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volume 23, EX 17 • jan. 14, 2013 Inside | Boilers stay at .500 8-10 | Women go OT 18–19 Lafayette Legend: Rick Mount 16–17 | Football notes 23-25 building blocks BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com ranked opponents Threeagames againsttoitstart Big Ten play, and cellar-dweller and Purdue came out of 2-2. Now the Boilermakers have a chance to get a streak going. With consistent rebounding efforts throughout the season and a recent improvement of limiting turnovers, Coach Matt Painter is heading to the next task to get his Purdue team rolling: Getting guys to understand what's a good shot. That can be tough sometimes with so many young players on the floor — freshmen guards Ronnie Johnson and Rapheal Davis have lowered their heads and bullied their ways to the rim on several ill-advised occasions — but more frustration likely is coming from the experienced players who are making bad decisions. Though the Boilermakers shot 45 percent against a zone defense in its 60-42 victory against Penn State Sunday, Painter still was hung up on Monday on the poor shot Tom Campbell selection the previous game in a 74-64 loss With as many as three true freshmen in the starting lineup, Coach Matt Painter has had his patience tried a time or two in the early going of the conference season. The eighth-year Purdue coach still wants better shot selection by his team. to Ohio State. THE Numbers 8 5 or 6 11 42 Victories needed from the men's team to guarantee a .500 finish for the season, and thus be able to qualify for postseason play. The number of games, arguably, that the Boilermaker men will be favored in for the remainder of the year, based on where things stand today. How many years since the women have won a regular-season Big Ten title. With three wins this week, the Boilermakers could take an important step toward ending that streak. Penn State's point total against Purdue. It was the lowest output by an opponent in a men's conference game since the Boilermakers defeated Iowa 63-40 on Feb. 13, 2010, a span of 46 league games. In that game, veterans like D.J. Byrd, Terone Johnson and Anthony Johnson launched some poor three-pointers or had wild drives that didn't pay off. "I knew we took some poor shots against them, but after watching the film, it was alarming to see the bad shots we took," Painter said. "I thought we had some guys really abuse the freedom they have on offense. If they would just take their time a little bit and move the ball a little bit more when it's not there, we're going to get a good shot. "Hopefully we can do a better job. I thought we'd done a better job the last couGoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 17 • 1