Courtney Moses with the ball in the first half

Last night the Purdue women lost a heartbreaker 68-66 to Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener. What made the win so historical was the fact that Wisconsin had not won in Mackey since 1984. Yes you read that right 1984. It seems that I have seen lots of Purdue history lately, but all on the wrong side. Helping Wisconsin to that win was their 11 three pointers which tied for the most all-time in Badger history. More history I saw on the wrong side of.

Despite all of the things that went wrong the Boilers still had multiple chances to win or tie it at the end. I never thought that would be the case. With about two minutes left they were down nine, and I was starting to put my camera away. They made me change my mind as they closed out the game on a 9-2 run. Sadly though they needed at least an 11-2 run to send the game to overtime. Courtney Moses missed a couple lay ups with time winding down that could have tied the game. The fault is not hers though. It seemed as if everyone was missing from the inside. As I was heading out last night I heard on the radio the stats from inside the paint, and they were terrible. These bunnies that were not made were the culprit last night. Courtney Moses missed her two shots, Alex Guyton missed an open look, and the game seemed to be over. Somehow Wisconsin missed two free throws and Antoinette Howard ended up with the ball. She missed a desperation three pointer at the buzzer to seal the Boilers fate. I am a huge fan of Howard, but with time winding down and Brittany next to you let her take that shot. Things happen a lot quicker on the floor though so second guessing is futile. The only thing is that moral wins don’t count in March. This team needs some wins to get back into the tournament. With everything they have been through this season it would be great to see them win a game or two in the tourney. This team has the talent, and just needs to gel a little more.

The Boilers really needed this win to open up the Big Ten season. They were put in a bad position though by the scheduling of a non-conference game just two nights before. Although with the bad record that Wisconsin had you would have hoped for more. With the backend of the schedule as loaded as it is you have to win early if you are Purdue. Sunday is a big game at Northwestern.

Brittany Rayburn was given a ball to commemorate her 1,000th point before the game, and she added 26 more to her total during the game. She really has been playing well lately. She usually plays better on the road for some reason, but has strung together two very nice games at home. Our section favorite Antoinette Howard had a slow night by her standards. She usually comes right into the game and gets a look. I don’t know if it was the stiff competition or what, but she did not get a shot for a while.

I have to mention this as well. I have seen Purdue Pete do some funny things over the years, but last night he may have topped them all. Before the game he was having some fun with the high school players behind the scorers table. He had the basketball, and motioned that he was going to pass the ball between his legs to one of the girls. I tried to get my camera out, but was too late. Pete attempted the pass, but must have missed the fact that Jane Schott was in between him and his target. He hit her while she was on air and talking. She didn’t seem to miss a beat, but did give Pete a look that could kill. Sometimes the best ideas don’t go as planned. Pete is still fun to watch even when things go wrong.

Play of the Game - This may be the play of the game more for what didn’t happen then what did happen. Sam Ostarello made the front end of a one and one to cut the Bader lead to six. She missed the second shot though, but Brittany Rayburn came streaking in to get the rebound and get fouled in the process. She made both of her shots to get the Boilers to within four, and give the team some hope.

Gameball – This is Brittany’s with no question. The only question might be the fact that I am giving this to a Boiler. Well I write about Boiler sports so that is who gets the awards. Brittany was the only real consistent offense that the Boilers had last night. She was also 8-8 from the charity stripe to inch closer to her own record again. She really is a fun player to watch. Alyssa Karel did have a good game for the Badgers though. She did not lead the team in points, but she seemed to make tough baskets when her team needed them. She was a force.

Men’s Picks of the Week - Last week I took more losses than I had the entire season so far. I only went 6-6. That is not good. I guess I had a little too much faith in the Big Ten. I needed a little stronger preseason so that the Big Ten season wouldn’t hurt me so bad. With the league beating up on each other I am sure that will hurt me as well. Here are this week’s picks.

• Penn State over Indiana
• #2 Ohio State over Tennessee-Martin
• #24 Wisconsin over #13 Minnesota
• #25 Illinois over Iowa
• #2 Ohio State over Indiana
• #19 Michigan State over #13 Minnesota
• #15 Notre Dame over #9 Georgetown
• Valpo over Ball State
• #11 Purdue over Michigan
• #11 Purdue over Northwestern

Women’s Picks of the Week - This week the tables were turned. Instead of tanking on the women’s picks I actually did alright. I just tanked on the men’s picks. Here are this week’s picks. Due to the lack of games I threw in a couple Notre Dame games just to get over ten picks.

• #12 Ohio State over Duquesne
• Cal over Illinois
• Penn State over Bucknell
• Northwestern over Indiana
• #12 Ohio State over Michigan
• #13 Iowa over Penn State
• Minnesota over Illinois
• Notre Dame over Gonzaga
• Notre Dame over Loyola Marymount
• Purdue over Western Illinois
• Purdue over Wisconsin

After a steal Chantel Poston gets hammered trying the layup

Drey Mingo working on offense

Mingo playing some tough D as well

Coaching is all about proper pointing...

...as you can see here as well

Alex Guyton with the easy shot

Even the cheerleaders were having a good night Monday

The obligitory Brittany Rayburn picture

Chelsea Jones getting a shot off

Antoinette Howard with a put back

Mingo calling for the ball

Chantel Poston getting a steal in the first half

Purdue is finding its rythym again after dropping three tough games in the wake of the Drey Mingo illness. The three games would have been tough anyway, but they had a lot to deal with. After a nice win against Auburn Saturday that saw Drey’s return to the court the Boilers had a home game Monday night. The weather was not the greatest, but the fans that did make the trip to Mackey Arena were witness to a show. Courtney Moses who was the Big Ten Freshman of the week made her case to make it back to back weeks against the Salukis. She scored eighteen points on the night to go along with a career high six assists. Courtney seemed to spark the team with both her offense and her defense. She is playing very well right now for a true freshman. Heck she is playing well for a senior right now.

The Boilers started off slow which has been typical for them this season. They were down 8-3 early on. They were having trouble closing up the middle, and the points seemed to be easy to come by for Southern Illinois. They quickly fixed that problem going on a 24-2 run to end the half. They used their tough defense to set up easy points on the offensive end. They only allowed six field goals in the second half, and closed the game on a 22-5 run. The players really seem to be giving everything they have on the court which is fun to watch. If you are not going to the games I think that you should check them out.

One player that you should check out is Antoinette Howard. She is really starting to assert herself on the floor. She did not start Monday, but made her presence known early on. She comes into the game and provides the Boilers with a fearless scorer. The Flordia State transfer is good at going to the basket and getting the and one. Without Howard this season would be very different right now. Players like Sam Ostarello, Alex Guyton, Ashley Wilson, Dee Dee Williams, and of course Brittany Rayburn are also playing well right now. If this team can get things going before the Big Ten season starts they will be a tough game for anyone.

