#3 Purdue Steamrolls Wisconsin
By KEITH CARRELL
@BoilerColts
ISL Purdue Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Time is a precious commodity, whether talking about life, basketball, or even how long it takes for Joey Chestnut to scarf down a bunch of hotdogs. Time was not on Wisconsin’s side Tuesday night in a runaway, 78-50, loss to Purdue. 12:23, that’s nearly eight minutes elapsed, was left on the clock in the first half before Ethan Happ mercilessly stole the ball from Matt Haarms near midcourt and drove for a fast break layup to finally put a tally in the field goals column, but by then, it was too late. Purdue had already raced out to an 18-to-two lead (Nate Reuvers had made two free throws for the Badgers) and the fat lady had already been warming up… for about eight minutes.
A lot can happen in eight minutes, but let’s just visit what did happen in the nearly eight minutes it took before Happ’s layup found the bottom of the net. In that time, Isaac Haas was able to start, take a breather, and reenter the game and Purdue had scored 18 points, including a twelve-nothing running to start the game (making their first four three point attempts – a pair from Carsen Edwards and one each for P.J. Thompson and Vincent Edwards). In that time, Wisconsin had turned the ball over four times and missed seven shots, including four from long range. In that time, Purdue had connected on seven of their 13 attempts and had four assists from three different players. In that time, Purdue was able to recognize both Jerry Ross, for his status as an accomplished astronaut and alumnus, and the Purdue Cheerleading squad, in recognition of their recent National Championship win. In that time, the game was already won, and it was one heck of a showing by the Purdue Boilermakers. In that time… the game was over.
“Our ability to make shots early, get that quick lead, and then our defensive pressure really caused (Wisconsin) problems.” – Purdue Head Coach, Matt Painter
Perhaps the most telling, impressive, surprising (pick an adjective, we’ll go with it) thing about this contest was how it was won, or, rather, how it wasn’t won. Haas did not make a single field goal (he earned two points from the charity stripe), Dakota Mathias did not make a single three (ending his streak of consecutive games with at least one at 25) and made just one shot — a mid-range jumper with the clock winding down in the first half, and Purdue was atrocious from the free throw line (netting only four of their ten attempts – and missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities).
Wisconsin went into this game with an obvious game plan to sell out on Haas and he regularly had three and even four defenders crash down on him. On the few occasions in which he was open, he wasn’t able to complete the play at the rim, missing a couple of bunnies to the point it was almost comical. Likewise, Wisconsin played solid defense on Mathias and he typically opted to pass into a better option, but did miss all three of his three point attempts.
So how did Purdue win this game, you might ask? Primarily defense and being unselfish with the ball. Happ is a stellar forward and easily the star of the Badgers’ show after losing four key starters to graduation last season and Haas was a huge reason for his struggles. The Purdue center was often assigned to Happ on defense and could be seen in a stance much lower than is typical for Haas. He used good footwork and that lower, almost guard-esque, stance to keep Happ in front of him. Haas had help, but he was a key part of the scheme and that defensive focus, perhaps, was why the big man was unable to finish on the other end. For his efforts, Happ managed only 15 points (on 16 attempts) while committing seven turnovers and two fouls, but it was an even tougher go in the first half where Happ netted only seven points to marry his five turnovers.
“Our defense has been really improved throughout the whole season. That’s been a focus and emphasis of ours throughout the season and I think we’re continuing to improve each and every game. If we can defend like that, I don’t know of a lot of teams that can beat us.” – Thompson
This victory was a team effort and highlighted Purdue’s versatility in all facets of the game. Defensively, Purdue forced 14 of Wisconsin’s 20 turnovers (15 of which were in the first half), allowed the Badgers to make only 17 of their 48 field goal attempts, and blocked seven shots (Haarms five, Haas two). Straights could not have been more dire for Wisconsin than with five minutes left in the opening stanza when the Badgers had eleven points to go along with twelve turnovers (when turnovers exceed points, it’s always a losing proposition). Offensively, the Boilers were unselfish as they earned 20 assist on their 30 made buckets and shot a sizzling 14-22 from distance (again that’s with sharpshooter, Mathias, going 0-3). And for that scoring, since typical stalwarts Haas and Mathias were largely held in check, Purdue turned largely to the rest of the starters for help: C. Edwards led all scorers with 21, V. Edwards added 20, Thompson 14. Mind you, those three combining for 75 was enough to win by 25 in this one, but bench scoring (sometimes a struggle for Purdue this season) was effective as well; Haarms chipped in ten points and Cline made all three of his triples for nine points. When it was all said and done, turnovers and assists really told the tale of Tuesday night: Wisconsin had 10 assists and 20 turnovers while Purdue mirrored that with 20 assists and 10 turnovers.
