Breakdown: #8 Purdue's loss at #10 Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — In some ways, this was the most appropriate way for No. 8 Purdue's Big Ten regular season title hopes to end: On both a buzzer-beater and not one, but two, fluky shots.

Behind two banked-in jump shots in the final 30 seconds — the second of them being Chucky Hepburn's prayer of a three with a second to play — No. 10 Wisconsin beat the Boilermakers 70-67 in Madison on Tuesday night, eliminating Purdue from being able to earn a share of the conference title.

Our breakdown.

PDF: Purdue-Wisconsin statistics

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A back-and-forth slugfest fitting for a de facto Big Ten championship game gave way in the final minute to a dizzying series of events that turned out for Wisconsin the way these games always seem to turn for Wisconsin and turned out for Purdue as they too often have.

First, Johnny Davis was stood up by Eric Hunter — whose defense on the soon-to-be pro was excellent — only to bank in a long two-point jumper with his toe on the line.

Wisconsin led 67-64 with 26 seconds left.

After a Zach Edey miss, near 90-percent shooter Brad Davison missed the front end of a one-and-one and Jaden Ivey, who'd score 17 of his 22 points after Purdue was down 11 with 12:50 left, raced down the floor for a pull-up three to tie it.

It seemed like Purdue's fortunes in these situations might be turning.

Nope.

First, it was Ron Harper Jr., then Rob Phinisee, then Tyson Walker, now Chucky Hepburn.

Ivey picked Hepburn up as he dribbled to the wing, and did everything right on defense, steering the freshman away from the lane and closing out on his Hail Mary of a step-back three.

Didn't matter.

Another devastating loss for Purdue during a season almost defined by such things as much as the 24 wins and year-long top-10 ranking.

"You don't get numb to it," senior Sasha Stefanovic said. "It sucks every single time. I've lost a lot in my career and this is one of the worst losses I've had in my life."

Ivey combined with Edey to carry Purdue to the brink of a come-from-behind victory, only to be left "speechless" afterward as he lamented his 3-of-9 foul shooting and his vantage point on the final shot.

"I would say this loss was on me," Ivey said, perhaps unreasonably after he and Edey scored Purdue's last 25 points. "Most importantly, I gave up the game-winner. I feel like I could have a play on that.

"It's tough, but we've just got to live with it and hopefully be better from it."

The result was difficult for Purdue to absorb, but fell right into place as part of this stranger-than-fiction sort of Big Ten season.

Yes, the Boilermakers could have done any number of things just a little bit better prior to the end of the Rutgers game, or the Indiana game, or the Michigan State game, or this game, but nevertheless, all those games away from Mackey Arena were decided in gutting fashion, at least two of them on extremely improbable shots.

Purdue did scratch out wins over Ohio State and Maryland in Mackey Arena and survived in double overtime at Illinois, but moments like Tuesday night, the harshness of the failures echoed.

"It's got to start rolling our way eventually," Edey said. "It's getting ridiculous. They bank in two shots at the end and one of them's a three that's so far off it went in. It's frustrating really."

Though this win was simply dumb luck for Wisconsin as much as anything, this has been the Badgers' M.O. all season.

"In terms of what we did at the end of the game, I wouldn't trade it for anything," Coach Matt Painter said. "I thought our defense on Johnny Davis when he banked it in was good and I thought our defense on Hepburn when he banked it in was good. You get beat by two shots that are so far off they go in, that's bad luck right there.

"But they beat us 70-67. That's the nature of the game. We've been in some games where we got some breaks at the end, but you also have to give (Wisconsin) credit to be in this position. They won a lot of close games all year, so it's not like they're not good at winning close games. They've found a way all year. They have a special group."

Most would say Purdue does, too. But it won't have a Big Ten regular season title to show for it.

"One or two teams are going to win the league now and it's not going to be us," Painter said. "That's the way it is. If you don't like it, then you should have won at Rutgers, or you should have won at Indiana, or you should have won at Michigan State, or you should have beaten Wisconsin twice.

"That's the nature of competition. Tough. You've got to sit in it, but while you sit in it, that helps you. If you care, now you bounce back and you're better for it. The bad piece would be if this was the end for us. This isn't the end for us."

A common denominator during losses like this prior to today has been the lamentable issues with lapses involving turnovers, or in some cases, halfcourt defense.

"Tonight, I didn't think Purdue beat Purdue," Painter said, flipping his standard explanation for some of those aforementioned losses.

Purdue turned the ball over 10 times — the last on a desperate heave up the floor with one second on the clock — but that was hardly the issue it's been at other moments.

Defensively, Purdue played some of its better basketball of the season, as Wisconsin had just 65 points before the two banked-in shots, shot just 43 percent and turned the ball over 10 times itself, notable given that the Badgers were No. 1 nationally in turnover percentage coming in.

If there's one thing that qualifies from this game, it's free throws, similar to the Indiana game in Bloomington. Purdue was just 11-of-20 from the stripe. Ivey was 3-of-9, a few games after he was 15-of-18 at home against Rutgers.

"I was just missing them," Ivey said. "I stay with the same routine every time. They just weren't falling for me tonight."

Ivey did just enough down the stretch to make those misses sting even more, because he gave the Boilermakers a chance.

With just under 13 minutes to play, Johnny Davis' and-one put the Badgers up 50-39. Being down 11 to Wisconsin in Madison with nearly that many minutes to play is normally a deathtrap.

But Ivey responded with nine points during a 14-2 Purdue run over the next five minutes or so, helping Purdue take a 53-52 lead with 7:42 left, setting up an eventful finish again.

Johnny Davis finished with 16 points — he scored 37 last time these teams met — and made some big plays after Purdue took the lead, but the most damage was done by forward Tyler Wahl and Hepburn, the freshman.

Wahl scored 19 points and Hepburn 17, his game-winner being his fourth three of the game.

It means that there will be something unfulfilling about this season for Purdue, with no Big Ten regular season title to show for this team this season. The Boilermakers lost these games in extraordinary fashion when you look at the losses collectively, but just never figured out how to win close games away from home. When Illinois seemed like a turning point, it was quickly proven to be otherwise.

But this game: Purdue played well. It played well enough to beat an outstanding team at home.

It just couldn't catch a break when it needed one.

In that sense, it was a fitting conclusion to Purdue's Big Ten title hopes, done in by a halfcourt heave at Rutgers and a pair of bank jobs at Wisconsin, which says nothing of Rob Phinisee or Tyson Walker.

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