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Against Iowa, Purdue lost an 11-point lead with eight minutes remaining and trailed by three with two minutes to play, before rallying to tie the game and win in OT. The Boilermakers have gotten away with it in those games, thanks in part to the vast improve- ment they've made defensively since the start of the season. Against opponents the caliber of Indiana, Michigan State or Michigan, they won't, if Purdue's so fortunate as to even be in such a position in the first place. "We've had some good mo- The following are our thoughts now, in the last week of January. Kyle Charters: "The next two weeks will go a long ways toward determining whether Sharon Versyp's crew will compete for a regular-season Big Ten crown. After IU Thursday, the Boilermakers have Penn State (Feb. 4) and Michigan (Feb. 10). Win all three and Purdue is in driver's seat, but lose one and it's likely to need help down the stretch." Stacy Clardie: "Seems like the Bears fans have been vocal about Purdue's hiring of John Shoop as offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach. I admit, I didn't watch the Bears intently in 2001-03 while Shoop was there, but I'm surprised at how strong the reaction has been. It was 10 years ago, and one would think his offensive game-planning has evolved. Give the guy a chance before condemning him, no?" Alan Karpick: "The important game for many fans is Wednesday night against Indiana, but for this team, the more essential contest may be Saturday at Northwestern. Purdue is still entrenched in the mode of hoping to win games it can win, and also hoping it is enough to get it to the postseason." Brian Neubert: "Yeah, so Purdue basketball has a big game coming up against Indiana. Perhaps you've heard. It's a game that four or five weeks ago I'm not sure Purdue could have won. Now I'm a little less unsure after the Boilermakers have won four of their past five. The Iowa game was ugly, but a short turnaround sandwiched between two top-five opponents, eh. At least they won." ments in that area," Painter said, "but then we've had other times where we just don't understand time and score about getting a quality shot, especially late in the game. We've been inconsistent in that area. Sometimes you look at a stat sheet and say, 'Hey, you only turned the ball over eight times,' and think you did a good job. But bad shots are turnovers. We have to be able to take good shots across the board and still be aggressive. It's a hard thing to do, but we need to be more consistent." j "I was with him all the time (and) it wasn't always just about football. We would have a bunch of meetings where we wouldn't talk anything about football. It was just life or whatever was going on, current events, stuff like that. We got to know each other very well personally, which I think helps." Texans' backup QB T.J. Yates on John Shoop, Purdue's new offensive coordinator and QB coach who held the same positions at North Carolina. TWEET OF THE WEEK "Another pair of Bmaker bball wins, haven't watched a loss yet. But 5 OT's in 2 wks is wearing me out! How 'bout we just beat IU in reg?" Mitch Daniels (@PurdueMItch) in his first tweet Monday since becoming university president GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 19 • 2