GoldandBlack.com Analysis and Wrap Video: Purdue's win over Wisconsin

Purdue's had a great season thus far relative to expectation — or relative to anything — but Wisconsin's a bit of a different deal and with the Badgers came something of a new test this late in the season.

It wasn't easy but Purdue passed that test, overcoming Wisconsin's scrap (among other things) and the Boilermakers' own failings, notably on the glass, to score another key win that proves this team full of freshmen belongs among the best teams In the best conference.

To beat Wisconsin — and they seem to trot the same team out there every year — you have to play a certain way, a way that may be an adjustment for eager young teams who've never had to do it. And Purdue did step out into the Wisconsin quicksand a few times, turning the ball over too much in the first half.

But again, when it had to, Purdue answered the call competitively when it mattered most, and that's been one of the most notable developments for this really new team.

The Boilermakers haven't won every game, they've been up and down from half to half at times, but never once have they not shown up competitively.