I think they can..........the key.
*Good minutes and rebounding from DT, Mike White, and Tabar
*THose three if they combine for DJ's double double numbers we are good. Purdue's inside game is not that great.
*This is where I see Jamarcus filling in the void in points and rebounds
*I see IU playing faster with Jordan, Armon, and EJ

Without a strong post game for PU, we are still good.....I won't rule out DJ playing...it is Purdue, off day today.....it could happen.

if you're banking on DeAndre, Mike and walk-on Taber to combine for DJ's 17 and 11, don't hold your breath.

they did it against mich st, so why not pu?

If they play as usual they probably can't beat Purdue without White. DJ has been a point maker and rebounder inside after we have flung up missing three pointers.

If we actually play as a team, like we did against MSU, it will be a great game. We need to work the ball for excellent shots and to occasionally get another big open inside and then block out every time and hit our shots.


Simple huh?

i agree. im trying to think of something worse than watching purdue celebrate an inevitable big ten championship at assembly hall, something that sadly is likely going to be a reality on tuesday night if DJ doesn't play.

NCAA violation allegations and an injury to DJ in the same week? talk about a kick in the groin...

I wouldn't count out the hoosiers just yet. You have to remember this is the same team that seemed to play BETTER against MSU with D.J. out of the game. The Bigs stepped up. You also have to remember that MSU has a WAY bigger arsenal of bigs to throw at us then PU that should help D.T. , White, and Taber alittle. I think they can pull it off as long as they work like a team and play hard.

i agree they can pull off another win, but the bigs of pu aren't the problem. having dj in the game allows the iu perimeter to open up...and that's the problem. purdue plays a very aggressive defense especially on the perimeter, so we need dj as a threat inside. that is, unless the bigs step up and prove they need to be double-teamed like a dj white. i think deandre is the best bet, but he is too foul-prone. mike white and taber will pick up the boards we need, but dt needs to produce the points in the paint. i also agree with someone earlier who said we need a scoring spark from last year's juco POY!

Yeah, I have to agree with you here. Although I am an IU grad and come from a family of IU fans, I live dangerously close to Purdue. I'm not trying to start a negative discussion, but Purdue fans are a little hard to stomach and pretty blind when it comes to reality. I will have to hear it forever if they beat IU tomorrow night and even though they would know it, no Purdue fan would ever admit that DJ being out hurt IU, even if Purdue won on a last second, full court heave by one point!!!

God, I hope DJ can play!!!

they did it against mich st, so why not against pu?

There are 3 keys to this game...
1. Jordan Crawford filling the stat sheet with DJ's points....

2. Kyle Taber and Dee supplementing DJ's rebounds and an occasional put-back basket here and there combined with their ability to set SOLID screens for EJ, AB, and Crawford...

3. Ellis' defense on Hummel

if all three of these items go in IU's favor, I don't see DJ's absences being a HUGE one like some of us think it will. Take note, I didn't mention the world's largest walking turnover...MIKE WHITE. If he plays because of necessity, it's going to be a LONG night for the Hoosiers.

give me a break...mw isn't that bad. he probably has more minutes played without a turnover than superman eric gordon!

THis is a Purdue team that lost to Wofford at home I believe...
Playing an IU team that is playing their biggest rival on national tv, and and and...playing for their coach who is probaly coaching his last game.....
Could Tabar, Mike White, and DT get 17-11....yes on the 11, maybe on the 17.
I like the way DT played against MSU, got winded but still gave good minutes.

Let's hope that the sports information department is taking a page out of Bill Bellicheck's "don't tell them everything they want to know until you absolutely have to" notebook.

Hmmmm...given the way the past week has panned out...perhaps a reference to Bellichek isn't such a good idea...

Against Purdue, losing DJ is magnified. We need that scoring presence down low, especially with the type of defense Purdue plays. That suffocating, ballhawking, passing lane defense begs for a sure thing down low like DJ. DeAndre, if he throws his weight around, shows he can be that guy...but he can't manage his foul trouble.

