MADISON, Wis. — The road remained unkind to Purdue, this time albeit in a bit of a different way, as the Boilermakers fell at Wisconsin 69-65, the game almost literally slipping through its fingers.
Purdue led only for a fleeting moment or two against the Badgers, but in the final minutes, four Wisconsin offensive rebounds loomed large and in the final minute two go-ahead threes off the hand of Sasha Stefanovic missed.
And so, Purdue's third straight loss and an overall record that now stands just a game over .500 as Selection Sunday draws closer.
Our breakdown.
WHAT HAPPENED
Purdue's all-too-familiar slow start on the road this time came in the form of a dreadful offensive start, then the Boilermakers spent much of the evening, again, playing from behind, even though it took a brief lead late in the first half.
Though Wisconsin led by as many as 13 with just under 15 minutes to play, Purdue found golden opportunities as the game wound down.
First off, Purdue won the glass by every measure. It won a 37-30 overall margin, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and turned them into 19 points.
What it did not do was getting the rebounds it needed.
With 4:08 to play and Wisconsin up four, Nate Reuvers missed a jumper, but Aleem Ford beat Aaron Wheeler to the rebound, giving D'Mitrick Trice a chance to miss a jumper. Reuvers rebounded that shot, was fouled by Wheeler and made both free throws.
With 3:03 to play, Ford missed a three — a rarity on this night — but guard Brevin Pritzl darted through the lane to beat Purdue to the long rebound, shortening the game some before missing a shot himself.
Finally, after Purdue had gotten within three following Nojel Eastern's and-one, Trice missed another jumper, but Pritzl got another offensive rebound, drew a foul, then made both.
"The difference in the game was the four offensive rebounds they got," Coach Matt Painter said. "That was the game."
In so doing, Wisconsin turned the tables on Purdue, weeks after the Boilermakers clobbered it on the glass in a blowout win in Mackey Arena.
"We were getting stops," big man Trevion Williams said. "We just couldn't finish it with a rebound. ... Those were the most important plays of the game."
Still, that game was there for the taking.
With 50 seconds to play, Purdue down just two, Painter took a timeout, after which his team — not needing a three, mind you — generated a clean look from three for Stefanovic, 3-of-4 from three-point range to that point.
It missed.
Trevion Williams plucked the offensive rebound off the floor, though.
"If I had it back," Painter said, "I'd have used that last timeout."
Play continued and the ball found its way back to Stefanovic cutting left to right in front of his own bench.
The second three hit the iron and bounced high in the air, no good.
"In hindsight, that's a pretty horrible shot," Stefanovic said afterward. "I think that was one of the factors that cost us the game. But in the moment I thought I had a good look. I just have to know time, score, situation."
Wisconsin went 8-for-8 from the foul line from there to close the game out.
WHY IT HAPPENED
Purdue's near-theft of this outcome overshadowed its continued difficulties to score away from Mackey Arena, and even there things sometimes haven't come smoothly.
There are distinct differences between Purdue's best offensive lineups and its best defensive lineups this season and to begin Tuesday's game, its better defensive lineup started, as Matt Haarms replaced Williams in the starting five.
(Asked about the lineup change after the game, Painter suggested it to be a move made in hopes of getting Williams to play well, which he did.)
Purdue didn't score until nearly four minutes had passed and after Williams had subbed into the game. Fittingly, the Boilermakers' first four points came off their own misses. Of Purdue's 15 possessions, 13 of them came up empty, with Williams' two put-backs being the Boilermakers' lone scores.
"We have to be aggressive early and get the ball in the paint," said Nojel Eastern, whose 14 points and four assists were crucial to Purdue having a chance in the end. "Even when our shot's not falling, we have to get on the offensive glass, which we did ... but we have to continue to be aggressive."
Purdue finished up around 40 percent from the floor, but just 31 percent in the first half. It couldn't have helped Purdue early on that guard Eric Hunter, one of Purdue's most important offensive players, picked up two fouls before a point had even been scored.
Its 7-of-19 three-point shooting was atypical of its body of work on the road this season, but this was Wisconsin's night from long distance. After Penn State and Ohio State shot a combined 50 percent the past two games against the Boilermakers, Wisconsin was 12-of-31, so many of those shots coming as Purdue's momentum seemed to be building, which brings us to ...
WHO MADE IT HAPPEN
Inside two minutes to play in the first half, Aaron Wheeler capped a 9-0 Purdue run with two free throws that gave Purdue a 24-22 lead after It had trailed by as many as nine.
Then, Aleem Ford made a three.
Then, Purdue found Isaiah Thompson free in the lane for what seemed like a layup-to-be, but Nate Reuvers recovered to block the shot from behind, and Wisconsin got in transition.
Then, Aleem Ford made another three.
Purdue never led again.
Ford, a 34-percent-or-so shooter in Big Ten play averaging six-and-a-half points per game, attempted seven triples and made five. He finished with 19 points.
"He's a streaky guy," Painter said. "Sometimes he's there, sometimes he's not there. ... But we definitely respected him. It's not like we went into the game saying, 'Let Aleem Ford shoot.'"
Now, Purdue.
Williams played well off the bench, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds in a little more than 27 minutes. And Stefanovic, again, made three threes.
But if any one player made the difference in Purdue having a chance at the end, it was Eastern, who scored 14 points himself, on top of hitting Isaiah Thompson for a transition three in the second half as Purdue mounted its run and on top of rebounding Wheeler's first three late in the first half, then hitting Wheeler for an and-one that denied Wisconsin a chance to build back a halftime cushion.
Eastern not only produced and made timely plays, but he filled a gaping void.
The two guards Purdue relies on most for backcourt scoring didn't.
Jahaad Proctor, who's been so productive lately, was scoreless on four shots.
Hunter — his night blown up by early foul trouble — didn't score until Purdue was in quick-two mode, posting his only points when only 16 seconds remained.
WHAT IT MEANS
What's left to even say here?
Purdue's margin for error from an NCAA Tournament résumé perspective is narrow as can be. Only because of these changing times, newer selection criteria and the atypical strength of the Big Ten was a 14-12 team even in the conversation prior to tonight.
The Boilermakers had an opportunity again Tuesday night and fell short.
Now, losing at home to Michigan this weekend is not an option, at least from an NCAA Tournament perspective.
Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?
Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2020. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
