Basketball Preview: Purdue vs. Eastern Michigan (Saturday, 2:00 pm, ESPN3)

After seeing the Boilers finally put two solid halves together against Boston College, play with consistent energy and heart, and win yet another ACC -Big Ten Challenge, they'll take on another formidable opponent on Saturday when the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

I couldn't run the Jimmy Clausen photo again, so enjoy this eagle trying to eat some emus

What, you don't think EMU will be a tough win?  Then clearly you forget about last year's loss in Ypsilanti.  That game was a shocking display of Purdue turnovers and abysmal shooting.  Hopefully playing in Mackey will be a little more favorable for the good guys.

Just like last year's game, this one will be on ESPN3, so get excited to stare at your laptop screen and crappy feed and announcing.

Quick, give me the quick details on why Purdue will beat these guys:
I famous sage once said, "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."  Painter will have this team ready on Saturday, and if they click anything like Wednesday night, beating the Eagles shouldn't be a problem.  Eastern Michigan is 5-2 with their only losses coming to ranked Kentucky and UMass teams, but their wins haven't been anything special, coming against pretty horrible teams (insert jab about Purdue's wins here).

There's only one snag, and a snag that can really get ugly: EMU plays a zone defense.  While Painter may not be the worst coach in the world against a zone, he's not great, as the team rarely practices against it with their man-to-man defensive focus.  So this game could be closer than it looks on paper, but the Boilers still have significantly more talent than the EMUs and as long as the don't have a horrible shooting day (including the FTs) and don't get sloppy, they can notch a win.  Hopefully Stephens is ready to shoot the lights out.

Our picks:
Line: Purdue -10.5

Erik: Purdue 70 - Eastern Michigan 68

Kirk: Purdue 68 - Eastern Michigan 60

Boiler Up!

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