Were gonna push em back, make em chick it from the cheap seats

I agree that Ellis is going to have to pick up the scoring slack, but another thing I think the game will come down to is stamina. Without DJ's superior shot blocking and lane clogging PU is going to be able to slice inside with no problem, making the tempo extremely fast. It will be interesting to see how long Sampson feels we can run with them before trying to slow the game down a bit.
I think we can win if we hit the big shots and keep Hummel from blowing up. It will obviously take a big game from EJ and it will be very interesting to see how he holds up without his safety net.

Kramer will contain Gordon so IU will have to get a lot of scoring from everyone else.

Is that while he's flopping on the floor trying to draw charges?

Kramer should have gone to Duke for all the flops and whines he pulls during a game.

This just makes it a much more competitive game. At Assembly Hall, I really felt like a fully loaded Indiana team would have dismantled Purdue and won handily. The Boilers are a solid, balanced team, but did not match up well down low against us, nor on the wings athletically.

1. DeAndre HAS to play major minutes and stay out of foul trouble. Taber is going to have to give him plenty of spot minutes for rest. It's time for DeAndre to drop a few more pounds because he's not going to be able to sit on that bench long. He's played well the last two games, let's not forget that, Hoosier fans. He'll fill in for DJ quite well I believe.

2. We have four guys that can penetrate like nobody's business. Give them room in the lane. Jamarcus, Jordan, Armon, and EJ need to attack the Boilers. EJ is going to need that midrange jumper he found because they will be looking to take charges.

3. Jamarcus has to guard Hummel and shut him down.

4. We've played great basketball the last three games...there's no reason to think we still can't do that, even if DJ is relegated to cheerleader duty for this game. Remember, Johnson is not physical, so we can body him up and move him away from the rim.

Go Hoosiers!

What are the chances of EJ pulling a Jimmy Chitwood on Rick Greenspan? "If coach stays, I'll play. If he goes, I go."

1. Obviously we have to go deep into the bench and they need to be unafraid to deliver. Its time to even try McGee
2. Crawford plays major minutes w no showboating
3. Gordon does not try to win it himself
4. Ellis defense on Hummel
5. zone trap and man ball pressure to bring them out
6. Bassett ( not Gordon) runs the offense off of the bounce with Ellis, Crawford help, strive for assists not points
7.Gordon plays for them to kick so he can pop
8. Mucho grande crowd noise

Also I heard Tony bennetts sister in law coached womens B-ball at IU before an illness. True ?

sister

Don't forget about E'twaun!!! He can and will score in bunches!!!

we will have to watch out for Etwaun's excellent mid-range game if we play zone

I think EJ will have a big game playing against guys he torched in H.S. If they put Kramer on him, it could be a long day for Kramer....

Also...Ellis on Hummel may not happen...don't forget our zone people......which I think we will see a lot of it......

Did Huntington North ever play North Central?

No, and I'm not sure when the last time was the two teams played each other. May have to go back at least 20 years.

However, I know Huntington North has played both Muncie Central and East Chicago Central over the years though.

I knew HNHS had moved conferences (again) but I didn't think that they were in line with playing the Indianapolis schools, or at least playing them on any kind of regular basis. I don't keep up with IHSAA basketball since I moved out of the state.

True true...we will have to run plenty of zone, but we will see some man to man...and Ellis needs to be ready.

Hummel and Moore have to be contained...both are red hot.

If it were me I would add a series of new wrinkles on defense and on offense.

Defense:
1. a zone trap just past midcourt . This can start their offense up high and maybe start it through a forward vs a guard.
2. deny Moore the ball starting in the backcourt
3. maybe a box and 1 to deny Moore being the catalyst of their offense
4. 1-3-1 with McGee chasing the point with hands up
5. Overplaying man to man and take anything close to a charge

McGee - he is a freshman but so are Purdue players, how bad could he be ?

Offense::

Their man pressure is tough to pass against so I would

1. space the floor
2. have Bassett, Ellis and Crawford dribble drive for the purpose of the dish/kick
3. kick #1 is Gordon so they drive right at Gordon to lure the defender off of him for kick and pop
4. Kick # Thomas and/or Crawford posted up

definitely going to see a lot of zone, because they will have 4 guys or more on the court at a time that can shoot from long range if left open, and especially if D is in we do not want our bigs out on the perimeter. i bet we play zone all game, this should help D stay out of foul trouble too. we can win, we just need to shoot at or above our season average from 3 and play good defense

I hope this is just typical KS-BS as usual, however, if it isn't, I truly believe we can still pull out a win.


