I am worried about Purdue because...

[wilko]

They are our next opponent.

This is the best answer so far...
Or rather... its what I would have written had you not beat me to it. :-)

[cbnaylor]

Because someone just posted that Nolan Smith tweeted that he was sick!

[rsvman]

Because someone just posted that Nolan Smith tweeted that he was sick!

Exactly what does this mean? And what does he mean by the word "sick"?

We need Nolan and the entire team to be healthy from here on in. Period.


I wasn't worried about Purdue at all but now I kind of am. We need details!

[dukeimac]

Well, I see some of the things stated as reasons to worry about them as reasons they will have to worry about themselves.

1. Payback. If they are still carrying around the beat down they got last year that will hurt their focus. Most of the time it does.

2. Nothing to loose. Wrong! First, they are co-Big Ten champs and the other 2 are still in, they have a lot to prove. Plus, they need to win a big game without Hummel and this would be a big game. Texas A&M was a good team but not considered a "Big" time team, thus this is their big game. They didn't do well in the Big Ten tourney. Just about everyone had them here without Hummel.

3. No one has them getting past Duke, especially without Hummel and they will want, need to prove everyone wrong.

Those are big reasons for them to have pressure on their shoulders. If they don't beat Duke it is because they can't beat a big time team without Hummel.

[Fish80]

They aren't the Golden Boilermakers? Wait, their color is old gold. Maybe we could call them the golden Boilermakers.

We did okay so far against golden teams.

Worried? What, me worry?
Respectful? Absolutely a formidable opponent.
Determined? More than they are!

[cbnaylor]

Exactly what does this mean? And what does he mean by the word "sick"?

We need Nolan and the entire team to be healthy from here on in. Period.


I wasn't worried about Purdue at all but now I kind of am. We need details!

Ok, this came from Nolan today....

@misz_dejja yea just a little cold! I'll be fine soon!

That's good to hear......

Source: http://twitter.com/ndotsmitty

[Classof06]

...fill in the blank.

...you never know how a wounded and desperate team will respond and the Boilermakers have already beaten two teams in Siena and Texas A&M that many (including myself) expected to beat them...

[rsvman]

Thank God.


then again, even just a "little cold" can sometimes do a number on your stamina. Let's hope he's careful not to spread to all the other guys on the team; that's the other problem with these kinds of illnesses.

[camion]

One-on-one comparisons don't tell the whole story. They play good team defense and good team basketball; they can beat any team that doesn't bring its A game.

[cbnaylor]

Thank God.


then again, even just a "little cold" can sometimes do a number on your stamina. Let's hope he's careful not to spread to all the other guys on the team; that's the other problem with these kinds of illnesses.

True. That's why a 24 hour bug would almost be better to have instead of a cold. Assuming that he doesn't spread it around to the rest of the team...this is kind of reminding me of the West Virginia game a couple years ago with the flu.

[Dukerati]

Because Purdue plays strong defense and we struggle to score (at times). In a low possession, low scoring affair, the margin for error becomes smaller and possessions become magnified.

Oh, and our best player (arguably) is in a bit of a funk.

[cptnflash]

...because we are such a justifiably prohibitive favorite in this game that it would be an absolute catastrophe if we lost.

[NashvilleDevil]

...fill in the blank.

because Duke fans always worry.

[78Devil]

Because with each round, we have to start shooting better and can't just rely on our defense.

[Richard Berg]

...because if they win, the career of 4 great Dukies will end on a sad note.

[ReformedAggie]

Because every silver lining has a cloud.

[hq2]

I'm not. Without Robbie Hummell (and note we beat them over last year, with him quite handily) they just don't have enough firepower or inside defense. They'll play hard, but we'd have to have a total offensive collapse to lose. (I.e. say 6 for 30 something from 3 point land, like say, the '06 team against LSU!)

[RoyalBlue08]

...because we are such a justifiably prohibitive favorite in this game that it would be an absolute catastrophe if we lost.

This pretty much sums up my unease going into Friday. It is almost easier to handle as a fan if Duke didn't match up so favorably against Purdue. We should win. We have superior talent and they don't present any real matchup or style issues. But it's win or go home. I think we win this one 90% of the time, but I will be crushed if Friday is somehow in that 10%.

[CDu]

I'm not worried specifically about Purdue as a team. I am worried about the game against Purdue in general.

In a matchup of strengths and weaknesses at the status quo, we win. On paper, we have a huge size and rebounding advantage. We shoot free throws better, we shoot 3s better, we score much more efficiently. We defend slightly more efficiently. Purdue hasn't beaten a team near our skill level since Hummel went down, and they're only 1-2 against teams that would have been at-large teams since the injury. They certainly have talented players, but we are a deeper, more talented team than Purdue without Hummel.

But in any single game, just about anything can happen. We could have a terrible shooting night. Purdue could come out with an uncharacteristically great shooting performance. They could apply pressure defense and force some uncharacteristic turnovers. We could suffer injuries or foul trouble at key spots.

If we played this game 10 times on a neutral, I think we win 8-9 of those times. But it's a single-elimination tournament, and the better team doesn't always win in that format. And that's why I'm worried about the game on Friday. I think things would have to go wrong for us not to win. But things could certainly go wrong.

Basically, aside from the 1/16 game, I'll be worried about EVERY Game in the tournament - either because we might not be the better team, or because (in spite of being the better team) we might not have the game needed on that night to win.

[Cameron]

...you never know how a wounded and desperate team will respond and the Boilermakers have already beaten two teams in Siena and Texas A&M that many (including myself) expected to beat them...

A different set of circumstances, but let Loyola Marymount's 1990 run be a lesson to all of us.