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f r o m e d i t o r b r i a n att said Mteam,Painter going many moons ago of his ���We���re n e u b e r t getting closer to be good. I just don���t know when.��� Well, Purdue isn���t there yet. A three-game winning streak over three teams going nowhere fast represents no arrival for this workin-progress Boilermaker team. But it is a start, at the very least. Purdue had to have these three games, all highly winnable ones in a season in which wins have been difficult to come by. While beating Penn State, Nebraska and West Virginia won���t change the Boilermakers��� season, they do represent a distinct step in the right direction. It wasn���t who Purdue beat, but how it looked doing it. Against Penn State, it labored for a half-plus before separating itself and cruising 60-42. At Nebraska, it controlled the first half and the start of the second, then made the necessary plays to stave off a Cornhusker comeback, and won 65-56. Purdue came into the West Virginia game expecting a grind. It won by 27, matching the first half at Clemson for this group���s peak showing to this point. So that���s three wins by an average margin of 18 points. It wasn���t all that long ago that Purdue could hardly get out of its own way, having to defeat its own self-destructive tendencies more so than whoever the opponent might have been. That���s not to say those issues can���t resurface during the next month-plus, but for the past couple weeks, Purdue���s looked like an exponentially improved basketball team. Like night and day. There was almost no way around Purdue getting better merely with the natural progression of time. That���s happened. It���s started with the freshmen. A.J. Hammons is growing into a force. Ronnie Johnson has reined in some of the scatter-brained play at point guard. And Rapheal Davis has been a key figure in the small lineups Purdue���s gone to the same way it did at this time a year ago. And he���s producing. Then there���s the older guys. D.J. Byrd is back to being D.J. Byrd of last season and Terone Johnson is doing so much more than scoring. Collectively, Purdue just has its legs under it. It���s playing recognizable basketball again, becoming a salty defensive team and cutting its turnovers in half, or so it seems. This is a tough team again. Purdue���s a solid basketball team again. Had it played all season the way it���s playing right now, here���s guessing it���d be 15-3 ��� 14-4 at worst ��� and ranked in a rebuilding season. But what���s done is done. At the end of the season, Purdue���s most important games won���t be thought to be the ones it let slip early in the season, but rather the ones it did or didn���t win in the final six weeks. Purdue just took care of business against three beatable opponents. It has momentum now, when it needs it the most. It travels to mighty Michigan Thursday for the first of a half dozen remaining games against teams that are currently ranked in this week���s top 25, with Illinois having just dropped out of the rankings. The Boilermakers��� most grueling tests still lie ahead and there���s no telling how they���ll fare. But at the very least, Purdue looks up to the challenge more so than it has at any other point this year. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com Points that count. rewards you want most. Join thousands of purdue fans who reach for their official purdue Visa�� and get rewarded for things you pay for anyway. shop at millions of places worldwide and watch your rewards add up fast. redeem points for 1% cash back, merchandise or a cash contribution to the John purdue club. Make every point count. Request your Purdue Visa today.* 765.497.3328 // 800.627.3328 // purduefed.com *Subject to credit approval. No annual fee. Balance transfers and cash advances not eligible for rewards points. This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 18��� ������ 4