If DJ IS out:

(*)We obviously need the team to step up on going after their own/others boards, since DJ's dominance will be absent from the paint.
(*)Someone has got to be in Hummel's face at all times...he means a helluva a lot to the West Lafayette team, and it shows in his PT. If we can shut him down, things are good.
(*) Not only will Dre have to give us rebounds and STAY OUT OF FOUL TROUBLE, but he CANNOT miss the two-foot jumpers he has become famous for doing.
(*) E'Twaun Moore. The kid's not too bad. Let's not forget, EJ may have the Mr. Basketball title, but Moore and ECC beat EJ and his NC Panthers in the state championship game last year. Hopefully EJ has not forgotten about this and will look to get his revenge.
(*) I was really impressed Saturday with how our guards stayed in it strong AFTER DJ's injury, with Bassett playing the leader, yelling at the freshmen to get back on D after an offensive series. Michigan State seemed to give up a bit early, but I think our players showed that the heart is still there even if DJ isn't.
(*) 3 of the bottom 4 teams of the Big 10 is who Purdue has beaten on the road. Illinois, Penn State and Iowa. The bottom dwellers. Aside from those three road wins, their only other is Missouri State. Hopefully this will play a factor in the Hall.
(*) It's a rivalry game at home with a Big Ten championship on the line. If the players take this to heart, with some help from a sell-out crowd, this should be ours.

You forgot Wisc on the road

True, good point. But their home court has helped them a lot in where they are. Not to take anything away from the team, as they are obviously solid, but other than the Wisc game, their best performances have been at home. This is an away game where they will play in an atmosphere they haven't played before, considering all of the outside matters.

purdue also got beat in the final seconds in east lansing...that win plus a win in madison sounds like a fairly good road-resume, but iu should win it. remember too though, that with iu and purdue anything could happen...and has.

and a close loss at mich st. without hummel

I am a purdue fan, i know i'm going into IU territory, but I think both sides should be nervous. Without DJ you are going to struggle down low. Purdue has not been hurt by post players all year, the only reason big men are making points on them is from outside shots and second chance pts. DJ has the ability to shoot the 15 footer whereas the other bigmen don't. The way you played against MSU has quite a few people up here nervous, although i think MSU is overrated (not taking anything away from your victoy). Saying that Gordon is going to be shut down means he is going to score about 17 pts so again that's not that bad. Mentioning the Wofford game is getting old cause it happened so long ago before our players were playing well. By playing a zone you will be able to hurt us quite a bit. The games that I have watched us play against a zone we have done a bad job of attacking the gaps and settling for threes. Extending ur D will hurt Purdue bad. Personally I hope the game isn't as bad as last year in Assembly. Also something that IU will have a tough time doing is figuring out who to try to take out of the game. Purdue has so many guys that come at you whereas IU you know who you need to take out of the game.

Pretty smart up there at PU. Wish we were healthy so this one could go down as a classic however

if you honestly think hummel will score on jamarcus ellis you people might not think with your head screwed on tightly. kramer will not shut down gordon and if he does that means etwaun moore will be guarding the most underrated scorer in the big ten in jordan crawford. he might gor for 25 to 30 points this game because no one will be able to guard him. this is all if DJ doesnt play if he does the game plan will be put the ball in hsi hands calasan guarding him would be like me guarding him it could be a set up for another 20 20 game for dj if he can play up to par

i think it will still be a classic...when is the last time iu and pu were in a situation with the conference championship potentially on the line and a showdown of two top-15 teams playing on espn...it's been a long time waiting. i'm excited. with iu, purdue, notre dame, butler, and iupui doing well this year it again feels like we're in indiana!

DT needs to remain out of foul trouble!

if dj doesn't play i predict an all-time iu scoring record to be set................by taber!