Monday night was the first time that Drey Mingo had played on the court at Mackey since the Boilers won the WNIT against DePaul. The crowd did not seem to notice her come onto the floor, but when they did she got an ovation. The second time she came onto the floor she was given a nice ovation as well. She only scored two points while on the floor, but it is just nice to see her playing again right now. She is still recovering from her illness. She has not regained her hearing completely yet, and still does not know if that will happen. Right now she has more important things than basketball in her life, but it has to be nice for her to get back on the court.

Play of the Game - I had a little trouble with this one. For once it was picking between a couple. I would have to say that the Courtney Moses steal of an inbounds pass, basket, and the foul she drew wins by an eyelash. The play wins because the Boilers were starting to heat it up a little when Moses snuck in and stole the ball as it was being inbounded. She made a nice layup after the steal and was fouled in the process. She made her free throw to complete the three point play. That play was a big one during the 24-2 run to end the first half. It also got the crowd going.

Gameball - A lot of players played well Monday, but Courtney Moses played the best. After getting sat down early she came in and took over the game. She started the game off with a three, and never really slowed down. She is really starting to take this team over.

Purdue travels to Gardner-Webb Thursday night. Last year a very cocky G-W team came into Mackey and stole a game from us. Hopefully the Boilers can return the favor. UConn may have broke the record for consecutive wins, but the three game streak for the Boilers is a start right now.

Men’s Picks of the Week - Last week I went 11-1 to bring my season record to 55-6. The only game I missed was Iowa State over Iowa. I am doing fairly well so far with the men’s game. I only wish that I could take that good luck to the women’s side. This week Oakland makes the picks yet again. I have them splitting the two games against Michigan and Ohio State. Here are this week’s picks:

• #14 Illinois over Illiniois-Chicago
• Oakland over Michigan
• Iowa over Drake
• #2 Ohio State over South Carolina
• Louisiana Tech over Iowa
• #14 Illinois over #12 Missouri
• #15 Michigan State over #25 Texas
• Indiana over Northern Iowa
• #2 Ohio State over Oakland
• #20 Minnesota over South Dakota State
• #17 Purdue over Indiana State
• #17 Purdue over IPFW

Women’s Picks of the Week - Last week I went 7-5 to bring my season record to 38-18. At this point I will just be happy to finish the season above .500. The big game in the picks this week of course is #1 Connecticut facing #10 Ohio State. Purdue has three games this week. I think that they will win the first two, but a tough rematch this time at Gardner-Webb will be too much late this week. The team may have trouble playing three games in that short of a span. I hope that the team goes 3-0 this week, but it will be a tough order. Here are the week six picks:

• Illinois over Illinois-Chicago
• Michigan over Detroit
• Indiana over Florida International
• Northwestern over N. Arizona
• #1 UConn over #10 Ohio State
• #15 Iowa over Drake
• #18 Notre Dame over Valparaiso
• Marquette over Illinois
• Penn State over Drexel
• #17 Michigan State over Vermont
• Florida Gulf Coast over Indiana
• Northwestern over Toledo
• #24 Boston College over Michigan
• #15 Iowa over Northern Iowa
• Purdue over Auburn
• Gardner-Webb over Purdue
• Purdue over Southern Illinois

Courtney Moses and Alex Guyton go after the ball and force one of 27 turnovers on the day

After being on the wrong end of a blowout the last couple of games the Boilers returned the favor yesterday afternoon in Mackey Arena. Purdue came out looking for blood, and found a donor. The Murray State Racers were in the wrong place at the wrong time as they were just run over. After the last month the basketball team has had they needed a win like this. It is hard to believe that this team was 4-0 and hoisting the WNIT trophy during their last win. Since then the have lost three straight games, and had a huge scare with the Drey Mingo incident.

The Boilers did not pull away from the Racers right away. Eight minutes into the game they only had a 12-10 lead. Sitting in the stands it felt as if it should have been more. The Racers went almost four minutes to start the game without a field goal. They only had four total field goals in the first half . The Boilers went on an 18-4 run after the eight minute time out to take a 30-14 lead into the break. Coming out of the break the Racers went over six minutes without a field goal. They really were having a bad day yesterday. The racers could not buy a basket in the second half either only making two field goals on their way to eleven second half points. If you can hold a Division 1 team to twenty five points in a game you have done a good job. Some of that comes down to Murray State missing shots, and part of it was the tenacious defense that the Boilers had gong on. On the postgame show the announcers talked about the fact that Murray State was only 1-9 in the paint for the game. It is rough to only make one shot in the paint, but it is something else to only take nine from in close. Murray State only had six made shots all game, but half of them were three pointers. They did knock in ten free throws to give them some points. Four of those free throws at the end were absolute gifts by the refs. The 25 points allowed was not a Purdue record, but the six field goals allowed were. Purdue also held Murray State to 12.2% shooting for the game which is a team record as well. Did I mention that Murray State was having a rough day shooting the basketball? Purdue played some inspired defense as well.

That defense started with Courtney Moses defending the Murray State point guard all 94 feet. She started things off by taking them out of their offense. The rest of the Boilers did a great job of stepping into the passing lanes to create some easy baskets after a turnover. On the day the Boilers forced 27 turnovers, and picked up a season high 18 steals.

Rayburn, Wilson, Howard, and Guyton all finished the game with over ten points. All ten players that are active played at least twelve minutes and added at least one field goal. It seems as if everyone played, and did something to contribute to the win yesterday. Sam Woods hit the lone Boiler three on the night. Sam O had five points, four rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and three steals. Moses had eight points and four steals. Chelsea Jones had a two baskets and block while she was in the game.

The Boilers got back on the winning track finally. They have a test next Saturday when they open the Boilermaker Blockbuster in Indy by playing Auburn. They have a quick turnaround after that for a Monday game in Mackey. All of this after finals week really will test the Boilers. For now though enjoy the dominating win from yesterday.

By next weekend hopefully we will be dug out of the snow that has fallen in the last day. Along with a lot of the Midwest Northwest Indiana really was hit with snow. After a night of power outages and impassable roads today starts the digging out process. After the game I drove straight home, but the drive took over an hour longer than it normally does. I actually made it before the snow really started coming down. Some days I wished that I lived a little closer to Purdue.

Play of the game - Many plays could have been the play of the game, but once again it has to go to the combination of Howard and Wilson. Antoinette Howard picked up a loose ball and took off down the court. She made a nice pass to Ashley Howard who finished the play to give the Boilers two easy points. Seeing these two girls run the floor like that is really a treat.

