Purdue Fired Up For IU

The big snowstorm of 2007 is here, which can make you wonder what affect it will have on the Indiana-Purdue game. More than likely, nothing. The Big Ten requires teams to arrive at the game location the night before, so the Hoosiers should get to Mackey Arena fine. The crowd might be a different story, although you'd like to think the roads will be fine by Wednesday afternoon.

In the meantime, the Boilers are firing themselves up about the game. They'd love to pay the Hoosiers back for last month's blowout loss. IU coach Kelvin Sampson understands that. Figure the Hoosiers will be ready for Purdue's early intensity. What they might not be ready for is continued hot shooting by guard David Teague. He killed Michigan State a week ago with some outrageous shooting. If he's that hot again, it could be a long night for the Hoosiers.

Indiana counters with its own hot-shooting guard, Rod Wilmont (pictured), and the kind of defense that can ruin even the best offense.

This game has NCAA tourney implications for both teams, more for Purdue, and we haven't been able to say that in several years. Snow or not, it should be a hot time at Mackey, and that's a welcome change for this rivalry, which IU has dominated lately.