Fans of the Wisconsin Badgers do not need an explanation or recounting of how volatile and inconsistent their basketball team has been in this weird, wacky 2020 Big Ten season. The Purdue Boilermakers, who visit the Kohl Center on Tuesday night in the second game of the season series with Wisconsin, have been even more volatile than the Badgers this season… which is saying something.
It is a dynamic which keeps emerging in the Big Ten this season, with Iowa, Indiana and Illinois also exhibiting the same characteristics, and Rutgers being the ultimate home-versus-road example of a Jekyll-and-Hyde team: Big Ten teams often have a large gulf between their best and worst selves. Teams in the conference this year frequently play really well or really poorly, with nothing in between. Pendulum swings from excellence to ineptitude have been frequent this season, and they emerged this past weekend: Indiana — after beating Iowa at home — no-showed on the road at Michigan. Illinois had nothing to offer at Rutgers.
Purdue bombed at Ohio State, losing 68-52.
Purdue — like several other Big Ten teams — pinballs from an A-plus level of form to a D-minus or F, and rarely plays at a boring but steady B-minus level which offers stability and predictability.
Check out Purdue in Big Ten play this season, casting aside non-conference games. The Boilermakers have had these margins of victory in their Big Ten games to this point in the season:
Plus-14 (Northwestern)
Minus-14 (Nebraska)
Plus-5 (Minnesota)
Minus-26 (Illinois)
Minus-6 (Michigan)
Plus-29 (Michigan State)
Minus-7 (Maryland)
Minus-17 (Illinois)
Plus-19 (Wisconsin)
Minus-7 (Rutgers)
Plus-3 (Northwestern)
Plus-36 (Iowa)
Plus-12 (Indiana)
Minus-12 (Penn State)
Minus-16 (Ohio State)
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 15 Big Ten games, with 10 being decided by 12 points or more, only three games decided by two possessions (6 points or fewer), and only ONE game decided by one possession (3 points or fewer).
Purdue has lost twice to Illinois by a combined total of 43 points, and yet the Boilermakers beat both Michigan State and (in non-conference play) Virginia by 29 points apiece!
This team is nuts! Instructively, a good portion of the Big Ten has been the same in 2020. What a wild year.