Three Thoughts is a new feature GoldandBlack.com will run every Monday morning in-season.
ON WISCONSIN
By any objective measure, Purdue's had a great season. It's 24-5 and as the calendar turns to March, still holds credible Big Ten championship hopes and is positioned for a cushy seed to the NCAA Tournament.
That said, the Boilermakers' wrecking ball of a start to the season and some of the unique talent this team has has made that 13-5 Big Ten record a bit of a mixed bag, most recently Saturday's bang-your-head-against-the-wall loss at Michigan State, the fourth of those five losses that Purdue really should have won. I know it sounds myopic of me to say that, but you watched the games.
There's this certain something about Purdue that sometimes goes missing. Harp on defense all you want, but those oft-quoted defensive metrics are very much tied to the turnover problem that might just be baked into this group's DNA. I mean, it's the end of February and that issue bottomed out on Saturday in East Lansing. Michigan State pretty much just got out of the way and set Purdue up to beat itself and the visitors obliged.
