well, THAT was a big time win

i'll be the first to say that this year's team does have a different feel about it. they are able to compete with teams which are, at least on paper, better than them. you can tell that the NU players feel a difference too, as Jeremy Nash was jawing a bit with E'Twaun Moore with about five minutes left.

i'm absolutely stunned at the lack of impact from JaJuan Johnson today. the crowd gave a big cheer when he fouled out, but he really did nothing. after seeing NU struggle with Mike Tisdale, i expected the Boilers to go to Johnson again and again. NU got a little help today with both Hummell and Kramer getting a little banged up, but clearly they were not going to fade down the stretch like they did against Wisconsin. free throw shooting was HUGE, especially considering that NU was shooting 65% in conference games today.

NU is still essentially a five-man team (does Marcotullio realize the season continued into 2010?) and those fouls in the last minute were frustrating. but let's face it, there was a lot that went right. NU dominated the boards 42-23 and shot 47% to Purdue's 35%. you think back to all those threes that NU shot against NC A&T, but today they were only 4/10. considering that NU lost the turnover battle 16-6, it appears this team can win in different ways.

for me the key moments were those four made 3PT FGs, as they came in pairs at crucial moments of the game. the first two came less than a minute apart in the first half, when Juice woke up the crowd and gave the Wildcats their first lead. Crawford's two threes were actually further apart in the second half, but the first gave NU the lead (which they would never again relinquish) and the last one helped seal it. credit NU's defense with holding Purdue without a FG from 5:52 to 0:38.

finally, i have to acknowledge the play of Kyle Rowley. a friend described his play today as "not awful" and "at least he's becoming a somewhat competent defensive rebounder." so he's got that going for him.