With the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers paying a visit to the Kohl Center last Saturday night, Wisconsin had a chance to close the gap between them and the top of the Big Ten. Unfortunately for the Badgers, the skill discrepancy between their squad and the No. 5 Boilermakers was far too much, as Wisconsin lost 89-73, dropping to 9-5 (1-2 Big Ten) on the year.
Wisconsin began the game with a dash of hope, as John Blackwell and Nolan Winter led a 9-2 run to start the game. While Wisconsin wasn’t able to contain their lead, they led for 11 minutes of game action, and in a tight first half, never trailed by more than seven points.
Nick Boyd’s pace helped the Badgers stay with Purdue for the majority of the half, something few teams have been able to do all season. Braeden Carrington’s back-to-back 3-pointers off the bench kept hope alive, cutting the Purdue lead to two with 4:02 remaining in the half.
Despite keeping the game close, Wisconsin didn’t necessarily play mistake-free basketball. Eight Wisconsin first-half turnovers handed Purdue 13 points on the other end, and Blackwell’s self-inflicted foul trouble put the Badgers at a disadvantage. Once in Wisconsin’s hands, the game turned into a back-and-forth battle, a game flow no team wants against Purdue.
But early in the second half, the Boilermakers started making Wisconsin pay for their mistakes, as Purdue exploded for a 27-7 run in just over six minutes (18:46-12:33), including 10 unanswered points.
Despite outrebounding the Boilermakers, the Badgers could not handle Purdue’s big men. Purdue big Oscar Cluff tallied eight of his 12 points in the midst of the team’s scoring flurry, overpowering Winter and Bieliauskas inside. Wisconsin’s inconsistency was on full display once again, unable to answer back with a run of their own, which has become routine against strong competition.
Purdue, however, showed why they are a top-five team in the nation, rediscovering their 3-point shooting, going 6-for-13 after a poor first half. Once again, the Badgers looked helpless, chucking prayers that weren’t answered, going 1-for-13 from deep in the second half.
Purdue also brought down 14 offensive rebounds, outhustling Wisconsin and tallying a whopping 17 second-chance points. Cluff led the way with three offensive boards and 11 total.
Boyd (24 pts) and Winter (18 pts, 10 reb) were the lone bright spots for Wisconsin. Both attacked the paint at will, getting to a stripe 10 times a piece. Boyd made all 10 while Winter made just seven. Neither Boyd nor Winter shot more than two three-pointers as well. Their dominance inside provides an interesting conflict with Gard’s outside shot-heavy system going forward.
Offensively, the Badgers struggled in a major way from the 3-point line, shooting just 4/25 (16%), a season low. Blackwell missed all five of his attempts, while yet another poor performance from Austin Rapp (1-6 3pt) lowered his percentage from deep to 29%. Still, deep balls were encouraged by head coach Greg Garg despite the team’s efficiency inside the arc (63%).
Purdue’s mesmerizing ball movement outpaced the Badger defense as well. The now 13-1 Boilermakers racked up 22 assists, 12 of which came from Braden Smith, who set the Big Ten’s career assists record (893), passing Michigan State legend Cassius Winston with 9:22 remaining. Wisconsin mustered just seven total assists.
A valiant 19-5 late run by the Badgers cut the lead to 11 with 3:22 remaining, but Purdue’s early second-half eruption held strong. Fletcher Loyer’s 20 points led the way for the Boilermakers.
With the loss, Wisconsin is now 0-5 against Quad 1 teams.
