No. 11 Purdue 70, No. 10 Wisconsin 62
By Editorial Staff
The Boiling Point: Purdue wins its biggest game to date against the Badgers, which sets up a monster game on Sunday against league-leading Ohio State.
AUDIO: Bo Ryan | Matt Painter | Players (Moore, Johnson, Jackson)
THE STORY: After falling down by six early, the Boilers went on a 27-15 run to close out the first half and they never trailed again. It was a relatively routine win at home for Purdue, although Wisconsin wouldn’t go away late. Purdue won its 10th Big Ten game of the season thanks to balance on the offensive end. JaJuan Johnson finished with his 32nd career double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. E’Twaun Moore added 19 points and Lewis Jackson had 18 points and five assists. Defensively, the Boilers held Wisconsin to just 3-of-19 (16 percent) from 3.
TURNING POINT: When Wisconsin started to make things interesting late in the game, E’Twaun Moore was huge. He made a bucket out of a timeout then canned a 3 shortly after to prevent Wisconsin from getting any closer than four points.
GAME BALL: Goes to the smallest guy on the floor. Lewis Jackson completely locked down Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor (15 points but a very meaningless total) and legitimately ran Purdue’s offense while providing some pop, too. Jackson finished 6-of-9 from the floor for 18 points and 5 assists with no turnovers.
SPORTSCENTER MOMENT: After Kelsey Barlow threw a dime to E’Twaun Moore against Michigan State, Lewis Jackson had to get in on it in a very similar-looking play. Jackson broke through the defense and fired a bullet to Moore, who dunked all over Jon Leuer. It should make the Top 10.
WHAT IT MEANS: It all but knocks Wisconsin out of the Big Ten title race and positions Purdue for the biggest game in Mackey Arena in a long time. The Boilers welcome No. 3 Ohio State to town on Sunday looking to catch up in the conference race and position themselves for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
GETTING CRITICAL: Midway through the second half, Purdue’s offense turned ugly. The Boilers held a double-digit lead but didn’t run their offense accordingly. Instead, Purdue launched quick shots (which are bad shots when you have the lead) and allowed Wisconsin to climb its way back into the game. Given Ohio State’s explosiveness, Purdue won’t be able to have lulls offensively on Sunday.
MACKEY MADNESS: According to our own TheBoilingPoints.com Joe Gerace, the crowd was better than the Indiana game but definitely had some lulls that shouldn’t have been there. The two loudest points were E’Twaun Moore’s ridiculous dunk and the foul calls on Lewis Jackson. He rates it a 7.5 on the 10 scale that is based on Michigan State earlier this season.
ODDS AND ENDS: Not good on the glass as Purdue got outrebounded 35-26 as six Badgers finished with at least four rebounds compared to just three Boilers … The two teams combined for perhaps one of the lowest turnover totals of any game all season with just 10 … Coach Matt Painter is making his rotation pretty clear as John Hart didn’t play a single minute and just Kelsey Barlow (22 minutes) and Terone Johnson (17) played more than three minutes off the bench.