers win 70-60. After years of terrible conference tourney performances, Mike Woodson has led IU to the semi-finals in each of his seasons. Could the Hoosiers and Boilers be on a collision course for Sunday?
Game Quotes:
Trayce Jackson-Davis- “We came here for one reason and that’s to win a championship, and I think everybody understands that. I believe we have the best fans in the country and it just shows. It felt like a home game almost.”
Mike Woodson- “I thought the second half was the difference. We established ourselves defensively and finally were able to rebound with them. It’s good to be back.”