Gameball - This has to go to Antoinette Howard. Three players scored 11 points, but Howard scored them early when the game was in doubt. She is really growing on me game after game. When the team is struggling a little she seems to take it on her back on score. She really can take the game over if she wants to. Her play has been the highlight of the last few games.

JaJuan Johnson looks his opponent over before the tip Tuesday night

After a very cool week of basketball we must move on. A good game against Alabama last Saturday followed by both the men’s and women’s teams at Purdue coming up north near me. This week I only have two games that I am attending, and neither of them should be much of a game. The Purdue men play North Florida on Saturday. After three straight good preseason tests this one should be easy. I picked it as the game of the week this week due to the fact that the men are ranked. This should not really be a game at all. Purdue is much more talented than the Ospreys are. North Florida also does not have a real scoring threat. If Bubba Day is going to see any more sizable minutes this year this is the game. I would guess that I may have trouble coming up with the play of the game this week. If the Boilers can’t come up with a couple of highlights against a team like this it is going to be a long year.

My main focus during the game will be on the guys not named JJ and Smooge. Lewis Jackson and Kelsey Barlow had good games against Valpo. This will be a good game to see if they can keep up that momentum. I would love to see Barlow take control of the game. He looks like he has the tools to do it. Another player to watch is DJ Byrd. He had seven points at Valpo, but it looked as if every one of those hurt. After he made a three pointer he went down the court holding his shoulder. He also looked as if he really tweaked the already hurt shoulder fighting for a ball late in the game. If they can limit his minutes to help him get healthy this is the time to do it The Boilers don’t play again until the 18th so he would have over a week to get healthy. Terone Johnson has had a couple of slow games as well. As a freshman he could use a good game to get his confidence up. There is no time like the present to make a statement. While the game won’t have the buzz that some will this season it will be nice to see the guys play again. It seems weird to say, but we don’t have too many more chances to see JJ and Smooge play in person.

Men’s Picks of the Week - Last week I went 9-1 to bring my overall record to 44-5. The one game that I missed was the Michigan State game against Syracuse. I really thought a little more of Michigan State. I never expected the game that I saw. This week I have selected twelve games to pick. Here are the games that I have selected:

• Michigan over Utah
• Iowa over Iowa State
• #23 Notre Dame over Gonzaga
• #16 Kentucky over Indiana
• Wisconsin over Marquette
• #8 Michigan State over Oakland
• #2 Ohio State over Western Carolina
• #17 Illinois over Northern Colorado
• Virginia Tech over Penn State
• Northwestern over Long Island
• #20 Minnesota over Akron
• #18 Purdue over North Florida

Women’s Picks of the Week - This section is rapidly falling apart. I went 10-2 last week to bring the record to 31-13 on the season. When looking up my picks this week I started to get a little worried. I missed the first two on the sheet, but then went 10-0 after that. For some reason I really am not too in tune with the women’s basketball scene I guess. This used to be the side that was the easiest to pick, but for some reason it seems as if the teams are a little more even this year. I hope that I get one game wrong on the list this week. I think that the Purdue women will have their hands full though with #8 Texas A&M tonight. Here are the twelve games that I picked this week:

• Indiana over Miami (OH)
• Kansas over Michigan
• #19 Iowa over #15 Iowa State
• Drake over Wisconsin
• #20 Michigan State over Western Michigan
• #6 Ohio State over Syracuse
• Indiana over Toledo
• Wisconsin over UW-Milwaukee
• Depaul over Northwestern
• Michigan over New Mexico State
• #8 Texas A&M over Purdue
• Purdue over Murray State

The Irish fans celebrate McGraw's birthday

Yesterday their were many storylines heading into the game. It was the 1,000th game in the history of Notre Dame women’s basketball. That game also happened to come on Irish coach Muffet McGraw’s birthday. Purdue came into the game 0-4 in the last four meetings against the Irish. They still had to be stinging from the late game collapse against Maryland on Thursday.

The actual game was delayed a bit waiting for television. Right before they got things going it was announced that the Notre Dame Women’s Soccer team won the national title. I am guessing that ESPN was waiting for that game to finish before starting the next game. The players were even ready for the tip before heading back to their benches. When the game did start things looked good for Purdue. Brittany Rayburn scored the first basket for the Boilers on the break to put them up 2-0. Skylar Diggins scored the first six for the Irish to give them a 6-2 lead. The Boilers tied the game up at six before going on a long scoring drought. Turnovers were killing the Boilers. When they did get a turnover themselves they seemed to shoot themselves in the foot. Sam O made a nice play to steal the ball and was all alone for a layup which she missed. To make matters worse she immediately fouled the Irish player who grabbed the rebound. Still the Irish could not put the Boilers away in the first half. Courtney Moses nailed a tough jumper over Skylar Diggins in the closing seconds of the first half to send the Boilers into the break down ten.

The Boilers did not come out of the locker room firing after the half. They really did not seem to understand what drill they were running to warm up. I did like the lineup that the Boilers started in the second half. I called it the Bruiser lineup. Brittany Rayburn, Courtney Moses, Ashley Wilson, Antoinette Howard, and Alex Guyton started for the Boilers. Some of the highlights of the game included Wilson and Howard breaking the press. Howard was doing a great job bringing the ball up the court. She had a nice full court drive for a basket, and then a nice drive and dish to Wilson. The Bruiser lineup did not work though as the Irish went on a 21-10 run to start the second half.My mindset was to keep the game under ten to give the Boilers a chance before that run. After the run I was just hoping that they could keep it under 20 to at least be respectable. The Boiler weaknesses were on full display yesterday. They had 24 turnovers on the day, but for some reason it seemed like they had many more than that. They did force the Irish into 20 turnovers themselves, but could not capitalize on them. They really miss Drey Mingo and KK Houser right now. The Boilers are 0-2 during the first of two very tough stretches they will face this season. They get a trip to #7 Texas A&M to finish this tough series of games. The team just needs to learn to play together, and then come out firing during the Big Ten season. They are a young team that has a lot of potential.

Play of the Game - In a game like this one play really had no bearing on the outcome. Instead I thought that the series of the game was the nearly six minutes that the Boilers did not score a field goal in the first half. They were down 6-4 early when they went almost six minutes without a field goal, and almost five minutes without a point. During that span they turned the ball over six times. This dry spell helped the Irish go on a 15-4 run that put the Boilers in too deep of a hole to come out of. The Boilers made a mini comeback after that run, but just could not make up enough ground.

Gameball - Natalie Novosel scored 16 points for the Irish in a winning cause. She has really been playing well this season. Skylar Diggins had fourteen for the Irish as well. Brittany Rayburn had a sixteen point day as well, but also pulled down seven boards. With little help she has to put the team on her back. She is really working hard to try and give the Boilers a chance.

