Purdue Basketball: Boilermakers show true dominance against Wisconsin

Purdue basketball entered their game against Wisconsin as a double-digit favorite. They did not let the Badgers even come close to pulling the upset.

The Purdue Boilermakers were riding a 13-game winning streak heading into Tuesday night’s game. The Wisconsin Badgers were a week removed from suffering their second of consecutive terrible losses. While the Boilermakers rank in the top-20 in offense and defense nationally, the Badgers are young and struggling in all kinds of ways. These two teams are truly moving in opposite directions at the moment and that was evident in their game against each other.

Purdue didn’t take long to get things going against Wisconsin. In fact, the Boilermakers had a 12-0 lead before the audience could even get settled.

The Badgers finally got on the board at the 16:45 mark from a pair of Nate Reuvers free throws. Vincent Edwards knocked down a jumper and then the game went scoreless for two minutes.

The Boilermakers still continued to flex their muscles, though. This truly looked like David vs. Goliath. It was a match up of big brother vs. little brother. Usually Wisconsin is the more experienced and sound team. This time it was Purdue and they dominated in every facet of the game.

Carsen Edwards and Vincent Edwards combined for four 3-pointers. Carsen finished the game with 21 points, three 3-pointers and, 5 steals. Vincent Edwards scored 20 total points, dropped three from downtown, and grabbed five boards.

Matt Haarms and Isaac Haas showed that they are two outstanding big men. The Badgers had zero answer for the two 7-foot-2 centers. Ethan Happ and Reuvers looked so small when they went up against the Boilermakers. Wisconsin even reverted to playing Alex Illikainen for 16 minutes against Purdue. That didn’t make a difference. Illikainen was able to knock down a 3-pointer, but he couldn’t slow down Haarms or Haas.

With the two Edwards dropping in shots, both big men didn’t fill the score sheet that much.

Haarms and Haas controlled the post by using their size. Haas shot two free throws for only two points, grabbed four boards, and blocked two shots. Haarms put in 10 points and blocked five shots.

Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ decided it was his time to take over but still couldn’t get it going. Happ stayed out of foul trouble, only committing two. The turnover game was back though. Despite being careless with the ball, Happ played 37 minutes. Greg Gard knew as long as the big man was staying out of foul trouble, Happ had to stay in the game. He was able to shoot 7-for-16 from the field. Happ scored 15 points, grabbed 6 boards, and came up with 2 steals.

Ethan did everything he possibly could to keep them in the game. He battled all game long. The problem Wisconsin faced was that when Happ drew the double-team, no one would move. Every guy stayed on the perimeter. The shots weren’t falling so Happ wasn’t confident in kicking it out to them.

Brad Davison, the true freshman guard for the Badgers, also committed seven turnovers. He picked up four fouls, played 30 minutes, and pretty much looked invisible against this very talented Purdue team. Davison scored five points and only knocked down one 3-pointer.

No other Badger was in double-figures. Khalil Iverson showed signs of promise, but he couldn’t sustain success against Purdue. Brevin Pritzl went 1-for-7 from behind-the-arc. The team knows they are capable of knocking down the deep shot, but something isn’t right.

If there’s a statistic that Purdue lacked in, it was rebounding. The Badgers actually out-rebounded the Boilermakers 33-28.  Purdue really didn’t need it because shots were falling for them and they hauled in 22 defensive rebounds.

The Purdue Boilermakers are a complete team. Their starters know their roles. The two others that haven’t been mentioned are Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson. Mathias dished 5 assists and grabbed four rebounds. Thompson shot 5-for-7 from the field.

Next: Why can’t Wisconsin win with Ethan Happ?

Along with Haarms, the Boilermakers have a couple other players who can play off the bench. Despite the lopsided score, Matt Painter chose not to empty his bench. The could’ve been because the coach doesn’t want to mess with anything at this point in the season.

The Badgers struggled as expected. The fact that the game was never close shows that the Purdue Boilermakers are a legitimate and complete team while Wiscosin is floundering.