The 411: #8 Purdue at #10 Wisconsin

No. 8 Purdue plays its most consequential game of the season, visiting No. 10 Wisconsin for what amounts to a must-win for the Boilermakers' Big Ten title hopes, as they're a game back of the Badgers in the standings with just two to play for both teams.

Wisconsin won the first meeting 74-69 way back on Jan. 3, Purdue's only home loss of the season.

Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 WAZY locally)

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• Purdue's coming off a maddening, turnover-riddled 68-65 loss at Michigan State, the Boilermakers' third loss of the Big Ten season on a shot made in a game's final 16 seconds or so.

• With a win, Purdue would be able to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title with a win over Indiana at home on Saturday. A loss in Madison would eliminate them from contention.

• Purdue remains No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency and second in the three-point percentage despite the 17-turnover, 1-of-9-from-three loss at the Breslin Center.

STARTERS

C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 295, So.)

14.8 PPG • 68.1% FG • 7.4 REB • 1.1 BLK

The first meeting with Wisconsin, Edey blended in during the first half, then dominated the second, playing a role in pretty much the whole Badger front line fouling out. Whether he can have the same success over 40 minutes this time — on the road — remains to be seen. Purdue's concern over how he's officiated endures.

F — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, So.)

6.6 PPG • 4.5 REB • 51.9% FG • 45.7% 3-PT • 85.7% FT

Gillis was plagued by foul trouble at Michigan State and went scoreless, getting off only one three, as was one of the stories of the game for Purdue. With Wisconsin, possessions are so important, so his offensive rebounding and magnetism toward loose balls may matter a little more. Gillis was 3-for-4 from three against Wisconsin two months ago.

G — 55 Sasha Stefanovic (6-5, 205, Sr.)

11.2 PPG • 39.9% 3-PT • 3.5 AST

Here comes another opponent, like Michigan State, that's going to do everything in its power to stop Stefanovic and may follow the Spartans' lead in prioritizing the three-point line defensively.

G — 2 Eric Hunter (6-4, 175, Sr.)

5.7 PPG • 1.9 AST • 48.4% FG • 43.1% 3-PT

Hunter's a very different player at this stage of the season than he was when these two teams last met. That's one of the big differences for Purdue from Game 1 to now.

G —23 Jaden Ivey (6-4, 195, So.)

17.3 PPG • 46.4% FG • 36.8% 3-PT • 4.8 RPG • 3.0 AST

Purdue's leading scorer again squares off with his fellow All-Big Ten guard and future lottery pick, Johnny Davis, but does so now amidst a bit of a dry spell from three-point range — 1-of-13 the past three games — and coming off a five-turnover game at Michigan State. Both of those trends can't hold in Madison if Purdue's going to get this one.

ROTATION

C — 50 Trevion Williams (6-10, 255, Sr.)

11.9 PPG • 55.6% FG • 7.4 REB • 3.1 AST

Williams has committed nine turnovers over the past three games. That simply can't continue at Wisconsin.

G —11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr.)

4.9 PPG • 43.2% 3-PT

There was a while there when Purdue was talking about wanting to get Thompson more shots. But in five of the past six games, he's taking one or fewer. That may be more a credit to opponents respecting his shooting than anything else.

G — 25 Ethan Morton (6-6, 215, So.)

2.6 PPG • 1.5 AST • 50% FG • 46.2% 3-PT

Morton played a good amount of 4 at Michigan State due to Mason Gillis' foul trouble and defensive matchups against a Spartan front-court that could shoot.

F — 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr.)

4.3 PPG • 3.5 RPG • 58.7% FG • 40.9% 3-PT

Furst didn't play much against Wisconsin during the first meeting, as he was just returning from his bout with COVID. Another difference in Purdue now from Game 1, having him back at full strength.

G — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, So.)

5.0 PPG • 32.5% 3-PT • 85% FT

Newman hasn't played meaningful minutes since Jan. 23.

Freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell will redshirt this season. Waddell will miss most of the season after tearing his ACL and Kaufman-Renn is now sidelined up to six weeks after undergoing foot surgery.

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• Wisconsin is a remarkable 9-0 this Big Ten season in games decided by six points or fewer, a number of those games coming against inferior teams (Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Minnesota), all of which the Badgers survived.

(Purdue is 4-4 in games decided by six points or less, but that doesn't count an overtime win at Illinois and does count a win at Northwestern where the final score didn't reflect the real margin. Three of those losses came on the road.)