Jodi Howell driving two years ago at Notre Dame

Since it is played first I will start with the woman’s game against Notre Dame. For two straight weeks the women held the spot as the game of the week. They won the WNIT, then had a rough holiday weekend when Drey Mingo was hospitalized. This past week I picked the Big Ten/ACC challenge game against Maryland. I thought it might be a good game, and it went down to the last shot so I guess it was. The women now face the tough task of coming into the newly renovated Joyce Center. If you have not been to it yet you should take a look. They took a run down building and made it into an awesome stadium. The changes at Notre Dame just make me that much more excited to see what the inside of Mackey looks like next year. Back to the game though. The Boilers will have to play the game of the year so far to have a chance at the Irish. The Irish play a tough trapping style that could give the Boilers fits if the end of Thursdays game is any indication. The Boilers can’t have 20+ turnovers like they did on Thursday and expect to be even close in this game. I won’t count them out though as since I started going to these games the team ranked lower seems to have the upper hand for some reason. The very first woman’s basketball game I ever saw was in Mackey in 1999. These two teams were playing, and the #18 ranked Boilers upset the #7 ranked Irish. The next season the #4 Irish won in South Bend against a Boiler team ranked sixth. That was a prelude to the national title matchup later in the season. Tomorrow will be the 8th matchup I have seen in this series. Last season the Boilers nearly knocked off the #3 Irish 79-75 in Mackey. The odds seemed to be stacked against the Boilers much like this season. The only difference is that they won’t have the rocking Mackey crowd behind them. This game could get ugly.

JaJuan Johnson gets a shot off last year against Valpo in Mackey

The men play the game today against Alabama, then travel up to Valparaiso later in the week to play the Crusaders. This game should have been a homecoming for both Robbie Hummel and Scott Martin. Scott of course left Purdue, and we all know the story with Robbie Hummel. I would guess that the ARC will be buzzing for the game. I had to buy a package deal to get my ticket, but I think that it will be worth it. This game will also mark the only time I will root against Valpo all season. I have been to the two previous games in this series inside of Mackey the last two seasons. This game has been on my radar for a while now, and I can’t wait to see the crowd in the ARC. Last season when Butler came into town the place was packed and rocking. I expect nothing less this week. I have a feeling though that the Valpo crowd will be out of it early. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t see this as much of a game.

Men’s Picks of the Week - Last week I went 16-3 to bring my overall record on the season to 35-4. I predicted that the Big Ten would win eight of the eleven challenge games. I said that I really did not think that they could win that many, but didn’t know what the swing games would be. The Big Ten actually went 6-5 to win their second straight challenge. This week is a little slower so I picked ten games.

• #1 Duke over Butler
• #21 Illinois over #24 Gonzaga
• Michigan over Harvard
• #6 Michigan State over #7 Syracuse
• Iowa over Northern Iowa
• #21 Illinois over Oakland
• #13 Minnesota over Cornell
• Penn State over Duquesne
• #18 Purdue over Alabama
• #18 Purdue over Valpo

Women’s Picks of the Week – Last week was a little tougher for me on this side. I went 9-7 to bring the season total to 21-11. I picked the ACC to win the challenge 6-5, and hit it right on the head. The bad news is that I picked too many wrong teams coming up with that number. For some reason I decided to pick 12 games this week. Let’s hope the prognosticating improves a little. Things get a lot tougher as the conference season starts. Here are this week’s picks:

• Colorado over Illinois
• #19 Nebraska over Indiana
• Penn State over Texas Tech
• #3 Baylor over Minnesota
• #17 Iowa State over Michigan
• #18 Iowa over Kansas State
• #25 Michigan State over #20 Texas
• #6 Ohio State over #11 Oklahoma
• Penn State over Army
• #25 Michigan State over UW-Milwaukee
• Oakland over Illinois
• #16 Notre Dame over Purdue

I love this picture of Drey before the game with Coach Versyp

Last night started off so awesome. If you had told me one week ago that Drey Mingo would have taken the court with her team I would have told you that you were crazy. After being hospitalized with meningitis last week she was given a fifty-fifty chance to make it through. Her recovery has been amazing, and it was a great moment last night when the team walked arm in arm onto the court with Drey in the lead with Antoinette Howard and Chantel Poston. It was a great moment. Looking at the faces of some of the Purdue fans around me I would say that it was emotional as well. The ovation that she was given was one of the best that I can remember. Once again the band got involved and made signs for Drey much like they did with KK Houser. The Gold Mine which was a little bigger last night also had signs for the Junior.

The Boilers came out fired up to start the game. They were playing great defense forcing turnovers early. They couldn’t get it going on offense though. It took almost four minutes for the Boilers to score their first basket of the game. they kept in the ball game though with tough defense and the play of Courtney Moses. In the first half Moses was awesome on defense. She was a menace constantly in the face of whomever was bringing the ball down the court.She hit a three late in the first half to give Purdue the lead. After Maryland tied the game up she fed Alex Guyton down low for a layup as time expired in the half to give the Boilers a two point lead at the break.

The Boilermakers should not have been that close at the break though. They had leads of 19-13 and 21-15 before letting Maryland take a 23-22 lead. This team has its moments where they look great to take a lead. Then for some reason the wheels seem to fall off. The Boilers had 11 turnovers in the first half, but were lucky in the fact that Maryland committed 16 turnovers in the half as well. A quick pace and sloppy play led to most of the turnovers. Good ball pressure also was a factor.

The second half started with another appearance from Drey Mingo. She stayed the entire second half watching her team from the bench. It was awesome to see Drey and her number 24 sitting on the bench laughing with her teammates. I don’t think that I can say enough about how great it was to see Drey on the bench.

The Boilers looked good most of the second half. They had a 53-42 lead at one point, and looked to be heading for the upset. The team was fired up, and all they had to do was finish the game. They only scored two points during the last six minutes or so of the game. Maryland seemed to just want it more at the end of the game. The girls played so hard for their teammate early that I wonder if they just ran out of gas at the end of the game. Courtney Moses who was on track to be the player of the game had a few bad turnovers late, but most of those were from trying to do too much. Moses is young, and you can see that she has the presence to really be something before she leaves Purdue. These games right now are a learning experience for her.

The Boilers had 24 turnovers on the game. That is not a good sign for your team. What makes it even harder to take it the fact that Maryland had 27 turnovers on the night. It was an ugly game that the Boilers could have easily won. I thought that they were lucky to be in it in the first half, but once they took control in the second half all they had to do was play somewhat solid to win. As I said I think that they just had nothing left in the tank at the end. They laid it all on the court.

