Purdue Roundball Roundup: Purdue's competitive streak, Stefanovic and more

Last year, there were three teams in the Big Ten who were relatively new to winning, who went about it with a certain brashness, a distinct aggressiveness, a clear swagger that Purdue especially didn't handle particularly well.

Those teams were Illinois, Rutgers and Penn State.

All of them pressured Purdue's guards, took it to its big men, got in Boilermaker players' faces and let them hear about it the whole time.

Purdue's record in games against those teams: 0-5.

Among the lowlights from those games: A 37-point showing in Champaign in which Purdue set a school record for worst shooting percentage; a dreadful first half at Rutgers; a dreadful second half vs. Illinois as part of an Illini blowout in Mackey Arena, and an overtime home setback to the Scarlet Knights on a day when Purdue had to win to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

This week, Purdue visits Rutgers Tuesday night and Illinois on Saturday. They're ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, in this week's AP poll, both teams having all their key players back from a season ago.

Purdue believes it's different from last season, better prepared to raise its competitive level to match teams like these.

"I think we're starting to get that (edge) as well," junior Sasha Stefanovic said. "I think last year, you'd go into the game, and you'd think certain styles and the way people play kind of would give you trouble. But this year, I don't think that way at all. I think we could go into every single game and have the ability to win and go get a win on the road. I feel like this year, we're a lot more competitive to where we're able to accept the challenges that are ahead of us and just give it our all."

This week will be a chance to prove it, for certain.