🎥 Highlights from #Purdue’s 14th straight victory. #Purdue 78
Wisconsin 50#BoilerUp 🚂 pic.twitter.com/6yn0c1HCyi— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 17, 2018
It was a night of celebration for Purdue as they handed out a free shirt to each fan in attendance and the stadium design created a “50” on either end of the court, a tribute to Mackey Arena’s 50th season. It was announced during a dead ball that the ten millionth fan had entered through Mackey’s gates. With perhaps the loudest cheer (although the applause for the National Championship winning cheerleaders was close, if not equal), the Purdue Football team brought the Foster Farms Bowl championship trophy out during the second media timeout of the first half (for those counting at home, Purdue had a commanding 23-to-four lead at that juncture).
As if the crowd needed pumping up more, Purdue Football Head Coach, Jeff Brohm, with microphone in hand, began talking as the applause tapered off. He began, “First off, how about this basketball team?” as he turned and pointed to the Purdue bench and cheers rained down from the fans, “How about these (National Champion) cheerleaders?” as he turned the other direction and pointed to the cheerleaders on the right baseline beneath the Boiler Brass, “How about these Fans?” he shouted, before he began to turn toward his team surrounding him, “How about this Football team?” and the applause and cheers grew louder still. Once they had tapered off Brohm spoke a bit more, continuing to inject energy into the crowd, before capping it off, “Boiler Up! And, you can bet for damn sure that we’re going to hammer down!” then walked with the team back toward the tunnel.
Purdue Athletics is on a roll and I’ve overheard a few fans mention they were planning or had sent Athletic Director Mike Bobinski a thank you for steering the department in a very vertically upward direction in a short amount of time since he arrived on campus. The basketball team is merely the latest to jump aboard that train as they’ve reeled off 14 straight victories, seven of those in conference action. That streak ties Painter’s best at the helm and they’ll look to extend the streak when they visit Iowa for a lunchtime matinee Saturday.
Valentine’s Day and Wedding season is just around the corner, what better way than to celebrate loved ones than with a handmade crocheted name, check those and other items out in my #Etsy shop:https://t.co/Giiukbazxz
— Betty’s Heritage (@BettysHeritage) January 4, 2018
Oh, and as for Joey Chestnut (because I know that question was burning in your head), it takes him just ten minutes to eat 72 (that’s seventy-two!) hotdogs. Think about that, it took Wisconsin nearly eight minutes to score their first field goal and over 13 minutes before they reached double figures, but Chestnut can rid the earth of 72 Nathan’s Famous hotdogs with a mere ten minutes in July.
Next up:
Away: Iowa on Saturday, 1/20 (Noon, ESPN)
Home: #23 Michigan on Thursday, 1/25 (7 pm, ESPN2)
Quick Hits:
Purdue moved up to 3rd in both the AP and Coaches Polls this week and received a first place vote in the AP poll… The game was yet another sellout in Mackey this season… Haarms was finally able to see a three point attempt go in with under a minute to play in the game, his first make of the season… Four Boilers made at least three triples: Thompson (4-5), C. Edwards (3-5), V. Edwards (3-5), and Cline (3-3)… Wisconsin outrebounded Purdue 33-28 and was better form the free throw line (10-12 compared to Purdue’s 4-10)… This was Wisconsin’s 44th trip to Mackey Arena and the Badgers have left victories only four times… Reserve big man Jacquil Taylor missed the game with an illness… The 20 turnovers by Wisconsin were a season high for the Badgers… Of Purdue’s 14 steals (a season high for Purdue), C. Edwards had five – a new career high, besting his previous high of two… Happ was the only Wisconsin player in double figures (15) and he added seven assists and six boards… Following two impressive road wins against Michigan and Minnesota, the Boilers were named NCAA.com’s National Team of the Week… Although Haas and Mathias didn’t score well, they were present in other areas: Haas had four boards and two assists while Mathias had five assists and four boards.