After a Maryland basket with just under a minute left gave the Terrapins the lead Purdue turned the ball over. It looked as if they gave the game away as well. They never gave up though and forced a turnover with 8.9 seconds left to have one chance to win the game. Freshman Courtney Moses took the ball to the hoop, but was stuffed. The ball caromed to Sam Ostarello who also was stuffed. Two chances at the end to score, but the Maryland defense was too much. Moses appeared to be fouled, but no foul was called. The picture I took at the time shows that the defense was all over her, but you can’t say that the game was lost on that one play. It really should never have gotten that far. After that last scramble under the basket I was shocked. I have been at some bad losses, but this one might have hurt the most. I think all of the pregame emotion had a lot to do with the post game emotion. You would have loved to see the Boilers pull one out for their teammate. That of course did not happen. Drey is winning the most important battle right now though.

Ashley Wilson made her season debut last night. I really enjoy watching her play. When she comes in the game it is usually instant offense. There is not too much that she is afraid of. She produced on both sides of the court last night. Watching her on the court with Antoinette Howard is a treat. At one point Howard grabbed a rebound, brought the ball up the floor, and then fed Wilson with a great pass for a basket. I would bet that is not a play that they practice during the week. Both of these girls can really disrupt the other team though. It should be fun watching these two play alongside each other this season.

Player of the game: At one point in the game I knew that this was easily Courtney Moses for sure. The late Maryland run led me to change my player. Lynetta Kizer scored twenty points and pulled down eight rebounds on the night. Her presence down low changed the Purdue strategy as well. She was part of the six blocks that Maryland had on the night.

Play of the game: This has to be the entire frantic last minute of the game. Maryland scores a basket with just under a minute to go. They force a turnover, but then turn the ball over themselves with 8.9 seconds on the clock. The two blocks under the basket preserved the lead for Maryland. It may not have turned out how I wanted to, but it was the deciding series of the game.

Men’s Picks of the Week - Last week I went 10-0 on my picks bringing my season record to 19-1. This week I saw some games that I wanted to pick along with the fact that the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is played means that this is an extended week for picks. In all I have picked 19 games. This could make or break me early in the season. Here are the week 3 picks:

• Wisconsin over Boston College
• #10 Syracuse over Michigan
• #3 Ohio State over Miami
• Penn State over Ole Miss
• #19 Illinois over Western Michigan
• #2 Michigan State over Tennessee Tech
• Notre Dame over Indiana State
• #8 Purdue over Southern Illinois

Big Ten/ACC Challenge Picks

• #17 Minnesota over Virginia
• #3 Ohio State over Florida State
• #19 Illinois over #25 North Carolina
• Michigan over Clemson
• Northwestern over Georgia Tech
• Wake Forest over Iowa
• #1 Duke over #2 Michigan State
• Boston College over Indiana
• Wisconsin over NC State
• Penn State over Maryland
• #8 Purdue over Virginia Tech

By my calculations that means the Big Ten will dominate this challenge by winning eight of the eleven games. Somehow that doesn’t seem right, but I guess we will see. I hope that we do dominate. Something tells me that the Big Ten homer in me sees things a little rosy for the conference.

Women’s Picks of the Week - Last week I went 8-4 to bring my record to 12-4 on the season. I obviously was a bit off on the week. As with the men I will pick some games early on, and then pick the challenge games later in the week. Here are the week 3 women’s picks:

• #21 Iowa over Virginia Tech
• Penn State over Hartford
• #8 Texas A&M over Michigan
• #7 Ohio State over UNC-Wilmington
• Cleveland State over Indiana

Big Ten/ACC Challenge

• Wake Forest over Michigan
• Georgia Tech over Northwestern
• #14 Florida State over Michigan State
• Illinois over North Carolina State
• Boston College over Penn State
• #21 Iowa over #15 North Carolina
• #7 Ohio State over Virginia
• Clemson over Indiana
• Minnesota over Virginia Tech
• #6 Duke over Wisconsin
• #28 Purdue over #27 Maryland

As you can see I think that the ACC women will do better than the men. They will squeak out a 6-5 win in the challenge. I flip flopped late on the Northwestern game changing my pick to Georgia Tech as I was writing this. That game would be the deciding factor. Sometimes though I think that home court advantage means to much. We will see next week how far off I was.

Drey Mingo leaves the court with the WNIT trophy on Sunday

Just a couple of days ago I took the above picture as the team was celebrating the WNIT victory in Mackey Arena. Everything looked great for the team who was supposed to leave today for Mexico for the holidays. Apparently something took a turn for the worse in the last 24 hours. Drey Mingo who was on the all tournament team for the WNIT was struck with acute bacterial meningitis. I did not know what the disease was so I looked it up online at everydayhealth.com. Here is a brief summary of what I found:

“Each of us has a fluid-filled three-layered covering called the meninges surrounding our spinal cord and brain. When the meninges get infected, the condition is called meningitis.

Most often, meningitis is caused by a viral or bacterial infection. The two main germs that cause bacterial meningitisin the United States are streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis. Meningitis caused by streptococcus pneumoniae is called pneumococcal meningitis. When the infection is caused by Neisseria meningitidis, it is called meningococcal meningitis. (Staphylococcal meningitis is another type of bacterial meningitis.)

Damage From Meningitis

Because the meninges are an integral part of the nervous system’s structure, a bacterial infection can have devastating effects. Bacterial meningitis may cause or lead to:

• Blockage of the brain’s blood vessels leading to brain damage or stroke
• Loss of hearing
• Kidney disease
• Limb amputations
• Death

There may also be an association between meningococcal meningitis and kidney and adrenal gland failure, and shock.

It’s critical to detect and treat pneumococcal or meningococcal meningitis immediately to prevent their destructive effects. Bacterial meningitis is treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics may also be given to anyone who has been in close contact with a person with bacterial meningitis.

If you, or someone you know, experience two of the symptoms noted above, or if one of the symptoms occur suddenly or severely, get medical help right away.”

The full article can be found here. At times like these you just have to send out your well wishes, and keep her in your prayers. She has been upgraded from critical but stable to serious but stable condition in the hospital, but she has a long road ahead of her. My thoughts and prayers go out to Drey and her teammates during this difficult time. Anyone that has come into contact with Drey has been contacted to get their preventative shot. This includes all her teammates along with the past two teams Purdue has played (DePaul and South Dakota State). It is news like this that really makes you think right before a holiday weekend. I am by no means a doctor or even knowledgeable to know just what is going on. From what I have read though it looks as if Drey has a tough road ahead of her. Thank God they caught it when they did. The change in her condition is a good sign, but I think I will be checking back often to see if she improves even more.

Get well Drey! My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Sam Ostarello cuts down the net after the game

Early today I changed my plans for the day to head down to West Lafayette for a men’s and women’s basketball double header. I was curious to see if the Lady Boilers could beat Depaul to add some new hardware to the trophy case. Although the final score was 67-58, Purdue did not have an easy time with Depaul. 

