Not dead yet

OK. So maybe that's not the new Purdue basketball team motto now.

Maybe it's more like, "Feeling much better."

And then:  "Well ... not much better. Still a bit sniffle-y. Still constructing impressive brick edifices from the 3-point arc. But better enough."

On second (or third thought), maybe the latter is all the motto Purdue needs.

Because, listen, last week, the Boilermakers were pretty awful, but still Better Enough to again take out their in-state "rival," Indiana, who was only horrendous. And last night, when everyone but everyone thought their guttering NCAA Tournament flame would finally be snuffed out, they somehow messed around and won a big roadie, beating 18th-ranked Iowa in Iowa City, 77-68.

As usual, no one remotely saw that coming. Especially the way they did it.

The way they did it was, they again shot the basketball like a blindfolded man throwing rocks at a squirrel. Missed 42 of their 67 attempts. Missed 19 of 27 from the arc. Kicked the ball away 15 times.

Of course, Iowa kicked it away 15 times, too.

And missed 22 of 30 from the arc, which is more like flinging the ball than shooting it. And made just 21 field goals in 56 attempts -- which was marginally better than Purdue (37.5 percent to 37.3 percent), but not enough to matter, especially when the Boilers had the Hawkeyes down 42-25 at halftime.

So once more Purdue wins ugly, and if this is what Matt Painter's guys have to do to get by, so be it. If they have to defend and defend and defend, and get career highs out of people (last night it was Eric Hunter's 19 points), and have Evan Boudreaux go for 14 points and 14 boards ... so be it.

All that matters, with one regular season game to go, is they're 16-14 and still alive for the Madness, which itself might be madness. All the Boilers have to do is beat Rutgers in Mackey Saturday, and then scrounge out a win in the Big Ten Tournament, and they're likely golden.

Of course, everyone now expects them to beat Rutgers in Mackey.

But of course, it's Purdue.

And so: Buyer beware.