Badgers End Losing Skid With Road Win

Having lost their last three games, Wisconsin men’s basketball came to West Lafayette in dire need of a win. Despite having won just once at Mackey Arena since 1972, the Badgers (2-3 Big Ten, 13-5 overall) played arguably their best game of the season in a 67-62 victory over Purdue (3-2 Big Ten, 13-5 overall).

Purdue got the first bucket of the game but it was UW that took control from the get-go, responding with a 22-2 run over the next 6:57 to take an 18-point lead. Wisconsin’s 22 points over the first seven-plus minutes equaled their output from the first 25 minutes of Sunday’s loss at Michigan.

The hot start was due in no small part to the Badgers ability to finally knock down shots. UW saw 5 of their first 6 three-pointers drop and started the game 8-for-10 from the field. While the Badgers eventually cooled to just over 47% for the game, they were finally able to knock down shots when they needed them most.

“We shot it well going into those games when we shot 30%...” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “We moved better away from the ball this game but a lot of times that’s the result of making some shots.”

After the poor shooting had seemingly spread like an epidemic throughout the entire team, the Badgers fed off those early shots and looked confident on the offensive end throughout the game.

“Its nice {to see your teammates make early shots}. Especially on the road at Purdue,” sophomore guard Ben Brust said after the game. “Anytime you can get good confidence early it helps the team.”

Though the Badgers never trailed again after the early deficit, the Boilermakers did not go away quietly. Purdue cut the UW lead to just 12 at the half before using a 13-0 second half run to pull within two at 45-43 with just over 10 minutes left.

But every time Purdue seemed ready to send the Badgers home empty-handed, UW had an answer. The Boilermaker run came to an end with one of four three-pointers by junior forward Mike Bruesewitz, who despite fouling out late finished with 12 big points on 4/4 from beyond the arc, picking up 5 crucial defensive rebounds as well. Purdue would get a basket of their own at the other end before Bruesewitz hit another three, with Brust following that triple up with one of his own, the two three-balls giving the Badgers a nine-point cushion with just over 6 minutes left, in the process quieting a Mackey Arena crowd that had been readying for an eruption.

“The crowd was getting into it. They were making a run and we had to weather the storm,” Bruesewitz said. “We did that really well. We got a defensive stop and when we weathered the storm it was just us coming down and getting stops.”

Having seemingly gotten through the biggest threat to their lead, the Badgers proceeded to finish out the game with a poise that left them seemingly oblivious to the hostile environment surrounding them. With Purdue fouling down the stretch, UW made 11 of their 14 free throws in the waning minutes, crushing any hopes of another Boilermaker run.

“We’ve played in some tough places…” Ryan said. “We handled the few turnovers we had in the final few minutes and got to the free throw line.”

“That’s how you win games,” Bruesewitz said about the free throw shooting. “That’s how you close out games.”

Wisconsin’s 2^nd victory in West Lafayette since 1972 came as a result of a scoring threat that was not confined in just a few players. The Badgers finished with five players in double digits, led by Brust’s 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Senior guard Jordan Taylor was held scoreless in the first half but finished with 12 second-half points for UW, icing the game with by going 8-for-10 from the free throw line as Purdue fouled late. Sophomore guard Josh Gasser and junior forward Ryan Evans each finished with 10 points for the Badgers.

UW now heads back home at 2-3 in conference, with an opportunity to head into their next road game (at Illinois on January 22^nd) with a winning record in conference. With this one road win, the Badgers are back squarely in the Big Ten race.