No. 16 Wisconsin joins Big Ten race after giving No. 7 Purdue "a lesson in maturity"

The path to a third-straight Big Ten championship has run into a series of potholes.

Michigan delivered the first blow on Tuesday, knocking the Boilermakers out of first place. On Saturday, Wisconsin pushed Purdue down another notch in the standings after posting a 94-84 victory at Mackey Arena.

There is still plenty of time left for the seventh-ranked Boilermakers to finish strong, but two losses in the same week could damage their chances of winning another title. The 16^th-ranked Badgers are now in the thick of the race after extending their winning streak to four.

Purdue held three nine-point leads in the first half, but Wisconsin – which is 6-43 all-time in Mackey Arena – created separation after halftime.

PDF: Purdue-Wisconsin statistics

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Trey Kaufman-Renn kept the Boilermakers going by scoring eight straight points to start the second half, but they couldn’t keep up with John Tonje. The graduate transfer, who played at Missouri and Colorado State, poured in 22 points after halftime as the Badgers scored 11 straight to lead 58-50. Tonje finished with 32 points.

But it was Jack Janicki who helped put Wisconsin over the top. The walk-on redshirt freshman scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to give the Badgers another scoring option. He averaged 1.7 points before Saturday. In his last four games, Janick scored a combined three points.

A handful of mini-runs cut into the deficit, but Purdue couldn’t make enough defensive stops to slow down Wisconsin. The Badgers shot 72% in the second half, living in the paint throughout the game.

Kaufman-Renn was the centerpiece of trying to bring the Boilermakers back. He had 21 of his 30 points in the second half. Fletcher Loyer had 15 points, and C.J. Cox added 13, but most of the production came before halftime.

Wisconsin’s Kamari McGee was ejected late in the first half after the senior guard was issued a Flagrant 2 foul. McGee tried fighting through a Kaufman-Renn screen but hit the junior in the groin area.

Kaufman-Renn’s two free throws increased to 29-22 with 6:20 to play. However, the Badgers took advantage and outscored the Boilermakers 14-8 heading into halftime to trail by one.

It’s the second straight season Purdue has given up 90 or more points at Mackey Arena. Northwestern scored 96 last year, but what was in overtime. Nichols scored 90 points against the Boilermakers during the 2021-22 season at home.

DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWNS

One area the Boilermakers have made the most improvement since last season is forcing turnovers.

Capitalizing on their opponents’ mistakes has led to transition baskets and sustaining runs to pull away. In Tuesday’s loss to Michigan, Purdue scored 14 points off 11 turnovers.

But Saturday, the Badgers committed just three turnovers and none in the final 26 minutes of the game. Without the forced turnovers, the Boilermakers had to play defense for longer stretches, and quite frankly, Wisconsin’s offensive firepower was better on this day.

“I just thought that Wisconsin’s resolve and their toughness and their decision making … I thought that was really hard for us,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.  “We had to do a better job guarding the basketball, and we just didn’t.

“And then when you live in help and if you don’t get them bottled up, the ball is going to move quick. When you’re dealing with one of the best shooting teams in the country, they’re going to make you pay, and they made us pay.”

In the second half, the Badgers had two stretches where they made five straight field goals. The sequences featured a combination of layups, dunks, 3-pointers, and mid-range jumpers. They excelled in the paint, and when they didn’t look to score, they found shooters on the perimeter.

“We talked about not letting Tonje, (Max) Klesmit, (John) Blackwell, and guys that really drive it get into the paint because it collapses our defense, and they kick it out for 3s,” Loyer said. “It’s not guarding the ball one-on-one. It’s a group effort.”

Wisconsin becomes the first team to shoot 60% or better against the Boilermakers this season. That included a 20 of 22 performance from 2-point range.

One objective for the Boilermakers and other teams is to make three defensive stops in a row. The more consecutive stops, the better the chance of putting together a run on the offensive end.

Purdue had one stretch where it held the Badgers without a made field goals on three consecutive possessions. The three nine-point leads in the first half never grew because of the lack of defensive stops.

“We could never get to where it’s three in a row, and that’s where you see the lack of separation,” Painter said. “We should have separated at that time. But to their credit, they didn’t allow that. They did a good job of continuing to score, and they were better than us.”

“THREW SOME GAS ON THE FIRE”

McGee’s ejection did two things for the Badgers.

It “threw some gas on the fire,” coach Greg Gard said, and allowed Janicki to see more playing time. And he took full advantage of the situation. He made two 3-pointers after halftime, and the second one stretched the lead to 71-60 with 7:59 to play.

“First time ever here on this court, I thought he responded in a way where he had production and impacted the game, and that’s what we’ve seen him do in practice,” Gard said. “He hasn’t been in that situation. Kam had to leave, and he played point a lot and handled pressure.”

Gard didn’t dispute the call on McGee because “that’s the letter of the law; it’s not up for debate.”

His team had to move on and keep playing.

“We had a lot of basketball left to play. We didn’t need to dwell on that,” he said.

The Badgers started attacking on offense and played with more intent of driving the ball and putting pressure on Purdue’s defense.

“It was talked about that we needed to attack, but it was also a byproduct of the process of the wearing and the constant push we come with, and eventually, some cracks will start to open up,” Gard said. “You’ve got to get there and make plays and finish or get fouled.

“Klesmit did that well, Tonje did that well, Blackwell did that well. We keep coming in waves and keep coming at you every possession. Those things add up.”

“LESSON IN MATURITY”

The Boilermakers will need to regroup quickly.

The next two games—Michigan State and Indiana—are on the road before UCLA, one of the hottest teams in the league, comes to Mackey Arena. Purdue ends the regular season with Rutgers at home and Illinois.

There is now a bigger logjam at the top of the standings, with four teams within two games of the lead. Michigan and Michigan State must play twice, and more matchups down the stretch will likely shake up the order daily.

If Painter’s team takes a lesson from the Badgers, they’ll be fine and remain in the hunt for a third-straight regular-season championship.

“I told our guys, ‘They gave you a lesson in maturity,’ ” Painter said. ”I thought they were mentally and physically tougher. It’s something I write on the board every game – you’ve got to be mentally and physically tougher than your opponent.”