Benched Boilermakers back
Julian Dickinson
It appears benched Purdue starters Chris Booker and Brett Buscher have paid their debt to the team and will return to their starting roles against Oklahoma on Thursday night.
Head coach Gene Keady said he held the pair out of Saturday's win over Chicago State for disciplinary reasons, but didn't offer any details about which rules were broken.
"Discipline to me is 'what are you going to do and how are you going to do it?' " Keady told the Indianapolis Star. "You're going to do it right, and we're going to do it with some goals in mind. This was kind of a Purdue basketball family issue. They weren't doing the 'what's' and the 'how's' right, bottom line."
Both players sat out the first half and entered the game with 15:58 left to play. Booker finished the match with four points in 12 minutes while Buscher notched nine points in 11 minutes.
The two senior forwards are key elements of the Boilermaker's gameplan. Booker has been one of the team's most effective weapons down low this season, scoring 9.5 points and collecting 6.3 rebounds per game. Buscher is considered Purdue's best player in the post and had a season-high 10-point performance against Seton Hall Nov. 28.
Keady will need them both in the lineup to preserve Purdue's perfect record against the similarly undefeated Sooners.
Oklahoma, much like Purdue, has also made their mark playing an aggressive, defense-oriented style. They allowed a season-high 77 points against Michigan State Saturday, but pulled out an emotional overtime win against Purdue's Big Ten rivals. The Sooners have otherwise held opponents to 58.7 points per game this season.
Keady says he knows what to expect from Oklahoma - and it won't be a free ride.
"This will be a lot like a Big Ten game," Keady told the Star. "I expect this contest to be very intense. [Sooners head coach] Calvin [Sampson] has his young kids playing very hard, and for them to go up and win at Michigan State, that's a testament for how good they really are."
Purdue will be on the road where they will have to overcome a hostile crowd and an 0-3 all-time record in Norman, Oklahoma.
"We are going to be tested by the crowd and the noise, which is the way it should be," said Keady. "It will be great to play against a team that will show us what we need to work on for the Big Ten season."
Odds are not yet available for this game.
Julian Dickinson
It appears benched Purdue starters Chris Booker and Brett Buscher have paid their debt to the team and will return to their starting roles against Oklahoma on Thursday night.
Head coach Gene Keady said he held the pair out of Saturday's win over Chicago State for disciplinary reasons, but didn't offer any details about which rules were broken.
"Discipline to me is 'what are you going to do and how are you going to do it?' " Keady told the Indianapolis Star. "You're going to do it right, and we're going to do it with some goals in mind. This was kind of a Purdue basketball family issue. They weren't doing the 'what's' and the 'how's' right, bottom line."
Both players sat out the first half and entered the game with 15:58 left to play. Booker finished the match with four points in 12 minutes while Buscher notched nine points in 11 minutes.
The two senior forwards are key elements of the Boilermaker's gameplan. Booker has been one of the team's most effective weapons down low this season, scoring 9.5 points and collecting 6.3 rebounds per game. Buscher is considered Purdue's best player in the post and had a season-high 10-point performance against Seton Hall Nov. 28.
Keady will need them both in the lineup to preserve Purdue's perfect record against the similarly undefeated Sooners.
Oklahoma, much like Purdue, has also made their mark playing an aggressive, defense-oriented style. They allowed a season-high 77 points against Michigan State Saturday, but pulled out an emotional overtime win against Purdue's Big Ten rivals. The Sooners have otherwise held opponents to 58.7 points per game this season.
Keady says he knows what to expect from Oklahoma - and it won't be a free ride.
"This will be a lot like a Big Ten game," Keady told the Star. "I expect this contest to be very intense. [Sooners head coach] Calvin [Sampson] has his young kids playing very hard, and for them to go up and win at Michigan State, that's a testament for how good they really are."
Purdue will be on the road where they will have to overcome a hostile crowd and an 0-3 all-time record in Norman, Oklahoma.
"We are going to be tested by the crowd and the noise, which is the way it should be," said Keady. "It will be great to play against a team that will show us what we need to work on for the Big Ten season."
Odds are not yet available for this game.
