In a game that was supposed to be a hotly-contested matchup of Big Ten title contenders, Purdue came out completely flat and got walloped by hot-shooting Ohio State, 87-64. If you didn't see the game, you need to know that the 23 point final margin doesn't even do Ohio State's performance justice--a late 8-0 run by Purdue trimmed a lead that had reached 31 points. This was an epic blowout, plain and simple, and this Geek honestly did not see it coming.

The Buckeyes built that huge lead by doing what they do best: make shots. Ohio State made 54 percent on twos and were unconscious from three (11 for 19, 58 percent). These numbers on their own are nothing new for the Buckeyes--their 64.7 effective field goal percentage was just their third best of the season--but shooting like that against a defense as good as Purdue's is mighty impressive. Ohio State ended up posting 1.23 points per possession, a rather modest figure compared to what they were doing for most of the game--Ohio State's efficiency was 1.38 after 58 possessions, and it steadily dropped over the final 13 trips. About the only thing the Buckeyes didn't do impressively was shoot free throws, where they made just 12 of 22 (55 percent). Illinois sure could have used a few of those misses on Saturday.

William Buford led six Buckeyes in double figures with 19 points on just 8 shots, while Jon Diebler--the team's weakest rebounder--grabbed 8 boards to go along with 13 points and 6 assists. In true Thad Matta style, the Ohio State coach doled out meaningful minutes to just eight Buckeyes, despite the constant 20 to 30 point advantage.

Purdue was led by JaJuan Johnson's 22 points (17 shots) and 7 rebounds, and for long stretches the big man seemed like the only Boilermaker capable of doing anything positive. E'Twaun Moore struggled yet again from the field (4 of 13), but the senior guard got to the foul line often to end up with 16 points. The Boilers shot just 38 percent on twos and scored 0.91 points per possession, their worst offensive showing since squeaking by Virginia Tech in overtime.

The real question emerging from this game is: what the heck is wrong with Purdue's defense? If this were an isolated incident, you could write it off as a bad road effort against a hot team--those things happen--but this now makes four straight Big Ten games where Purdue's opponent scored at least 1.15 points per possession. Other than Ohio State, none of those four opponents were among the Big Ten's elite offensive squads. The surprising Boilermaker offense has carried the team to a 2-2 record over that stretch (with the caveat that the Penn State game could have easily gone the other way), but the sudden permissiveness is perplexing if not troubling. Most likely, Matt Painter's team will get back to the stingy defense we are accustomed to seeing them play, but the schedule certainly doesn't offer much relief (road games against Wisconsin and Illinois are among Purdue's next four).

For Ohio State, this performance brings up the question of whether anyone in the conference can truly challenge them for the title. With a two game lead and just two really tough games remaining (at Wisconsin, at Purdue), there's a very good chance that Ohio State will be your regular season Big Ten champion, and they will probably finish with a three or four game cushion. The real race now appears to be for second place, barring some major upsets or injuries for the Buckeyes.

Tonight it's another Super Wednesday doubleheader on the Big Ten Network, and we'll again be liveblogging it! At 5:30pm CT, Iowa visits Penn State, followed by Northwestern searching for that elusive big win in their visit to Al Nolen-less Minnesota. We expect a visit from former Buckeye and current BTN analyst Jim Jackson, so come equipped with Geeky and non-Geeky questions alike!

- Posted by Mike Portscheller