With a share of the Big Ten Conference regular season crown under its belt, Purdue basketball will look to capture the title outright tonight when it travels to 12th ranked Illinois.
And, if you think the Boilermakers are content with a share of the title, you would be wrong. Purdue basketball head coach Matt Painter said there is still plenty in front of his team to play for, beginning with pride.
“We have a lot of respect for Illinois and their players. They’re very talented. And just the fact that you want to compete, you want to get a victory, you want to win. For no other reason, not improving resumes, not helping your seen in the tournament – even if all those things are true – just trying to be better than the guy in front of you. I think that’s one thing our guys will look at from a pride standpoint,” Painter said.
Throw in the fact that Illinois has Terrance Shannon Jr. in the lineup and the Illini have Purdue’s full and undivided attention. Shannon missed the first game between the two programs after being ruled ineligible. Shannon appealed and has been reinstated and has averaged 22 points per game since.
“They’re more explosive. You know, with his ability to make plays in the open court, his ability to break down the defense. He can get to the basket and hurt you, and get to the free-throw line. But he also does a great job of kind of freezing you when he does that. Choose a step back 3’s are just as catch and shoot 3’s. So very talented, very versatile, skilled. Throw him in there with Marcus (Domask) Coleman Hawkins all the guys up. He makes them a more balanced team. They have so many weapons and he adds to it,” Painter said.
In the first game, Purdue basketball (26-3, 15-3) picked up an 83-78 win at Mackey Arena over Illinois.
“Purdue has to do a good job defending Illinois,” Painter said.
While Purdue has a share of the Big Ten title locked up, Illinois has a Senior Night and a chance to play the role of spoiler. That is something Illinois coach Brad Underwood understands.
“We were never in it. We made a run, but they just whooped us. They physically manhandled us. They were more ready to play. They controlled the boards. They dominated the offensive glass. We scored a boatload of points in the second half, but you can’t dig yourself out of a hole when you’re 20-4. It was a pretty thorough butt kicking to be honest. We were playing without Terrance and first nasty environment. They punched us and it took us a while to get off the mat. We have to match the physicality in the game because we did not the first time,” Underwood said.
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