The first half was a battle back and forth between the two teams. Purdue would threaten to take the lead only to have Depaul go on a mini run. Neither team was shooting the ball exceptionally well so every made basket was important. Even more important were the free throws. Purdue only made five field goals in the second half, but made 26 of 30 free throws to win the game. You always say that you have to make your free throws, and Purdue won this game by doing just that.

If you had told me that the Boilers would only hit 25% of their shots in the second half and commit 21 turnovers for the game I would have told you that they did not stand a chance. To think that they actually took the lead shooting 25% is amazing, and a credit to their presence at the charity stripe.

It was nice to see the Boilers win the tournament, but even better to see them start the season 4-0. I wonder if they will make an appearance in the top 25. They head to Mexico now for the holiday weekend. Maybe they can come home with even more hardware for the new trophy cases that will be on display next season.

Brittany Rayburn gets fouled during the second half of the game

Player of the game: I will cheat and say that both Rayburn and Mingo get the player of the game honors. They both scored 21 points, and earned spots on the all tournament team. Rayburn of course was named the tournament MVP for her efforts. The both were a huge part of the Boilers winning the game. Lost in all of that was the play of freshman Courtney Moses. She had eleven points on the night herself. She was very clutch at the free throw line. That is something that you like to see from a true freshman this early in the season. Rayburn, Mingo, and Moses scored 53 of Purdue’s 67 points on the day. They really were the offense on a slow scoring day.

Play of the Game: For some reason I keep coming back to the play where Courtney Moses was fouled while shooting a three, and made all three of her tries from the line. To me that was a big moment for the Boilers, and the freshman made the most of it.

I will have pictures of the game up on the site tomorrow, and pictures of the post game celebration up on Tuesday. It was a great day at Mackey that is worthy of three total posts.

Men’s Picks of the Week – Last week I went 9-1 on my picks. The lone loss was the Illini getting beat by Texas. This week I have ten fresh picks, adn none that really seem like great matchups. This seems to be an easy week looking at the schedule right now for the Big Ten. Here are the week two picks:

• Minnesota over West Virginia
• Indiana over Evansville
• #2 Michigan State over Chaminade
• #5 Ohio State over Morehead St.
• #16 Illinois over Yale
• Indiana over North Carolina Central
• Penn State over Central Connecticut State
• Minnesota over North Dakota State
• #9 Purdue over Austin Peay
• #9 Purdue over Oakland

Women’s Picks of the Week - For some reason I made six picks last week of games that occur this week. Chalk it up to being up too late writing these things sometimes. So I went 4-0 in the games that actually occured during the week of my post. I will just transfer the six other picks to this week’s picks. I also threw in a couple extra picks to try and get back to where I should have been. Here are this weeks picks:

• #18 Georgia over Indiana
• #22 Iowa over Central Michigan
• Minnesota over Dayton
• Illinois over Cal Poly
• #7 Ohio State over Eastern Tennessee State
• Wisconsin over Kansas
• Michigan over Indiana State
• #22 Michigan State over Detroit
• Northwestern over Chicago State
• Indiana over St. Louis
• Wisconsin over Marquette
• Purdue over Depaul

Drey Mingo with 2 of her 21 last night

Last night at halftime things were up in the air in Mackey Arena. The Boilers were struggling and down by seven to the Toledo Rockets. The biggest reason that they were down though seemed to be hustle. The Rockets really seemed to want it more in the first half. Sometimes you wonder what is said to a team at halftime. Last night we were pretty sure that we knew what head coach Sharon Versyp told her team.

It was apparent because they came out of the halftime break with fire in their eyes. Drey Mingo started the half on the bench, but quickly made her mark on the game. She scored seventeen of her 21 points in the second half. For some reason that doesn’t seem to explain how much she meant to the team in the second half. She was unstoppable. For the game Drey had 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. She is not Purdue’s tallest post player, but she played huge last night.

Antoinette Howard had a great spurt in the second half as well. Both transfers left their mark on the game. Howard seems to have an attitude that nobody can stop her. The great thing is that so far when she drives nobody has. She really has impacted this team so far. She had fifteen points on the night along with six rebounds and five assists. Brittany Rayburn had another ho-hum 18 points on the night. How scary is it that a player scores eighteen points, and it seems like an off night for her? She was also ten for ten last night from the charity stripe. Sam Ostarello also had 10 points for the Boilers including a three pointer that gave the Boilers the lead for good. As the game was winding down I looked up and saw this for our players on the court: Mingo 21, Howard 15, Rayburn, 18, Moses 7, and Ostarello 10. I commented that I would take that any day. Mingo was the force in the second half, but it really was a team effort for the game. Courtney Moses had a solid game as well in her first start. She made a few freshman mistakes, but you can see that she is fearless. She will need to keep that attitude as the season progresses.

Naama Shafir works the ball against Courtney Moses during the game Monday night

A great story for Toledo is guard Naama Shafir. She lead all scorers on the night with 23 points, but her story is what is amazing. On the postgame show I heard Tim Newton talking about how Shafir may be the first Orthodox Jew to earn a Divison I scholarship. This fact makes for some special circumstances for her. She cannot eat the same food as the team. She has to bring her own Kosher meals and have them heated. This leads to some interesting situations where she has to eat outside of the restaurant because she cannot eat her pre-made food inside. She cannot practice during the day on Saturday because of her beliefs, but can play the games if they fall on that time. She also cannot travel between sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. Again according to the radio broadcast she has to travel to the town early if they have a weekend game, and stay by herself. They also said that she had to walk a mile at South Dakota State with a wind chill of -47 just to make it to the game. She has come a long way from her hometown in Hoshaya Isreal, but she comes to play. She was hands down the best player on the court in the first half of the game last night. She is a great story that will be fun to watch develop.

After I posted this I received a comment about Naama with a little more information. I thought that I would include it here to clarify her story a little. Here is the comment:   “Nice article. Couple additions to your story on Naama Shafir. One thing important to mention is the strong support her teammates have given her since joining the team. At the beginning of her freshman year, the team went to Hawaii for a tournament. As you mentioned, most restaurants won’t allow Naama to bring her meal into the restaurant. The team had ordered their dinner when it became apparent Naama would have to sit outside. After getting their orders, the whole team got up and sat outside the restaurant and ate with Naama. For every game on the road falling in the period when Naama can’t be in a motorized vehicle from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, one of the coaches drives her early to the game city and usually a player or two also rides along. She never is by herself. A coach also makes the trek with her back and forth not only for the game but for shootarounds before the game. This has involved walking through some pretty deep snow. The minus 47 degree game was actually with the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and assistant coach Todd Mittmesser made the walk with Naama. Todd dropped a glove along the way, and it was so cold that he had no desire to go back and get it. Naama said they stopped at several store fronts to warm up along the way. Her rabbi has determined that practice on Saturday is work and is prohibited on the Sabbath, but games are fun, which is not prohibited.”

