No. 7 Purdue (19-7, 11-4 Big Ten) lost to No. 16 Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4) 94-84 Saturday.

With two Wisconsin 7-footers who can shoot from deep, and Purdue's deadly duo of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, ball screens defined Saturday's matchup. The Boilers switched on them as usual, but on Saturday they were switching into more taxing matchups than is typical. Wisconsin sank 12 3s.

Wisconsin was quicker than Purdue's perimeter defenders, who are improved since the beginning of the season, but steps behind the Badgers Saturday. The result was an inside-out game for the visitors that picked up in late first half and continued right on to the second.

Wisconsin star guard John Tonje scored 32 points.

Player stats below, with ratings to follow:

Braden Smith lost track of Wisconsin star guard John Tonje on one late possession as the Boilers trailed by 6, and on the following possession air-balled a mid-range jump shot of the kind he usually nails. Smith wasn't himself Saturday, on either end.

The junior guard did little to stop Wisconsin's offensive explosion, matched up with Tonje to begin the second half until the Badger had taken him to school and given Wisconsin a lead it would not relinquish. Smith's performance, and his vitalness to the Boilers, were instrumental in the Badgers' upset.

In the first half, Smith threw perhaps his best pass of the season or, if not best, likely the most aesthetically pleasing. In the mid first half, he found Fletcher Loyer with a 70-foot outlet pass that Loyer didn't have to slow down a beat for. The resulting layup on a platter was Smith's fourth assist of the game. He would go on to collect 11.

Loyer's 15 points were scored unevenly. The junior guard came out hot in the first half, scoring 10 on four shots. His game in the second half was limited to drives on which he couldn't gain much separation. Twice, he attempted to draw a foul on a wild shot attempt, once successfully.

To boot, Loyer's already shaky defense was leveraged by Wisconsin's depth.

It seemed as though Kaufman-Renn had put the game on its way to bed when he exploded for 8-straight points and an assist out of the halftime break. His scoring didn't slow, and he did his best to patch the leaky Purdue perimeter defense, but the performance of those around him spoiled a performance capable of carrying the Boilers to a win on most any night.

Though the scoring output seems trivial in a loss (30 points), it was a career-high output for the junior, and somehow on only 16 shots and nine free throw attempts to boot.

Oh, and five assists. Five. Kaufman-Renn did his best Saturday.

Cox contributed one of his better scoring outputs of the season, particularly in the first half, when he scored 7.

He was quick to navigate screens as usual, but struggled against Tonje's size and skill.

Furst was switched into some difficult matchups, with players either taller or quicker than he and, as was noted, they could all shoot.

He capitalized on feeds from Smith, but was frustrated by foul calls and ultimately fouled out with several minutes remaining in the game. He gets credit for his versatility on defense, but he was still turned around on that end plenty.

Colvin morphed into an essential player in the second half, downing three 3s and being entrusted with the John Tonje matchup down the stretch in Purdue's failed comeback bid.

Heide got some high post game going in the mid-second half, collecting two assists on passes to Kaufman-Renn. He also converted a 3 that was required of him if one ever was. Purdue trailed by 8 in the second half and the forward nailed an open deep shot amidst his shooting slump to give his team life.

Sunk a 3, played hard, played his role.

Played just one minute in the loss, despite Furst's early exit.

Rule No. 1: These grades are not to be taken too seriously.

Rule No. 2: I can put whatever grade I'd like, so long as I defend it.

The exercise here aims to answer a question that goes something like, "How well did a player take advantage of the opportunities they were given?"

During the game, I focus most of my attention on watching defensive reps, box-outs, offensive movement/involvement, and non-assist passing. I'll add all the off-ball value to these grades that my eyes can catch.

Late game heroics earn bonus points, and the opposite is true for important errors. Oh, and I hate missed free throws.

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