WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- If 15th-ranked Purdue needs incentive to avoid a possible letdown on Friday night against Georgia State, Boilermaker point guard P.J. Thompson is ready to build a strong case against complacency.Purdue (1-1) played with great passion and effort in Monday nights 79-76 loss to reigning national champion and third-ranked Villanova in the Gavitt Tipoff Games at Mackey Arena.The Boilermakers took two 3-point shots during the final 10 seconds in a bid to force overtime, but neither shot found its mark.Now, Purdue must brace for an opponent with lots of Indiana ties.Thompson, whose half-court shot at the first-half buzzer Monday night tied the Villanova game at 39, knows Georgia State will be eager to catch the Boilermakers napping.Panthers head coach Ron Hunter, who entered his sixth season with 103 victories, was the head coach at IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis for 17 seasons and lived in the Indianapolis Pike High School district, where his son, R.J., was a standout performer before joining his dad when Ron Hunter took the Georgia State job.R.J. Hunter plays for the Chicago Bulls and is a good friend of Thompson.Thompson grew up near the Hunter residence and was friendly with the Hunter family, although Thompson attended Indianapolis Brebeuf Jesuit High School.Ive always admired R.J, and knowing coach Hunter, he will have his team ready to play Friday night, Thompson said Wednesday. Coach Hunter likes to change defenses a lot, so its a huge game for them, and a huge game for us.We need to bring the same kind of intensity against Georgia State as we brought against Villanova. I was talking to (assistant) coach (Kenneth) Lowe after the Villanova game, and he told me that if we bring that intensity every night, we wont lose many games.Purdue knows that Georgia States leading scorer -- 6-foot-8 senior forward Jeremy Hollowell -- will play with lots of intensity. Hollowell, who played high school basketball at Indianapolis Lawrence Central, was recruited by Purdue coach Matt Painter but ended up picking Indiana.Hollowell transferred to Georgia State and is averaging 21.5 points and five rebounds.Purdue forward Vince Edwards, who had 10 points, four rebounds and eight assists in Mondays loss to Villanova, believes Georgia State will encounter a Boilermaker team that is eager to play after its performance against the 2016 national champions.We are excited about where we are now and how we can keep building, Edwards said. There really is no ceiling as to where this team can go.We had some miscommunication on ball screens and some other mistakes against Villanova, but they are little things that we can correct. Thats one of the reasons we are excited to get right back out there and play Georgia State.Georgia States primary task will be coping with Purdues 7-2 junior center Isaac Haas and 6-8 sophomore power forward Caleb Swanigan.Haas is averaging 22 points and 4.5 rebounds, and Swanigan is averaging 21.5 points and 14 rebounds. Haas has made 17 of 21 shots from the field, and Swanigan has made 15 of 26. Cheap Juventus Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Claudio Marchisio Jersey . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/ . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Mario Mandzukic Jersey . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Federico Bernardeschi Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. METAIRIE, La. -- Saints running back Tim Hightower isnt about to assume New Orleans ground game will return to its usual form in Tampa this week -- even if last weeks anemic performance looked more like an anomaly than a trend.You cant look at what you did three weeks ago or what you did a month ago or at the beginning of the season, Hightower said. You have to look at, `Hey, why didnt we get it done this (past) week. Weve got to figure out what we didnt do last week and get it corrected.Hightower and several other key members of the Saints offense echoed the same theory about what caused the drop-off in production on the ground in a 28-13 loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday, when New Orleans rushed for only 50 yards.The problem wasnt so much an inability to execute blocks or read the defense, they said. It was about a lack of opportunity to establish a rhythm because of how poorly the Saints executed on third downs, whether they were passing or running.If we can learn anything for last week ... its so important and imperative for us to sustain drives, keep the momentum going, keep the ball control, Hightower said. Then youll get more runs. Youll get more favorable runs. But when were three-and-out, three-and-out, teams can just hold the ball and try to play keep away from us and its not going to work out well.The Saints, who boast the No. 1 offense in the NFL, currently rank 12th in rushing, averaging 109.3 yards per game. When the Saints have run well, theyve been tough to beat.In Week 8, when Hightower rushed for more than 100 yards, the Saints beat Seattle. In Week 9, Ingram gained 158 yards and Hightower 87 in a lopsided victory at San Francisco. Then in Week 11, Ingram gained 146 and Hightower 51 in a rout of the Rams.A good running game is a quarterbacks best friend because it makes the defense respect it, Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said. `Then when you go to play-action you get bigger windows (to throw). And Brees, his accuracy is off the charts.A few days after that victory over Los Angeles, Lions safety Glover Quin said he felt the key to stopping the Saints offense began with shutting down the running game. Ingram broke loose for one 22-yard gain against Detroit, but had only 15 yards on his six other carries. Hightower gained just 5 yards on two carries, one of which went for no gain on a drive-stalling third-and-1 play.ddddddddddddWe want to be balanced, obviously, right guard Jahri Evans said, adding that linemen dont particularly like back-peddling in pass protection all game. That essentially forces offensively linemen to play defensively against attacking pass rushers rather than firing off the line of scrimmage and inflicting physical punishment on defensive players.First, it comes with just having the opportunities, Evans said of getting the running game going again. Getting the opportunity means converting on third down.For the season, the Saints lead the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of 49.7 percent. They converted six of 13 third downs (46 percent) against Detroit, but also saw three drives stall on interceptions thrown by Drew Brees. The result: New Orleans ran 62 total plays on offense, about 11 below its average coming in. All but 23 of those plays were run in the second half, when New Orleans was behind and more inclined to throw.Brees said if the Saints can sustain long drives and dont fall behind by much, if at all, at Tampa Bay, that should set the stage for a resurgent ground game.We didnt get the number of plays, Brees said when asked for his take on why the running games production plummeted last week. If you dont sustain drives and you get behind, then all of a sudden youre in a position where it changes the game plan a little bit and you become a little more one-dimensional. You have to manufacture some bigger plays to get back in the game. That was the real reason for the lack of rushing attempts, and therefore production in yards.Game notes Three players missed practiced Wednesday: linebacker Craig Robertson (shoulder), receiver Michael Thomas (foot) and tight end Josh Hill (fibula). Those players listed as limited included Ingram (toe, knee), left tackle Terron Armstead (quadriceps, knee), center Max Unger (foot), right tackle Zach Strief (elbow), guard Senio Kelemete (hip) and running back Daniel Lasco (hamstring).---AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Jerseys From China Jerseys NFL Cheap Disocunt Football Jerseys Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale Jerseys 2018 NFL Jerseys Outlet Wholesale Jerseys 2019 NFL Jerseys Outlet ' ' '