KK can still have an impact on the game as long as GABS has their signs

One nice touch last night was the Gold and Black Sound who had signs for KK Houser when the team came out onto the court. They showed their appreciation for her, and I am sure that she really appreciated it. They put the signs to good use in the second half when they waved them during free throws causing at least seven misses that I counted. The band really seemed to have an impact on the game when the Rockets were shooting their foul shots. The quick jump up and scream worked wonders.

Gameball: At one point of the game I was wondering who would get this. At that point Brittany, Drey, and Antoinette all had about the same amount of points. I knew that Brittany would probably get this a lot so I was trying to decide who was having the better game between Mingo and Howard. Drey Mingo quickly erased all doubt as to who was the player of the game.

Play of the game: Sam Ostarello made a huge three pointer to give the Boilers the lead for good, but I have another play in mind for this. Antoinette Howard made a nice half court pass to Drey Mingo for an easy bucket during the huge run by Mingo. Just the way that they made this hard play look easy gets it the play of the game status.

Purdue advances to the third round of the preseason WNIT and play South Dakota State on Thursday night. A win would be huge for this team and its early season confidence. Go out and see the girls play.

KK Houser on the bench after her knee injury

Tonight the Purdue women opened up the season by playing Austin Peay in the first round of the Preseason WNIT Tournament. Things were going good for the team early. Brittany Rayburn was on fire from behind the arc. She hit four threes early on, and looked unstoppable. Sophomore KK Houser also was looking good. That is until she went in for a layup, was hit hard, and apparently landed awkwardly on her right knee. Immediately you knew that she was badly hurt. She was pounding the court hard with her hand in pain and yelling. That is something that you really don’t want to see. Eventually she was helped up, and painfully was helped to off the court. She came back later in the game, but was limping badly. After watching an exchange between her and coach Sharon Versyp when she came back to the bench I had a bad feeling about the rest of her season. Houser and Versyp embraced for what seemed like a long time. When they were done you could see that KK was visibly shaken. She looked like the news was setting in. She won’t get an MRI until next week, but I would guess that the news is not good.

Courtney Moses letting a floater go

After Houser was injured freshman Courtney Moses came into the game. I had not seen her play yet, and was a little worried that a true freshman was in control at the point. It turns out that I had no need to be worried. She scored 20 points in her Boiler debut to go along with five assists. She was fun to watch. Sophomore Sam Ostarello had a great night as well. Sam had 18 points and nine rebounds coming off the bench. In all tonight the bench had 64 points and 22 rebounds. At one point Sam was 8 for 8 from the field. If she had not taken another shot she would have set a Purdue field goal percentage record. She was on fire though so you don’t want that to happen. Her first miss came on a shot that it appeared she was fouled on. If not for the injury tonight would have been a great start to the season. The Boilers won 93-53 with everyone contributing.

Rayburn leaving the court. Why must all the star players get hurt?

As I said earlier Brittany Rayburn came out on fire scoring twelve of the first twenty points for the Boilers. After that though she made just one free throw. It could not have helped that she was elbowed in the ear by an Austin Peay player. Her ear was bleeding fairly bad, and she had to go to the locker room to get it taken care of. When she did come back into the game she was not the same. It really didn’t matter though because the Boilers were up big.

Purdue plays Monday night in the second round of the tournament against Toledo. Hopefully we can have a win that everyone can feel good about.

Men’s Picks of the Week - Every week during the season I pick ten games just like football season for the men. I would pick more, but I have to simplify things big so I am not looking up scores forever. Maybe as the season goes on I will start picking a few more, but right now with all of the one sided match ups I will just pick ten. I have not lost a pick yet this season. On the flip side, I have not won one either. I learned very quickly last season that picking scores was foolish. I don’t have the time to do all the research necessary to be even close. I have just learned to pick winners in basketball. Here are my picks this week:

• Notre Dame over Georgia South
• #5 Ohio State over North Carolina A&T
• #2 Michigan State over Eastern Michigan
• Minnesota over Sienna
• #5 Ohio State over #11 Florida
• Indiana over Mississippi Valley State
• #16 Illinios over #25 Texas
• Minnesota over Western Kentucky
• #8 Purdue over Alcorn State
• #8 Purdue over Howard

Women’s Picks of the Week – I try to do the same thing with the women as the men so here are my picks for week one of the women’s season:

• Notre Dame over New Hampshire
• Indiana over Ball State
• Illinois over Illinois State
• Wisconsin over Kansas
• Michigan over Indiana State
• #24 Michigan State over Detroit
• Northwestern over Chicago State
• Inidana over St. Louis
• Wisconsin over Marquette
• Purdue over Austin Peay

The Boilers celebrate the upset over #4 Ohio State last season

Last year the Boilers had a tough season. They did not perform up to their expectations and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seventeen seasons. At some points of the season it looked as though more players were in street clothes on the sidelines than were dressed for the game. One thing I noticed though was that the girls never gave up. The highlight of the season had to be the upset of then #4 Ohio State in Mackey. That two point victory in late January showed everyone what this team was capable of. Three freshman KK Houser, Sam Ostarello, and Ashley Wilson led the Boilers to that upset win. All three played well last year, but did lapse into some stretches that you would expect from a true freshman. This squad is without a senior class. I wonder what the team will do on senior day? To me that just means that the future is bright for these young girls. They have the talent, but can they put it all together?

FahKara Malone addressing the team during the Senior Day festivities last season

Before I can move on though I feel like I have to talk a little about what the team has lost. They will start the season without Jodi Howell and FahKara Malone. The first person I will talk about is FahKara Malone. She was tremendously fun to watch play throughout her career at Purdue. Her smile was infectious. She also played the point very well for the Boilers. She left the school as the all-time steals leader, and will be sorely missed. Her 351 steals as a Boilermaker will be a high bar for someone to go after. She just seemed to have a knack for getting the ball. She started at Purdue right off the bat due to issues at the point. She did not disappoint the crowd at Mackey very often in her four years at Purdue.

Jodi talking to the crowd last year on Senior Day

Jodi Howell also graduated last year. She was a sharpshooter that left the school with the record for the highest three point percentage in her career. Overall she made 90 three pointers during her Purdue career. She may be more remembered for her toughness though. It seemed as if Jodi was always battling some sort of injury. Last season she was either on the court playing, or on the bike keeping her knees warm. She gave everything she had to the team, and the fans appreciated her for it. Both FahKara and Jodi will be missed this coming season.

