As the college basketball calendar slowly creeps towards the all-important “March” page, the Purdue Boilermakers face a daunting test on Saturday when they welcome #16 Wisconsin to Mackey Arena. Due to the addition of four new teams to the conference, this will be the only regular-season matchup between them.
Purdue defeated Wisconsin the last three times until last March when the Badgers nipped the Boilers 76-75 in the Big 10 conference tournament semifinals. With the Big 10 schedule coming to a rapid close, both teams crave a win to improve their seedings for next month’s conference tournament.
The Boilermakers will enter the game after a loss to Michigan Tuesday night, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Wisconsin is well-rested entering Saturday’s game; they last played a 74-63 road win at Iowa the previous Saturday.
Because of their loss to the Wolverines, Purdue dropped from the top spots in the Big 10 and fell to 11-3 in league play, one-half game behind Michigan’s 11-2 mark. The Badgers stand in fourth place at 9-4 against Big 10 foes.
After Saturday’s game, Purdue has just six conference games remaining, and Wisconsin has seven. Time is running out on the 2024-25 Big 10 docket, and both teams would welcome a triumph over a ranked team to solidify their March Madness resume`.
Previewing Purdue Vs. Wisconsin: What To Look For
Without a doubt, Purdue head coach Matt Painter will look for Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn to carry his team offensively. The two juniors, along with guard Fletcher Loyer, will play in their 100th career game on Saturday.
Running the offense from his point guard position, Smith leads the Big 10 and is third nationally in assists per game, dishing out 8.7 dimes per contest. However, scoring is where he has recently thrived; Smith has poured in over 24 points in four of his last five games.
According to former Boiler and current broadcaster Robbie Hummel, Wisconsin’s style of defense complements Smith’s game perfectly.
Hummel said, “Smith will see a lot of (guards) John Blackwell, Max Klesmit, and Kamari McGee defending him, but the biggest concern for the Badgers has to be that they are a strictly “drop-coverage” team.
“Braden Smith over the last two years has destroyed drop coverages. That defense is designed to give up a lot of pull-up jumpers, and that’s the shot Braden Smith wants to get to.”
Kaufman-Renn leads Purdue in scoring with 19.0 points per game. Hummel believes the game could be won or lost depending on how well the Badgers defend Kaufman-Renn.
“Trey Kaufman-Renn is so good inside the arc–short rolls, dribble-drives, post-ups–that Wisconsin is going to have to be on it with one of the highest-usage players in the league,” said Hummel.
For the Badgers, head coach Greg Gard has relied on transfer John Tonje to shoulder the load this season as they hope to extend their three-game winning streak. Tonje has averaged 18 points per game, shooting 46% from the field and 40% from three-point land.
Recently, Tonje has been on a heater comparable to Smith. He has scored 20 or more points in five of his last six outings, and he has done that very efficiently. Over those games, he has shot 51% from the field, 46% from distance, and 84% from the free-throw line.
As a collective, Wisconsin has lived and died by the three-point shot. Over half of their field-goal attempts have come from behind the arc; they have shot 672 times from three and 643 times from anywhere else.
End Of Purdue/Wisconsin Rant: February Matters, Too
With two-thirds of the conference season in the rearview mirror, Saturday’s matchup is a precursor to the Big 10 tournament. Especially with how bunched up the top of the standings is, this battle between ranked teams could speak volumes as they jockey for their final seedings. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 pm ET, and the game will be televised nationally by CBS.
