Purdue looking for answers

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Ohio State's Jared Sullinger (0) celebrates his basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Updated: March 8, 2012 8:16AM

Into February, beyond the midway point of its Big Ten schedule, Purdue is still searching for answers.

About its fortitude. About its defense. About its consistency.

With a game at No. 3 Ohio State on Tuesday night, it’s not exactly an ideal situation for the Boilermakers to find those answers.

They have talked among themselves — including on Sunday, the day after their 78-61 loss to Indiana at Mackey Arena — about the season’s dwindling time.

“They should’ve had that sense of urgency before,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said on Monday. “That’s kind of our struggle right now. You need to have more of a fight to you, even when you miss shots. You need to have a fight to you, and we don’t have that right now.

“It’s there, because the guys we’re trying to get it from, aside from a couple freshmen, we’ve seen them do it before. So it’s not like one of those things where we’re asking them to do something they’re not capable of doing. We’re asking them to have discipline and play harder and give effort, and fight through adversity. All of our experienced guys have been there and done that. So we just have to get the job done. It’s really pretty simple. But it’s going to take some toughness and some discipline to accomplish that, because our opponents are pretty good.”

Including the conference-leading Buckeyes (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten), one of the legitimate contenders to win the national championship. They have talent all over the floor, led by player of the year candidate Jared Sullinger. Also among the collection, William Buford is an elite wing, and point guard Aaron Craft is a premier perimeter defender who also has the ability to drive to the basket, an ongoing issue for Purdue (15-8, 5-5).

“Some of it’s concentration, some of it’s effort and we have a couple guys that struggle to contain the dribble — the only thing we’re asking those guys is to try their best,” Painter said. “When you concentrate and you stay compact, you’re going to really help yourself. But when you don’t concentrate and you don’t stay compact and get all all over the place, and you don’t move well laterally, you just put yourself in a big-time hole. You have a flashing light over your head.”

The Boilermakers also were outrebounded 53-35 by the Hoosiers.

“The thing that we’re trying to get them to buy into is just the effort — sprinting, chasing loose balls, getting the long rebounds,” Painter said. “A lot of times when you get outrebounded, right away you say we don’t have the size to rebound. I’ll argue that by showing you film where we had guys on the perimeter that didn’t find their man when the shot goes up. So it just takes the discipline and the effort to block out and go get the ball. If we were doing that and just getting manhandled and not getting it, then I would just tip my hat to the opponent. But we’re not doing that.”

Ohio State has won 38 straight games at Value City Arena, with Purdue actually dealing the Buckeyes their last home loss, 60-57 on Feb. 17, 2010. The Boilermakers will need an extraordinary performance to even have a chance at a repeat result.

“In the big picture of things, you’re trying to go to the NCAA Tournament and do something special, and it always should be that way,” Painter said. “But it is a byproduct of youth not to be dialed in all the time. We have some old guys and young guys that haven’t had that consistent fire. We have to do that. Anything else, in my opinion, is excuses. We have to show some maturity, and play harder and be tougher, and do the things necessary to put us in position to win games.”