Purdue-Tennessee: Paradise Jam Final in 140 Characters or Less

I love covering sports on Twitter.  What I don't love quite as much?  Losing followers right and left because I send out hundreds of tweets in a two-hour time span.

With that predicament in mind, I'm taking a different approach for tonight's Top-10 showdown between Purdue and Tennessee in the Paradise Jam final.  I'll be providing instant analysis and commentary in tweet-sized nuggets, but I'll post them all at once instead of flooding my Twitter timeline with every last thought.

(Warning: this is coming from my Purdue-fan perspective.  Hopefully Volunteer supporters can appreciate it nonetheless.)

(Warning No. 2: I didn't put much score information in.  Purdue led 42-41 at halftime and won 73-72...but there's not a lot of room for scoreboard mentions in Twitter-sized updates!)

(Warning No. 3: all times listed are number of minutes remaining in that half.)

FIRST HALF

19:30    Keaton Grant, please throw outlet passes to your own team.  Thank you.

19:00    JaJuan Johnson, please make your free throws.  Thank you.

18:45    Tennessee tries a back-cut; if executed properly,  it’s a good way to loosen up Purdue’s defense.

18:30    How long before anyone makes a field goal?  Halftime?

18:15    Or not.  Tennessee leads 2-1 on a way-too-easy layup.

17:15    Tyler Smith just posterized Chris Kramer.  You can find that on YouTube tomorrow.

16:45    JaJuan Johnson with the rebound and the putback.  Purdue & rebounding don’t always go together.

16:30    Kelsey Barlow just checked in.  Kelsey Barlow just traveled.  Come back, LewJack.

16:00    Purdue’s five guys deep. Barlow, Bade, Smith, & Byrd can help, but not yet. Not consistently.

15:30    Hummel pump fake and mid-range floater.  Good sign: his offense has been streaky at best this year.

15:00    Another turnover.  Good thing Boilers are forcing some, because they’re giving the ball away almost every trip.

14:45    Kelsey Barlow with the “and-one” move off glass!  From redshirt candidate to sixth man in a week.

14:30    And here’s the press.  Purdue’s struggled against pressure the last few years.

14:00    Wow – Barlow to JJ for the 3-on-2 alley-oop. That’s how you break a press, highlight-style.

13:30    Mark Wohlford has checked in.  09-10 Wohlford = 08-09 Bobby Riddell? Discuss.

13:00    Purdue playing well and only leading 12-11.  This scares me.

12:55    Then again, I’m pretty much scared of everything.

12:50    Johnson just got his second foul. Big problem for a not-so-deep-especially-in-post team.

12:45    Back-to-back triples for the Vols.  

11:45    And now fellow front-line man Bade has two fouls.  Five-guard lineup, here we come…

11:40    Another turnover. Purdue’s getting into the holiday giving spirit a bit early, if you ask me.

11:25    Three fouls on Bade.  Oh boy.  Has he even been out there three minutes yet? 

11:10    12-ft jumpers in lane for E’Twaun Moore = layups for everyone else.  Easy.

10:30    Horrible foul call on UT alley-oop. Kramer took charge to no avail, Grant called for swipe up top.

10:00    Jumpers for E’Twaun Moore=lay… oh wait, we said that already.  Still true.

9:45    Barlow misses the front end.  Free throws in practice tomorrow, Coach?

9:10    E’Twaun Moore from 22 feet = amazing.  He’s keeping Purdue in it single-handedly.

9:00    Pressure still giving Purdue problems, even just trying to inbound.   How many timeouts do we get?

8:45    Tennessee just got their 107th three-point play of the game.  Or something like that.

8:20    Patrick Bade from 17 ft = probably should have passed to E’Twaun Moore.

8:00    Ryne Smith looks like he’s learned floor burns from Chris Kramer.  I like it.

7:00    Which number will be higher? Tonight’s fouls or costume changes at last night’s AMAs? Discuss.

6:45    Robbie Hummel for three!   It’s about time.  Or would that be “It’s about stinking time”?

