The Wisconsin Badgers had one of their biggest tests of the season on Saturday, with a road matchup against #7 Purdue. The Boilermakers had only lost one game at home all year, but that changed after the Badgers rolled into town. Wisconsin scored the most points they had scored since January 3rd and romped to a 94-84 victory.
The Wisconsin Badgers Had a Historic Day on Offense
Almost everything that could go right went right for Greg Gard’s bunch on Saturday. Despite the hostile road environment that Mackey Arena posed, Wisconsin had one of their best offensive performances of the year and one of the most effective performances by any team this season.
Wisconsin today in a road win at (7) Purdue.
– 94 points
– 61.5% FG pct
– 3 turnovers
– 1.45 PPPThe Badgers are the only Division I team to shoot 60% from the field and commit 3 or fewer turnovers in a road game over the last 15 seasons.
— Jared Berson (@JaredBerson) February 15, 2025
Such a high field goal percentage on the road is impressive no matter the opponent, let alone a vaunted Purdue team that rarely loses in at home in West Lafayette.
Wisconsin barely averages over 10 turnovers per game, which is one of the best marks in college basketball, but even a 3 turnover day is very impressive for them. In fact, it was one of the cleanest games all year by both teams, as Purdue only had 4 turnovers. Both teams shared the ball very well, combining for 39 assists. In the passing department, point guard Max Klesmit had 6 assists, his 2nd game with 6+ dimes in his last 3 outings.
Scoring-wise, the Badgers had 5 players in double-figures, led by John Tonje, who had 22 in the second half and 32 total. He was 10-15 from the field and had 4 made threes as well. Another fantastic outing by the forward is sure to keep him in Big Ten Player of the Year conversations.
Greg Gard Deserves Big Ten Coach of the Year Consideration
Wisconsin was not expected to be 4th in the conference late into the year with a historically good offense. A surging defense and a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten Tournament should earn Gard some deserved praise. Gard has no problem with the lack of expectations and has been quoted saying that the only thing that matters are the goals that the team has internally.
Externally, the expectation wasn’t very high. The problem is the external doesn’t see us every day.
The offense has got much of the attention this year, but as mentioned, the defense is on track to be one of the better units in the country. Wisconsin’s win against Purdue was characterized by several big stops late. They shut off the water for almost every player outside of Trey Kaufman-Renn, notably holding Braden Smith to 2-10 from the field. Badgers forward Carter Gilmore has himself a nice day on the defensive end, with a pair of blocks including a massive one late. His recent bump in minutes has been well deserved.
Wisconsin has 6 games remaining, 4 of which are at home. A road game against Michigan State stands out, but next up is Illinois at home. The Illini are a dangerous team and cannot be overlooked.