• There's very little about Wisconsin that jumps off the page statistically, except for this: The Badgers are No. 3 nationally in turnover percentage at just 12.9 percent. The Badgers average only 8.7 turnovers in Big Ten play.

• Surprisingly, Wisconsin's eighth in the Big Ten in scoring, ninth in field goal percentage and last in three-point percentage and is one win from a likely outright conference championship.

• Opponents shoot just 32.5 percent from three-point range against Wisconsin, second behind just Michigan State, who held Purdue to 1-of-9 on Saturday.

• Wisconsin's won four straight, including a pair of escape acts at Indiana and Minnesota prior to Saturday night's clutch win at Rutgers. The only other Big Ten team who'd won in Piscataway prior was Maryland of all people.

STARTERS

C - 22 Steven Crowl (7-0, 234, So.)

9.5 PPG • 4.5 RPG • 34.3% 3-PT

Crowl is going to be hard-pressed to handle Zach Edey and Trevion Williams, but he'll fight them and hope for a sympathetic whistle on the defensive end. Meanwhile, at the offensive end, he can shoot the three, and that's always an element worth worrying about for Purdue.

F - 5 Tyler Wahl (6-9, 221, Jr.)

11.2 PPG • 5.9 RPG • 52.4% FG

One of the Big Ten's most overlooked players as far as just getting stuff done, the crafty forward is going to get post touches and make things happen around the basket.

G - 1 Johnny Davis (6-5, 194, So.)

20.5 PPG • 8.3 RPG • 2.3 AST • 33% 3-PT • 1.2 STL

One of the best players in the country and Purdue's worst nightmare back in early January, Davis is an elite scorer but also a really complete player. He's an elite rebounding guard, a great defensive players, a good passer and he'll score from all levels, including the post.

Purdue's better and more disciplined defensive team now than it was before, and presumably won't gift-wrap him three transition layups off turnovers in the first half alone, but nevertheless, this is a really formidable matchup.

G - 34 Brad Davison (6-4, 200, Sr.)

14.2 PPG • 4.1 RPG • 34.8% 3-PT

Purdue likely meets the Big Ten's resident villain for the final time, as his sixth year is coming to a close. All his extracurriculars aside, Davison is an elite competitor and maker of big shots who Wisconsin wouldn't be competing for a Big Ten title without.

G - 23 Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 211, Fr.)

7.8 PPG • 2.3 RPG • 2.3 AST • 33.7% 3-PT

One of the better freshmen in the Big Ten, Hepburn's playing a key role for a good team right away, but will be one of the Badgers' centerpieces in the years to come.

KEY RESERVES

G - 2 Jordan Davis (6-4, 198, So.)

1.3 PPG

Davis has logged double-digit minutes the past two games and gave Wisconsin seven key points as the Badgers escaped at Minnesota two games ago.

C - 33 Chris Voght (7-0, 257, Sr.)

2.5 PPG • 3.2 RPG

Obviously, Wisconsin will need all its big men, and all their fouls, against Purdue. Vogt scored six points with three rebounds in 13 minutes in the first meeting between these teams.

F - 20 Ben Carlson (6-9, 226, So.)

1.6 PPG • 2.1 RPG

Obviously, Wisconsin will need all its big men, and all their fouls, against Purdue.

G - 0 Jahcobi Neath (6-4, 196, Jr.)

1.7 PPG • 1.2 RPG

After sitting out the Minnesota game due to his role in the Michigan Fracas, the reserve guard barely played at Rutgers, but was playing a relatively prominent role prior to the suspension.

Stay dialed in to GoldandBlack.com during the game for our pre-game First Thoughts analysis. During the game, follow along with our game thread and follow @brianneubert on Twitter for additional insight.

Following the game, we'll have post-game press conference video, game coverage, analysis, our Wrap Video and Final Thoughts, plus a Gold and Black Radio podcast within a few hours of the end of the game.

Stay tuned.

This is really an odd matchup: One team looks great on paper but often struggles to do enough little things to win close games, and one team looks very average on paper only to do all the things and win every close game.

The simple reality here is that the difference between Purdue and Wisconsin this Big Ten season has been that one's been able to win every close game it's played and the other has struggled to do just that away from its home floor.

Purdue's better than Wisconsin, but the respective bodies of work in that regard is just too big of a contrast to ignore.

This will be a close game, and these respective teams' track records in such settings are what they are.

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