Transition is OK? Isnt it?
We knew it would be tough but this year was a kick in the gut to the program as the regression from last years effort saw the team go 10-10 in the Big-Ten, 17-13 overall after a mixed bag of non-Conference performances.
Losses to established programs such as Louisiana State, Oregon State and Butler (Sunshine Shootout) set the tone for the upcoming season as wins over minor schools did little to favor Purdue in the rankings.
Things didnt get any better once Conference play began. Illinois and Michigan put us 0-2 and it soon became 2-4 as Penn State and Ohio State added more woe to Purdue, as wins over Maryland and Wisconsin appeared to be a false start.
Chadderson II at this point remarked "We are masters of our own downfall. There isnt much we have done well so far and thats disappointing as when you practice you expect the players to put that into place on gameday. We arent doing that, I feel some players are holding back and they will need to be careful as next year we are already in a position to shake things up"
With Chad-Chads words ringing in their ears, 3 wins in 4 got things back on course. Maryland fell again 69-48, then revenge over Michigan 88-70 saw all 5 starters score double-digits, led by Roy Jones (21). We would add wins over Indiana and Illinois, but somehow fell into another losing rut, this time 3 straight defeats on our own court left us at 6-9 and staring down a barrell.
It would require a miracle of sorts to get back on track, that would come with big wins at Northwestern, before beating the #5 Buckeyes 77-69 and #24 Minnesota 72-64 as we moved to 9-9. Our final 2 games saw us split a loss vs #4 Iowa, before our 2nd win over Indiana saw us claim 5th in the standings on the back of a .500 record.
A harsh dose of reality for Purdue before Tournament play. Things would need to improve as the fear of 'one and done' will loom large for the Boilermakers.
It hadnt been the best of seasons but at 10-10 we still had a shot at the Big-Ten Tournament, albeit having to play in. With the team needing to win to gain an automatic berth at the NCAA show, we would put together impressive wins over Nebraska (Harris 23pts / Floyd 24pts) and then over #24 Minnesota, as we moved into the Final 4.
There we would face Indiana a team we convincingly beat twice in Conference play, yet when it mattered we fell off a cliff, losing with a whimper shooting under 40% to miss out on a Championship game.
A less than stellar season left Purdue getting an at large slot in the play-in games at Dayton. That paired us up with Wisconsin, a team we had beat earlier in Conference play and a team like us who finished at 10-10 in the standings.
Unfortunately thats where our upper-hand ended as the Badgers led early and would at one point lead by 20. Brandon Duncan top scored for Wisconsin and although Josh Harris sank 20pts, we couldnt muster any kind of rally falling to a 63-76 loss and a premature exit from the Tournament.
"Ill be honest" said Chadderson II, "I have to take some of the blame here, we failed to recruit and it was essentially the same group of guys minus our 2 seniors taking on the challenge this time round. Next year we have alot of potential ready to use, this wont have done us any harm, you need to take setbacks and use them as a positive, I fully expect the guys who will return to suit up and be ready to compete at the business end of it all"
