Purdue's next, and they do scare me

Earlier this week, I admit I am guilty of writing the following passage regarding Ohio State's upcoming game against Purdue;

2/10 - Purdue - When the NCAA projections begin, expect to see Purdue's name in the "on the bubble" column a lot. They'll get in, but it's because their final five games of the season are against three of the Big Ten's weakest teams, Iowa (13-10), Northwestern (11-11) twice, and Minnesota (9-14) twice. Winning their final five games will give them 20 wins, and 20 wins in the Big Ten gets you an invite. But they weren't powerful enough to beat the Buckeyes on their own home court (78-60), and I doubt they'll be able to pull it off when they visit Ohio State.

Now, I stopped short of guaranteeing a win for the Buckeyes, but I did make it clear that I think Purdue is no match against the scarlet and gray.

However, I've been looking over Purdue's NCAA hopes, and yes, I'm seeing the "on the bubble" comments already (patting myself on the back a little). I'd like to partially retract my attitude about Purdue's ability and advise the Buckeyes to stay awake this weekend.

Purdue has their backs against the wall and if they want to make the NCAA tournament, they'll need to do more than sweep their final five games (all against the Big Ten's weaker teams). They know this, and they're ready to step up their game.

Ask Michigan State.

Last night, Purdue took on the Spartans. MSU is, on paper, a better team than the Boilermakers. This morning, Sparty wishes the game was actually played on paper. Purdue beat the ever-loving daylights out of them, 62-38. Yes, you read that right. Purdue's defense held Michigan State to 38 points.

Take a look at what Purdue's defense accomplished last night;
-Raymar Morgan was held to 9 points
-Drew Neitzel only scored 5 points
-MSU made 16 shots from the field. They turned the ball over 21 times
-MSU shot 30 percent from behind the line...the FREE THROW LINE!

Many will look at the fact that the game was played at Purdue, where the Boilers are 13-1 this year (guess who the 1 loss was to?). Purdue is a beast at home, having manhandled 10 teams by double-digit margins.

No. I'm not buying that argument. It didn't matter what floor they were playing on.

Purdue saw the massive need for a big win and they went out and got it. They're still hungry and they'll be in town Saturday afternoon.

Stay alert Buckeyes. These guys want to come to the dance and they'll knock you on your ass and spit on your grave to get there. Don't let 'em.