This year the team comes in ready for big things. Transfers Antionette Howard and Drey Mingo are ready to play after sitting out a year after transferring to Purdue. Mingo was named a team captain prior to the season, and has had a good pre season so far. Both Mingo and Howard should add some size and depth to the team. Other newcomers include 2010 Indiana Miss Basketball Courtney Moses. She is a guard that can help us right away. She showed in high school that she could distribute the ball as well as score. She was very good from behind the three point arc in high school. Another freshman Dee Dee Williams was a two time state champ at Ben Davis so we know she knows what it takes to win. I don’t have too much on these players because I have not seen them play yet. Here is a look at the players that I have seen play:

Brittany driving against Ohio State last season

#5 Brittany Rayburn - The conversation of current players has to start with Brittany. Brittany has been a force since she first stepped onto the court for the Boilers. The junior guard led the team in scoring last season, and was second in assists and steals. She was on fire from the free throw line last season hitting hitting a school record 38 straight. She really is a game changer. She can hit the three, but can also slash to the hoop to get to the line. That might be part of what makes her so valuable. If she is not hitting her shots she will find ways to contribute. Her defense is one of those ways. She also will drive to the basket to get some points from the line. I think that the fans are still waiting for that day when everything comes together for her during a game. When it does the other team had better watch out. We have two more years to watch her play, so we had better enjoy them.

Alex with the ball during the postseason WNIT last season

#41 Alex Guyton - Alex spent the first half of the season injured last year, but came back to help the team. She was limited her first few games back from injury, but she still was a presence on the court. You could see what she is worth to the team when healthy last January when she shut down Jantel Lavender. She is a big physical presence in the middle that Purdue really needs. Her toughness and athleticism were sorely missed early in the season last year. The team really seemed to bump it up a notch when she started playing more minutes at the end of last season. A healthy Guyton good news for the Boilers.

Chantel bringing the ball in against Iona in 2008

#43 Chantel Poston - Chantel missed all of last season after injuring her Achilles tendon. She was one of the most athletic players on the court though her freshman season. She could jump, shoot, and just bother the heck out of the opponents. It will be fun to see her on the court again. You could see how much she wanted to be out there last season. She looked more amped for games than some of the players who were playing last season. She should come out firing this season. Her defense will help the team out tremendously.

Chelsea trying to get open against Illinois last season

#40 Chelsea Jones - Chelsea was amazing to watch last season. She seemed to get better every game. Her biggest moment of last season was probably her game winning shot against Wisconsin. She really started to come into her own. It will be interesting to see if she can keep improving this season. She should only improve with another big in the game to take some of the pressure off of her down low.

KK during a break in the action against Western Illinois last season

#22 KK Houser - KK was another player who improved as the season went on last season. She had moments of brilliance early, but was also benched for mistakes. She did show what she could do by scoring 18 points against Notre Dame, and in the upset of Ohio State. Along with her points against Ohio State she did a great job on Buckeye point guard Samantha Prahalis in Mackey last year. Prahalis is very sure of herself to put it nicely so it was fun to watch someone frustrate her. She was completely thrown off her game by Houser. This season may hinge on how she plays the point. With FahKara gone she will pick up the slack at point guard for the Boilers.

Sam O going in for a layup against Iowa last season

#32 Sam Ostarello - What player was more fun to watch last season than Sam? During her freshman season she quickly became known as Sam O, and the people around me started watching her on and off the court. She really seems to have fun playing the game. She also was a vocal player from the bench who always seemed to be in the game. She was the leading rebounder in eleven games during her freshman season. Her athleticism and rebounding will be key this year. She needs to settle in to become a little more consistent. It also would not hurt for her to improve her free throw shooting as well.

Sam Woods posting up against Illinois last season

#54 Samantha Woods - Sam is the biggest enigma on the team. When she is confident she can be a force. When she is timid though she tends to make mistakes that land her on the bench. She had great moments like the 17 she scored in her first game against Valparaiso. She also hit over 44% of her three pointers last season. Hopefully she can keep her head up and have a good season. She may be down a bit on the depth chart, but her experience off the bench would be a big lift.

Ashley draws some contact against Minnesota last season

#52 Ashley Wilson - Ashley is the kind of player that I think every team needs. She is not afraid of contact, and will do whatever it takes to score and rebound. As a true freshman she showed a lot of guts. If the team was not playing inspired Coach Versyp would insert Wilson in the game to pick up the pace. One memorable series from last season was Ashley getting a defensive rebound, and taking the ball all the way down the court herself to get an and one. Ashley will get a late start to the season due to injury. Her return to the lineup will be a big plus.

Key Games - Looking at the schedule I found two key stretches that the Boilers face this season along with a couple other key games. I thought that it would be good to look at those stretches here.

• December 2nd Maryland
• December 5th @ Notre Dame
• December 9th @ Texas A&M

This early season swing will be key for this team. The Boilers play in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against Maryland at home followed by road games at Notre Dame and Texas A&M. This will be our first real indication of where this team stands. I am not saying this is make or break for the team, but it would be a wake up call for the rest of the country if they could win out during this tough seven day stretch. The second key stretch occurs at the beginning of February. No Big Ten game means any more than another, but this stretch features the three projected to be at the top right now including our only game against Michigan State. Here is a look at that stretch:

• February 3rd Iowa
• February 6th @ Michigan State
• February 10th @ Ohio State

Five days before the Iowa game Purdue has Inidana at home as well. If the Boilers want to make a splash in the Big Ten this season it will have to happen during this stretch. This could easily be a stretch where the team goes 0-3 with the tough competition. A hot team going into this week of the season could put us right at the top of the conference.

Jantel Lavender is ready to lead the Buckeyes once again to the conference title

Big Ten Predictions - With the regular season ready to start I think that it is much too early to try and predict how the Big Ten season will shake out. That will not stop me from trying though. Here is a quick look at how I see the eleven teams right now. This may change by the end of this calendar year when the Big Ten season is ready to start.

1. Ohio State
2. Purdue
3. Iowa
4. Michigan State
5. Wisconsin
6. Minnesota
7. Penn State
8. Northwestern
9. Michigan
10. Illinois
11. Indiana

No scientific analysis went into the predictions, but a feeling of how the teams will stack up. Ohio State has to easily be the #1 team in the conference. I am way too much of a homer though not to have Purdue in second. I think that they have the talent to make a run this season. Friday will be my first game of the season, and it will be fun to watch the regular season start. Most experts have Purdue ranked sixth to start the season. I really think that they are better than that. Last season the team was ranked to start the year when the fans in the stands really did not think they were a top 25 team. I would think that the opposite is true this season. Time will tell on these girls though. I may have too high of an opinion of this team, but how can you not going into the season? I am very excited to take my seat Friday night to watch the start of the season. With any luck the team will be playing again on either Sunday or Monday so that I could see them twice in the same weekend.