Badgers-Boilermakers  Preview
GAME NOTES: The Wisconsin Badgers set their sights on returning to the Big Ten race, but must do so in extremely hostile territory, as they take on the Purdue Boilermakers in a league bout from Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.
Bo Ryan's Badgers ran through their non-conference schedule with relative ease, with the exception of back-to-back losses to nationally-ranked foes in North Carolina and Marquette early on. The Big Ten slate has been a completely different affair, as Wisconsin has dropped three straight games to fall to 1-3 in-conference. The last of which was a rather ugly 59-41 loss at the hands of Michigan.
Matt Painter finally has a healthy squad in West Lafayette and the results have been favorable, with Purdue coming into this contest at 13-4. The Boilermakers have more than held their own in the Big Ten with wins in three of their first four games, including a 79-66 victory at Minnesota last time out.
Purdue holds a 104-64 advantage in the series with Wisconsin, with the two teams splitting the last four meetings. The Boilermakers have won each of the last five games at home and are an impressive 37-2 against the Badgers at Mackey Arena all-time.
Despite the fact that things haven't exactly gone according to plan in the Big Ten for Wisconsin, the team has done quite a few things right. The Badgers lead the nation in scoring defense (47.9 ppg) an turnovers (8.6 per game), rank second in field-goal percentage defense (.352). It is at the offensive end where the team has suffered, netting a pedestrian 65.6 ppg. Jordan Taylor provides the star power for the Badgers, but he has had some issues in the first half of the season, netting a mere 13.6 ppg on just under 40 percent shooting (.395). Jared Berggren is next in the scoring column at 11.4 ppg. Depth is found in the form of Ryan Evans and Ben Brust, who tack on 9.9 ppg each. It was a scoring shortage that did in the Badgers against Michigan last time out, as the team netted a season-low 41 points. Taylor provided the only significant offensive contribution, finishing with 12 points, although he shot just 5-of-15 from the floor. Evans did grab a team-high 10 rebounds, but Wisconsin connected on just 16 total field goals in the game, while putting up 51 shots.
Sleeping on the Boilermakers would prove to be unwise, as this is a team that could make some noise in-conference. Purdue is not the most prolific squad in terms of scoring at 73.1 ppg, but there is efficiency with each trip down the court, as Purdue is shooting .453 from the floor. The return to health of forward Robbie Hummel cannot be minimized, as the oft-injured forward has started all 17 games thus far, leading Purdue in scoring (16.2 ppg), rebounding (6.2 rpg) and blocks (21). Seniors Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson provide balance from their guard positions, checking in at 10.2 ppg each. Jackson had a superb game against Minnesota last time out, hitting 8-of-11 shots en route to a game-high 20 points, 16 of which came in the second half. D.J. Byrd poured in 18 points off the bench, thanks in large part to five three-pointers. Hummel tacked on 13 points for good measure.
Wisconsin will always play tough defense, but Purdue makes very few mistakes (second nationally at just 9.9 turnovers per game). The Boilermakers are also undefeated at Mackey Arena this season, a venue that has provided very few wins for the Badgers over the years.
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