Boiler what?

So, remember the other day -- just yesterday, in fact -- when the Blob blobbed about how Big Ten basketball  was completely outside its mind so far this season?

Well, um ... ahem.

I don't know in what dimension you can explain a Purdue team that came in 9-7 beating the No. 8 team in the country by 30 points (actually 29, but who's counting), except that this is just the way the Big Ten rolls this season. Also that Mackey Arena, always a scary place for visitors, is giving the Boilermakers even more magical powers than usual this season. Also that you'd better be alert and well-armed if you're going up against a Matt Painter defense.

For whatever reason, Michigan State was not on Sunday, and the result was gorier than the first 25 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan." The Spartans were never in it, falling behind 19-4 and trailing 37-20 at halftime. They shot 35 percent, missed their first 10 shots from beyond the arc and 14 of 16 total, and kicked it away 18 times against the relentless Purdue pressure.

It all added up to the Spartans' worst loss ever as a top-ten team. It was also their fourth straight loss in Mackey, where the Purdues have now won 15 straight Big Ten games and seem to be a completely different team than they are on the road -- ridiculously so.

Consider, for instance, that the Purdue team that held the No. 8 team in the country 39 points below its season average (42 points as opposed to 81) is the same Purdue team that managed only 37 points itself in a 26-point loss at unranked Illinois just a week ago. And that that Purdue team has now beaten two top-ten teams (Virginia and Michigan State) by a combined 58 points in Mackey.

Ridiculous. Completely, utterly ridiculous.

And so very Big Ten-ish, this season.