Game Coverage
Tuesday, Jan. 16 | 6 p.m. (CT) | Mackey Arena
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin plays its third-consecutive road game on Tuesday when it travels to face No. 3 Purdue. In three seasons under head coach Greg Gard, the Badgers have tallied five wins over teams ranked in the AP Top 10. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.
Up next, UW returns home to host Illinois on Friday at 8 p.m. on FS1.
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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW: PURDUE
1. AT HIS BEST AGAINST THE BEST: In four games against Top-25 teams this season, Ethan Happ is averaging 19.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest.Â
2. OFFENSE HEATING UP: Over the last seven games, the Badgers' offense has been clicking, averaging 73.7Â points per game and shooting 51% overall (38% from 3-point range). During the first 11 games, UW averaged just 66.1 points per game and shot 44% overall (33% from 3-point range).
3. HOME ON THE ROAD: In three seasons under Greg Gard, Wisconsin is 11-10 away from home in conference play. UW is one of just three teams with an above .500 mark over that span (Purdue and Maryland). The Badgers are 26-15 (.634) overall in conference play since Gard entered the Big Ten, the fourth-best mark over that span.
4. GARD IN CONTROL:Â With a record of 51-27Â (.654), Greg Gard owns the third-highest win percentage in school history (min. 60 games) behind Hall of Famers Bo Ryan (.737) and Walter Meanwell (.712). He has gone 26-13 (.667) in Big Ten play.
5. HAPP HAVING HIS WAY: All-American Ethan Happ is the only player ranked among the top 15 in points (fourth at 16.9 ppg), rebounds (4th at 8.6 rpg) and assists (15th at 3.4 apg). He is also the only major conference player averaging at least 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season.
ALL-TIME vs. PURDUE
Tuesday's game will be the 178th meeting between Wisconsin and Purdue in a series beginning in 1906. The Boilermakers lead the all-time series, 107-70, but the rivalry has been quite even recently. The two teams have split the last 14 meetings.
- Purdue has won three straight overall, including the only meeting last season, 66-55, in West Lafayette
- UW is just 18-70 all-time in games played in West Lafayette, Indiana. In fact the Badgers, have won just three times at Mackey Arena since 1972, owning a record of 3-36 over that span. Each of those three victories have come in the last 13 years, as UW claimed a 77-68 win at Purdue in 2005, a 67-62 win in 2012 and a 72-58 win in West Lafayette in 2014.
- Wisconsin has allowed Purdue to hit the 70-point mark just three times in the teams' last 15 meetings
- Seven current Badgers have played against Purdue, led by Ethan Happ who is averaging 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in three meetings. Happ scored a team-high 17 points in UW's last trip to Mackey.
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LAST TIME OUT
NEBRASKA 63, WISCONSIN 59
Jan. 9, 2018 | Pinnacle Bank Arena | Lincoln, Neb.
- Wisconsin dropped a second-straight road game by four points with a 63-59 setback at Nebraska last Tuesday. The Badgers trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before pulling within three before ultimately falling.
- The Badgers scored five more field goals than Nebraska and owned a 38-24 scoring edge in the paint, but were undone by 5-for-19 (26.3%) shooting from 3-point range and a large discrepancy at the free throw line (UW was 4-10, NEB was 21-28)
- Junior Ethan Happ tallied his third-straight double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and four steals
- Freshman Brad Davison scored in double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games, finishing with 15 points (3-8 3FG) and five assists
- Sophomore Brevin Pritzl totaled 10 points and matched a career high with seven rebounds
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COMPLETE GAME NOTES
For complete game notes,
click here.
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