The Purdue Boilermakers are playing as good as anyone in the country and host the struggling Wisconsin Badgers on Tuesday night.
TV Schedule: Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. 6 p.m. ESPN
Arena: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Purdue Boilermakers are riding a 13-game winning streak into their contest on Tuesday. The Wisconsin Badgers, on the other hand, have lost two in a row.
We all know the Boilermakers can score. The defense of Purdue, though, has been just as impressive as the offense. Since re-entering conference play on Jan. 3, Purdue has been averaging a point differential of 19.5 points. Looking further back, the last time this team allowed more than 70 points was on Dec. 1 when they played Maryland.
That doesn’t bode well when this Badger team struggles to find scorers each night. They average only 69.1 points per game, which ranks 296th in the country. The most impressive win came against Indiana on Jan. 2 when they topped them by 10. From there, Wisconsin has gone down by four to Rutgers and Nebraska.
The Badgers received news that injured sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice is on the right track to get back but still isn’t there yet.
D'Mitrik Trice is not a panacea. But he is a point guard and his eventual return (whenever that may be) would alleviate some of the ball-handling burden on Brad Davison, a more natural off-guard. Until then, Trice has tried to keep his rehab in perspective https://t.co/YWfTerwfmr
— Mike Lucas (@LucasAtLarge) January 14, 2018
If the Badgers want to stay in this game, the best way is to play the way they did against Indiana. Ethan Happ has to have a monster game. Both he and Brad Davison must stay out of foul trouble. Khalil Iverson has to record double-digit points and Aleem Ford has to knock down 3-pointers.
Purdue hasn’t shown ways for teams to defeat them. They haven’t lost since Nov. 23, which was part of consecutive losses to Tennessee and Western Kentucky.
The game against the Hilltoppers had Dakota Mathias get into foul trouble. The point guard ended with four fouls, five points, and one three-pointer. Since then, Mathias has only been in single-digit points four times.
One guy that has really come on is the 7’2 center from the Netherlands, Matt Haarms. He got into foul trouble during the Tennessee game. Haarms was then limited to 11 minutes against Western Kentucky. He doesn’t start, but he’s been a force on the court. Haarms has only gone over 10 points in one game since the defeat, but averages 2.7 blocks per game.
For some reason, Isaac Haas doesn’t play like your typical big man. He averages a little over one block per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Matt Haarms has come to the rescue this year and their front court is dominant.
Neither one of their big men can hit he three-pointer. Haas hasn’t attempted one and Haarms has missed all five of his attempts.
Happ can’t hit a three-pointer either. He’s missed four this season. Nate Reuvers has the ability, though. He’s attempted 20 and made six this season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Reuvers get more opportunities to launch one. Especially when neither one of the opposing team’s guys can hit a shot from there.
Ford has to get going early. When he gets a shot or two to fall in the first half, the Badgers seem more confident in their scoring ability.
Wisconsin will have to shoot like they have never shot before in order to keep up with this Purdue team. Happ can take advantage of Haas’ spotty defense. If the Badger big man starts out hot, Wisconsin may stay in this one.
Otherwise, Purdue is going to shoot the Badgers out of the gym. 85 points per game is 20th in country. The Boilermakers have made 186 three-pointers this season. Carsen Edwards is having a monster sophomore season at 16.7 points per game and 42 made three-pointers. Mathias leads the team with 50 downtown shots. Vince Edwards is your go and get it player with 8.2 rebounds per game.
Another match up that will interesting to watch is Vince Edwards and Aleem Ford. They have similar tendencies from the three-point line, but Edwards cleans up glass more.
Next: Big Ten Basketball: Week 9 power rankings
Wisconsin is trying to find any way possible to get back into things. Going to Mackey to play a red hot, great shooting and get after you defense in Purdue is going to be their biggest task all season.
Prediction: Purdue 70, Wisconsin 60