Purdue Downs App St. 92-70

About twice a year, maybe three times if the stars all align, Appalachian State will play basketball on national television.  As an alumnus of the school, I always try to make it a point to watch them.  Or at least as much as I can take.  Tonight they squared off against the 23rd ranked team in the country, Purdue, in the Charleston Classic tournament.  Now, Appalachian State is pretty well known around the country, but it is definitely not for basketball.  While my expectations weren’t great before this game, it was really tough to stay tuned in.  From the start, App looked overwhelmed and overmatched.  They had the ‘deer in the headlight’ look about them as they played against one of the top Big 10 teams on ESPN.  They were very sloppy with the ball, turning the ball over early and often.  While they settled in much better in the 2nd half, they still totaled 15 for the game.  The tall and more athletic Purdue defense easily disrupted App State’s offense, who seemingly were forcing tough shots for a large part of the game.  Pre-season All-American and pick for player of the year Carsen Edwards also gave the Mountaineers all they could handle scoring 25 points with 4 made three-pointers.  It was very easy to see Edwards being a lottery pick and making his mark in the NBA with a smooth jumper and a score-at-will mentality.  Teammate Ryan Cline poured in 21 points with 4 three pointers as well.  Justin Forrest was the top-scorer for the Mountaineers with 14 points.  So, overall a tough game for App against a tough team.  If only App State could challenge Purdue to a payback game in football.