AP Photo/Tom Strattman
E'twaun Moore in action earlier this season
Boston College looks to rebound from its disappointing loss to Saint Louis when they take on the #10 ranked Purdue Boilermakers in Madison Square Garden Wednesday night at 7pm. This will be a tough test for the Eagles, as Purdue returns most of their talent from last year's team which finished the season 25-9.
Like BC, Purdue is a young team. The top 3 scorers are all sophomores. Forward Robbie Hummel leads the team with 16.3 points per game. Hummel has good size at 6'8 212 and is a talented 3 point shooter (.566 % this year). He is also a sound defender and rebounder averaging nearly 6 boards a game. I think we will see Trapani covering him. This offense revolves around the play of guard E'Twaun Moore. The 6'4 sophomore is very athletic and versatile. A very aggressive and quick defender, he can force plenty of turnovers and move the ball up the court. He uses his quickness and finesse to penetrate the lane and finish around the rim or dish the ball off. He plays up-tempo and thrives when the team is pushing the ball in transition. Just to give you a little indication of his athletic ability; he is the team's leading rebounder at 6.3 per game. Moore can get himself into trouble sometimes by trying to do a little too much with the ball and by getting into foul trouble defensively. He will create a mis-match for the Eagles, but it is up to BC to keep him from running wild and causing turnovers in the back court. The Boilermakers top big man and third scoring option is JaJuan Johnson. Johnson is a slender 6'10 215 center, but he fits Purdue's style of play. He is only a sophomore, so his offensive post moves are raw, but he gets most of his points off put backs and transition buckets. His defense is nothing to write home about, although he is developing into a shot blocking threat (1.8 per game).
Purdue is a team with loads of depth. They have a couple good seniors coming off the bench for them contributing valuable minutes. They rotate their players in and out. They are not a team that is gonna dominate you physically, rather they will try to out run you up and down the court. They try to force turnovers and score in transition and so far this year it has worked very well for them. Purdue is talented, but this is a winnable game for BC. Our styles of play and personnel are similar this year, and with two young teams you never know what you might get. I am looking for BC to come out hot early. They will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after the upset to Saint Louis. Whether or not they can maintain a lead will rest squarely on the shoulder's of senior leader Tyrese Rice. Wednesday night could be another chance for him to prove his doubters wrong and knock off a top ten opponent.
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