Purdue Boilermakers "Granted" a Win Over Illinois

As sleet hit the tents on a packed sidewalk at Purdue University, the Paint Crew was riled up for what was to come the next day: the clash of Purdue and Illinois.

If I heard that JaJuan Johnson was to play 35 minutes, be 1 for 10 from the field, and end up with 5 points, I would have picked Purdue to lose in this game.

The resilient Boilermakers, however, where able to hold off Illinois with a stunning effort from Keaton Grant.

The Boilermakers where reaching for their keys, as Keaton Grant, who has been spectacular in his last game against Ohio State, and did it again versus Illinois.  Grant has been 50 percent from the three-point line the past two games, and scored 13 against Ohio State and 15 against Illinois. 

With horrendous games by both Hummel and Johnson, Grant has picked up for each of them, for Hummel at Ohio State and for Johnson vs. Illinois.  

It is really nice to see the resurgence of Keaton as he heads into his final games as a Boilermaker

Boilermaker fans came into the season with high hopes regarding the 6'4” senior guard from Florida, but were somewhat disappointed from the get go.  Through out this year he has averaged a mere 6.4 points, 25 percent from the 3-Point line, and only 1.8 assists each game.  

Part of the reason Grant has been struggling, was the absence of Lewis Jackson. Jackson makes Purdue's guards play quicker in practice, and allow them to get a step up on the competition.

Illinois played a great game against the Boilermakers. Yet in the end, the Boilermakers prevailed 75 to 65.

Illinois was led by a record number of assists by Demetri McCamey with 16. The Illini were lead in scoring by Mike Davis with 16 Points.

The Boilermakers shooting was absolutely horrendous throughout the game, shooting 35.6 percent compared to the 49.1 percent of Illinois from the field.  

Purdue was led by junior Robbie Hummel who had 22 points and 12 rebounds.  Hummel had a great comeback game after having a poor performance Wednesday against Ohio State.  He rebounded well, and dominant on the defensive end.

Bruce Weber also put on a great whining performance in his return to Mackey Arena.  He reportedly insulted Gabe Clark, a Sophomore in Chemical engineering, when he was on the sidelines for a half-time competition. Clark approached Weber at half-time saying, "Hey Bruce!  You're a Child!" 

Clark was referring to the constant complaining of Weber during the course of the first half. Weber proceeded to get into Clark's face, verbally assault him, then pulled a page from Roy Williams' book and tried to get him thrown out.

Purdue's ushers responded in favor of Clark and he proceeded to compete in the competition and watch the rest of the game. Weber later received a technical foul for his shenanigans which finally put the nail in the coffin of his team. Everyone knows that college basketball is full of emotion and passion, Weber, of all people, should realize this.

Purdue was granted some great luck when Ohio State rebounded from their loss against Purdue to beat Michigan State.  This sets Purdue all alone in No. 1 of the Big Ten.  They are in the drivers seat for the title, as they will battle the Spartans on Sunday for what could determine the Big Ten Championship.

First, the Boilers must travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers, which will be a tough game as the Barn has not been friendly to the Boilermakers in the past.

It would be really easy to have a let down loss in this one and the Boilermakers should stay focused however and win easily.  I will take the Boilermakers by 13 in the game Wednesday, 75-62.