Many observers have been skeptical of Purdue's status as a Big Ten title contender, ourselves included, primarily because of a questionable offensive attack in the absence of Robbie Hummel. Yesterday, the Boilermakers made a major statement about that with an 80-57 blowout win at Michigan. This was a Michigan defense that had only allowed two teams all season to score more than a point per possession--including shutdowns of Syracuse, Clemson, and Oakland--and Purdue hung a 1.26 efficiency on them, blowing away anything previously done against Michigan.

To be fair, this was a close game at various points: Michigan was down only three with 13 minutes remaining, but the Purdue lead swelled from eight to 26 points over the final eight minutes as the young Wolverines wilted. Still, regardless of when the damage was done, this was an impressive performance by Purdue. The Boilers shot 56 percent from three, led by Ryne Smith's 5 of 6 performance (17 points). E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson weren't terribly accurate, but they still combined for 43 points (32 shots) and 17 rebounds. When Purdue gets a third player doing damage like Smith did, their offense isn't a problem at all. We may have to start talking about Purdue as a serious title contender if they can keep that up.

For Michigan, it was a sobering reality check. This is still a very young and promising team, but any hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid this season have to be scaled back a bit after this one. Stu Douglass shot well to be the only Wolverine in double figures (15 points on 10 shots). Open looks were tough to come by against Purdue's suffocating defense.

In the night's other action, Wisconsin used mistake-free play to defeat Minnesota 68-60. The Badgers turned it over only twice in the 58 possession game, making up for a paltry offensive rebounding rate and some mediocre shooting (by Wisconsin standards). The resulting efficiency of 1.17 points per possession is the most allowed by Minnesota to a team not named Virginia, and it helps cement Wisconsin as one of the Big Ten's most effective offenses.

Jordan Taylor was excellent, scoring 22 points on 16 shots and dishing 7 assists to 1 turnover. Jon Leuer had a bit of an off night but still posted 16 points and 9 rebounds. Tim Jarmusz continued his recent hot streak with a 3 for 3 performance from downtown (9 points).

For Minnesota, it was an encouraging performance considering the opponent and the venue. To be within a point of Wisconsin with under two minutes remaining at Kohl is certainly a moral victory, if not a real one. Things don't get any easier for the Gophers as they visit Michigan State on New Year's Eve, but this type of play could serve them well.

Tonight there's just one Big Ten game on the slate as Illinois looks to halt their losing streak at two games with a trip to Iowa (8pm CT, BTN). Heading into tonight, Iowa has the 29th best adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation, so this certainly could be a close, hard fought game where a play or two makes the difference.

- Posted by Mike Portscheller