Feb. 1, 2011
19 Wisconsin 66, 11 Purdue 59
Kohl Center • Madison, Wis.
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| 1st | 2nd | Final | | Purdue (18-5, 7-3) | 19 | 40 | 59 | Wisconsin (16-5, 6-3)
| 27 | 39 | 66 | | | | | | Stats at a Glance
| PUR | WIS | FG Percentage
| .479 | .418 | | 3-Point FG Percentage | .385 | .389 | | FT Percentage | .889 | .813 | Offensive Rebounds
| 4 | 12 | | Defensive Rebounds | 21 | 20 | | Total Rebounds | 25 | 32 | Turnovers
| 13 | 7 | Steals
| 6 | 8 | Bench Points
| 3 | 10 | | |
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• Box Score | Box Score 
| Quotes
MADISON, Wis. -- When Ryan Evans threw down his first dunk, it signaled the beginning of a rally for Wisconsin.
His second slam officially ended Purdue's hopes of leaving the Kohl Center victorious.
In between, the sophomore forward pulled up and knocked down a clutch jumper that gave the 19th-ranked Badgers the lead for good with under a minute to play in a 66-59 win over No. 11 Purdue on Tuesday.
Senior Jon Leuer carried Wisconsin with 24 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, but Evans provided a spark off the bench that helped the Badgers (16-5, 6-3 Big Ten) rally in a physical Big Ten Conference battle with the Boilermakers (18-5, 7-3).
Fast Facts
| • Leuer scores 24, hauls down career-high 13 rebounds
| • Evans provides spark off bench with 10 points
| • Badgers win 19th straight game following a loss
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"We've been talking all year round about how we have guys that people might not think twice about just because they might not be the big names," junior guard Jordan Taylor said. "Ryan has been saying what he can do for this team all year long, and he showed it tonight."
The Badgers also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Taylor and 11 points from freshman Josh Gasser, who put together a 4-for-4 shooting performance.
In all, it added up to Wisconsin's 19th-consecutive win following a loss. The Badgers haven't lost back-to-back games since January 2009.
"Here's my theory: don't lose," UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "I don't try to read too much into it, I just want our players to be consistent in their work effort, and the little things like how they took care of the ball."
And take care of it they did. After committing five turnovers in the first half, the Badgers gave it up just twice in the second half to keep their nation-leading turnover average at 7.8 per game.
Lucas at Large
| Evans the key spark in Badgers' win
Ryan Evans' contributions provided a spark for the Badgers' 66-59 win over Purdue on Tuesday -- and were overdue in the eyes of the sophomore forward, Mike Lucas writes | Story
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Evans' dunk off a lob from Taylor ignited a highly-energy crowd that turned out despite blizzard conditions and helped fuel a 15-3 Badgers run, turning the tables on a Purdue team that came out of halftime on fire from the field.
The Boilermakers built a seven-point lead after opening the second half by hitting 11 of their first 12 shots from the floor. The advantage was six points when Taylor found Evans all alone off a backscreen for the alley-oop slam.
"I think that dunk was big, it was almost perfect timing," Taylor said. "It doesn't get any better than that. It got the crowd back into it. The crowd was unbelievable tonight, the student section.
"Whenever you play a tough opponent like that, you'll take any advantage you can get.
The play turned the tables on Purdue and UW assumed the lead, at 51-49, on the strength of back-to-back 3-pointers from Keaton Nankivil over the next 2 1/2 minutes.
From there, the Badgers went to work on the glass. Wisconsin rebounded three consecutive Purdue missed baskets to put together a 7-0 run. When Josh Gasser capped the spurt with a layup at the 3:30 mark, it was the Badgers in front by six, at 58-52.
The Boilers rallied over the next two minutes, however, and used five consecutive points by D.J. Byrd over the span of two possessions to take a one-point lead, 59-58, with 1:11 to play.
"We know they are talented and they were going to make a run," Leuer said. "You can't keep JaJuan (Johnson) and E'Twaun (Moore) down for long, and they made their run. It was a real gut-check."
Evans was up to the challenge. On a possession that saw four Badgers touch the ball, it was Evans who pulled up from 15 feet to drain what proved to be the game-winner with 50 seconds remaining.
"Those are the shots that he can hit, that's a high-percentage shot for him," Ryan said. "It wasn't a surprise, if you look at the baskets he hit last year, those are the types of shots that he shoots a high percentage on."
Free throws by Gasser and Leuer extended the Badgers' advantage to five points with 31 seconds to go, before Evans made another critical play by tying up Moore on a drive to the basket. The possession arrow gave the ball to the Badgers and led to a free throw by Taylor.
The Badgers failed to get to the charity stripe in the first half but went 13-for-16 at the line in the second stanza.
After Taylor boarded a missed 3-point attempt by Moore on the other end, he again dished to a wide-open Evans down court. Evans put the exclamation point on UW's 15th-straight home win by flushing a dunk with under 10 seconds on the clock.
The Badgers' play down the stretch was enough to overcome Purdue's 55.2-percent shooting in the second half thanks to a defensive effort that saw UW limit the Boilermakers to 19 points in the first half.
"Those guys are going to get their points and the team is going to get their points," Taylor said. "The main thing is to stay tough and try to make them uncomfortable.
"We did a good job of that."
The Badgers' homestand continues Sunday with Michigan State, as the Spartans come to the Kohl Center for a game that tips off at noon on CBS.
