Talking the Hoosiers-Boilermakers rivalry matchup.
It is time, once again, for the Indiana Hoosiers to take on the Purdue Boilermakers in another edition of the Big Ten’s best hoops rivalry, this time in West Lafayette.
Purdue is on track for another Big Ten title while Indiana is facing maybe the biggest offseason of head coach Mike Woodson’s tenure thus far.
We spoke with the writers at fellow SB Nation site Hammer and Rails to talk about the game. Here’s how that went:
What made the rather expansive margin of victory at Assembly Hall surprising in your eyes? Thought Indiana would lose and I wasn’t too surprised when it happened to end up like that.
Going into play in Assembly Hall is never easy. I’ve seen very good Purdue teams head there and face off against some pretty bad IU teams and somehow came away with a hard fought victory. I understand that IU has had some personnel issues this year but I guess I was going into the game thinking it’s a rivalry game and sometimes that old cliche of throwing the records out the window in a rivalry game holds true.
You can add one player from any of the past six years to this Purdue roster, but you have to replace one. Who do you add and who do you replace.
Oh man, that’s tough. I’m torn between Carsen Edwards and Dakota Mathias. I think both add an extra element to this team but I’m trying to determine which this team needs more. I’m going to go with Edwards. He provides an additional element of firepower on offense and he’s got the mentality that Purdue teams have lacked in the past. That killer instinct that he can do anything on the court and it’s up to everyone else to try and stop him. Since I have to replace someone, and I’m assuming it has to be a scholarship player, I’m going to get rid of Will Berg. Not because I don’t think he doesn’t have a great career ahead of him, but rather Edey plays so many minutes that he’s wasted.
Who not named Zach Edey do you think could go off in the scoring category this game and why?
Lance Jones has really asserted himself of late. He’s getting close to 2,000 points in his career and I’m sure that’s something he would like to reach. He’s grown into taking better shots as well which I know makes Coach Painter happy. He’s done well in back to back games and his confidence, which was already high, just continues to grow. He’s my pick.
This is in all likelihood Zach Edey’s final year in the old gold and black. What’s his legacy as of now and what will it likely end up being for Purdue fans?
One of the greatest of all time. There’s no doubt about it. We talk about it all the time among Purdue fans that he will have a game where he scores 18 and grabs 13 rebounds and it’s seen as a so-so game for him. There’s no one like him in all of college basketball and it’s just really enjoyable to have a guy like that on your team. He’s always staying late after games to take pictures and sign autographs and I think that goes a long way to engendering yourself to the fans. Not to mention the numerous awards. He’s lookin at back to back National Player of the Years which is something very few have ever done and certainly no Purdue Boilermakers. He’s already a legend, it’s now just a question of how far he can get into the tournament.
Let’s say someone not super familiar with the town is looking to spend a day in West Lafayette. For science. Where do they go (local) for a coffee in the morning and where do they go for a beer in the evening.
I’m the wrong guy to ask about coffee and beer as I despise both of them (pause for the booing to die down), but my wife loves coffee and would recommend Greyhouse. As far as alcoholic beverages you can’t go wrong with Harry’s Chocolate Shop which was an old speakeasy and makes some very good mixed drinks.