6:30    Memo to Ryne Smith.  Please don’t foul three-point shooters. You’re a three-point shooter: you should know this.

6:30    And there’s the FIRST five-second call against Purdue. Notice I didn’t say “ONLY”.

6:00    Good press break for Purdue, finished with a layup. More of that, please?

4:40    Hummel and Moore have missed makeable jumpers the last two trips. When they’re not scoring, Purdue’s in trouble.

4:00    Whew, finally a break.  End-to-end action, Purdue down 4.  Considering foul trouble, not too bad.

3:20    Scoring from Chris Kramer.  Purdue fans define this as “a nice bonus”.

2:30     Frantic doesn’t begin to describe the pace at this point.

2:20    E’Twaun Moore just took a ten-foot baseline pull-up while only five feet from the rim.  Oops.

1:15    Hummel rediscovers his shooting stroke, at least momentarily.   Will it last?

1:00    My wife just said, “Somebody play some defense”. I concur wholeheartedly.
 
00:15    The Boilers listened to my wife.  Shot-clock violation, Tennessee.  Thanks, wife.

00:00    E’Twaun Moore beats the buzzer and gives Purdue a one-point lead.  I like this.

Halftime: Purdue 42, Tennessee 41

SECOND HALF

18:30    Giving up four quick points to start the half – not what I (or Painter, I’m guessing) had in mind.

18:15    Letting E’Twaun Moore shoot as often as he wants – exactly what I have in mind. Good from downtown!

17:45    Every time JJ takes a deep jumper, I cringe.  Unless he makes it, like just now.

17:21    It took Johnson exactly 159 seconds of second-half action to pick up foul number three.  Joy.

16:45    Mark Wohlford just made an off-balance 25-foot three-pointer. Never thought I’d type that sentence.

16:30    Too many layups for the Volunteers.  I’m ticked.  Guessing Painter is too.

16:25    In case you can’t tell, I’m like many fans in that I prefer to speak for the coach at all times.

16:00    Bad DJ Byrd: don’t give up a rebound so easily.  Good DJ Byrd: draw a charge seconds later.

15:45    Chris Kramer, you can miss those layups against Cal-State Northridge.  Not tonight.

15:30    Chris Kramer, all is forgiven. The floor burns leader just slid 30 feet and made a steal in the process! Highlight-reel!

14:45    Hummel swishes a three-pointer.  When his shot is on, the ball doesn’t even touch the rim.

14:30    Barlow’s floater swatted aside.  I could almost hear the defender say, “Don’t bring that soft stuff.”

14:00    Vols back on top, 53-52. Has there been a larger lead than 1 point in this back-and-forth game?

13:30    Tennessee’s Williams with a one-handed tip slam.  Highlight dunk #2 of the evening for the Vols.

13:00    Freshman=inconsistency.  Barlow’s D last trip down was horrible. This time? Picture-perfect.

12:15    Johnson with the one-handed jam!  I know what my computer desktop image will be tomorrow.

11:45     While the frosh aren’t ready yet, if Purdue makes a deep run in March, Painter will get a bunch of credit for throwing them to the wolves.

11:15    Barlow gets tangled up with a Volunteers player and tempers flare briefly.  Calm down, gentlemen.

11:05    And that was the worst inbounds pass of all-time. PURDUE hit UT on the dead run to their basket.  Ouch.

11:00    Another wasted timeout because of the Tennessee pressure. Hope Painter didn’t plan to use those later.

10:45    Hummel making a concerted effort to post up more.  Sadly, he’s still undersized against athletic Vol forwards.

10:35    And proving my genius, Hummel scores easily on block (albeit vs. a guard). I’ll shut up now.

10:15    Tennessee player falls down.  Purdue called for a foul (despite lack of contact).  Make-up call coming.

10:05    Make-up call.  That didn’t take long.

9:45    Barlow strong offensive board, then promptly dribbles ball out of bounds. The best of times, the worst of times…

9:30    Four fouls now for Johnson.  If Purdue’s bench is going to grow up quick, now’s the time.

 8:30    Kramer doing the little things.  Great rotation after Bade got beat, caused traveling whistle.

