Blayne Sucks

It has been a statement week for the Purdue Men’s Basketball team, which has had back-to-back wins against two top ten teams. They have won their last ten games and sit atop the Big Ten Conference. Their latest victims have been Wisconsin, who had won their last 16 home conference games, and Michigan State, a veteran team with big expectations.

These two games had distinctly different flavors. The Wisconsin game was a masterful offensive performance against one of college basketball’s toughest defensive teams. The Boilers were 8 for 19 from three point range and shot better than 50% from the floor. The Michigan State game was a defensive showcase against a team with veteran ball handlers. The Boiler defense forced 17 turnovers and held Michigan State’s starters to 32 points for the game.

Over a month ago, there was an ESPN column that cited the three best teams in the Big Ten as Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State. Next week Purdue will play Indiana in what promises to be the best rivalry matchup since the Keady - Knight years. Will Purdue manage to beat all of the Big Ten’s “best” teams in a 10 day span? I know I’ll be watching.