8:25    CK won’t show up in the stats for that, but it’s just as valuable as the steals he’s famous for.

8:00    Boilers down 59-58.  Offense running through Moore & Hummel every trip.  Still.

7:55    Just realized I’m wearing my Big Ten tourney champs T-shirt.  Good karma?

7:53    Just kidding…I don’t believe in karma.

7:50    Former Purdue football great Drew Brees just showed up on MNF halftime.  If only I believed in karma…

7:20    Moore 20 pts + Hummel 19 points + rest of team 23 points.  See why depth is concern?

6:20    E’Twaun Moore just ran an entire offensive possession by himself. Just like my PlayStation.

6:15    E’Twaun dribbled one way, then the other, cleared everybody out, and stuck a pull-up J with the clock dwindling.

5:50    Big drive from Vols to stop bleeding, cut lead to 3. Athletic teams can get to rim vs. Purdue.

5:20    EASY lay-in for Tyler Smith.  Did I mention that athletic teams can get to rim vs. Purdue?

4:45    5-pt lead for Purdue right back to 1, but Kramer hits huge 15-footer off dish from Moore.

4:00    Patrick Bade just drew his fourth foul.

3:55    And UT’s Williams misses the front end of a one-and-one.  Great foul, Bade.

3:35    JJ with the turnaround! Nice to have him back on the floor!

3:25    JJ with his fifth foul!  It was nice to have him back on the floor for that one trip!

3:15    In all seriousness, this is where I’m concerned about 09-10 Boilers. Getting Marcius back from injury will help.

3:15    My semi-prophetic tweet from pre-game: “Rebounding’s key. Also foul trouble. Boilers basically 5- deep.”
 
3:10    Wow, Moore drawing double-team 30 ft. from hoop as soon as he touches it.  That’s respect.

3:05    Begging the obvious question, can Hummel and company make the Vols pay?

3:00    Purdue up five.   Can their trademark defense close the deal?

2:25    Hummel dribbles the ball off his foot, dives on it, and Painter calls timeout.

2:25    Bruce Pearl is kindly asking the referee if Purdue had possession when Painter called time.

2:25    When I say kindly, I mean “quite animated and screaming at the top of his lungs”.

2:15    Purdue just missed three wide-open layups, one by Moore and two tips by Bade.  That sequence may come back to haunt them.

2:15    Admit to a great deal of amusement that Bruce Pearl is the one complaining about calls.  Whistles killed the Boilers early on.

2:03    And Pearl’s constant complaining pays off with an instant foul against Kramer.  Groan.

2:00    Two-minute warning.  Four-point game.  Where’s E’Twaun?

1:45    There he is.  Clear-out coming.

1:30    Hummel just missed a wide-open 15-footer.  All-Americans make that shot.

1:15    And Chism answers.  The lead is cut in half.

1:00    Purdue 72, Tennessee 70.  Here we go.

00:50    Kramer rejected from behind by Chism! Incredible defense.

00:40    Vols miss a wide-open three.  That would have put them on top. So close…

00:32    Hummel at the foul line, and he misses the first.  Bad time for that, in my humble opinion.

00:32    Bruce Pearl just called his second consecutive timeout: trying to ice the kicker, apparently.

00:32    Matt Painter is fired up in the huddle.  The Boilers have struggled in elite non-conference games lately.

00:32    After last year’s blowout loss to Duke and heartbreaking loss to Oklahoma, the Boilers have pointed to this game.

00:32    Hummel makes the second.  Three-point game.

00:17    Volunteers cut it to one on the drive by Bobby Maze.

00:17    Barlow at the line for Purdue.  Pressure situation for the freshman.

00:17    And he missed them both.

00:05    Chism misses the wide-open three off a botched defensive assignment!  Can’t get a better look than that!

00:02    Scramble for the rebound, and the Boilers corral it!  What a finish!

00:00    You’ll hear about this win during the seeding process in March.  Guaranteed.

00:00    Let’s get that trophy on the plane.

For more sports-on-Twitter from Tim Cary, follow @TimCary.