Patrick Herb

Men's Basketball February 13, 2025 Jake Ross

Starting Five: Badgers travel to Purdue for ranked matchup

No. 16 Wisconsin takes on No. 7 Purdue on the road

MADISON, Wis. — Coming off a week-long rest, the No. 16 Wisconsin men’s basketball team looks to continue its momentum in a huge conference-road game against No. 7 Purdue on Saturday. Both teams rank within the top four spots in the conference, with just seven games remaining on Wisconsin’s schedule.

Tip at Mackey Arena is set for 12:00 p.m. (CT) on CBS. Fans can also listen to the action on the Badger Sports Network.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW:

JB cooked today in Iowa City pic.twitter.com/BeUr2zoz6e
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 9, 2025

1. LAST TIME OUT

Wisconsin secured a season sweep over the Iowa Hawkeyes, beating them on the road, 74-63. It was the second time the Badgers took down the Hawks this season, previously beating them 116-85 at the Kohl Center in early January. Iowa led for much of the most recent game, but a late game push by the Badgers put them over the top with five minutes remaining in the game.

John Tonje led the team with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. John Blackwell boosted the scoring with an additional 19 points, collecting six rebounds in the process. Each player upped their game during crunch time, scoring 10+ points in the second half.

The game turned into a defensive battle in the second half, but Wisconsin came out on top thanks to smart passing and clutch free-throwing shooting. Wisconsin went 12-for-14 on free throw attempts in the second frame, finishing the game on a 20-6 run. Most of the Badger baskets were assisted on, with the team collecting 15 assists in the game to just nine turnovers.

The Badgers held Iowa to a season-low 63 points

2. SHUTTING DOWN THE OPPOSITION

Last Saturday’s game against Iowa was one of Wisconsin’s best defensive efforts of the season. Coming into the game, Iowa averaged 85.5 points per game on 50.1% shooting from the field. But on Iowa’s home-floor, the Badgers held them to 63 points on 38.1% shooting from the field - both being season lows for the Hawkeyes.

Wisconsin didn’t allow a field goal in the remaining 4:28 of the game, with Iowa’s only points being scored off two free throws in that time. The defensive effort allowed Wisconsin to increase its four point lead to a 11 point lead. Steven Crowl was a main contributor to the strong defensive play, swiping a career-high three steals and blocking a shot.

For the season, the Badgers are holding opponents to just 41.3% from the field - their lowest rate since 2019-20. Wisconsin has shown a tremendous ability to clog up passing lanes this season, and force tough shots out of its opponents. The team’s tenacity leads to many foes playing out of system, a key reason as to why Wisconsin gives up the second fewest assists in the Big Ten.

3. THE TONJE TAKEOVER

John Tonje’s 22 points in the Iowa box score is more than meets the eye. It was yet another performance for Wisconsin’s leading scorer that saw him score at the most important time. With the Badgers up just three points with nine minutes remaining, Tonje went off to score Wisconsin’s next 10 points, putting the team up multiple possessions.

The grad student finished the game with 14 second half points, including going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. All season long, Tonje has turned things up in the second half. He shoots 51.7% from the field in the second half this season, compared to his usual 46.8% overall mark. Additionally, Tonje averages more assists and less turnovers in the second half of games.

This is also not the only game where Tonje has boosted Wisconsin’s offense with an individual scoring run. Earlier in the year, down six points against Pitt, Tonje scored 15 of the team’s next 17 points in the second half to tie the game back up, eventually leading to a Badger victory. More recently on the road against Northwestern, Tonje scored 16 straight Badger points to get the offense going after a slow start. The team then began to click, and scored 75 points in a victory.

February 4, 2024: Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer (2) during the NCAA basketball game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center in Madison, WI. Darren Lee/CSM

Max Klesmit (11) guards Purdue's Fletcher Loyer (2)

4. PONDERING PURDUE

Purdue is the highest ranked Big Ten opponent Wisconsin will face thus far, currently sitting at No. 7 in the latest AP poll. The team’s record sits at 19-6, with an 11-3 Big Ten record that’s good for second in the conference. The Boilermaker’s latest game was a two-point loss, however, to Michigan - the current Big Ten leader.

Matt Painter is at the helm for Purdue, his 20th season with the squad. Painter has brought the team to the NCAA tournament in 15-of-the-last-19 seasons, including making the NCAA Championship game last year. This season, Purdue 78.5 points per game with a 49.3 field goal percentage that ranks 11th in the nation.

Junior guard, Braden Smith, averages 16.4 points per game and leads the conference in both assists (8.7) and steals (2.5). The leading scorer on the team is junior Trey Kaufman-Renn, who’s 19.0 pointers per game are a 12.6 point increase from his scoring average last season. Another junior, Fletcher Loyer makes up a large part of the team’s shooting success, averaging 13.8 points per game with a 45.1% clip from 3-point range.

Max Klesmit game-winner versus Purdue 2024 Big Ten Tournament

Max Klesmit (11) hit the game winner against Purdue in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament

5. SERIES HISTORY

Purdue leads Wisconsin in the all-time series 114-75. Most of Purdue’s wins have come on their home floor, with UW sporting a 19-74 record in West Lafayette. The teams have balanced out in recent times, however, with the Boilermakers having a slight 21-20 edge in games played since 2000.

Purdue and Wisconsin have engaged in some of the most memorable conference matchups in recent years. Since February of 2020, the teams have an even 4-4 record against each other, with an averaging scoring margin of just 4.1 points. A March 2022 matchup saw the Badgers clinch the division on a game-winning 3-pointer against the No. 8 Boilermakers. This came after another Badger win earlier that season, where they took down No. 3 Purdue on the road. Most recently the two teams faced off in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, where Wisconsin upset them in a 76-75 overtime game.

In a 78-70 loss to the Boilermakers last season, John Blackwell scored 18 points off the bench. At the time, it was the most points that the freshman had scored against a Big Ten team. Max Klesmit helped lead the effort against Purdue during the Big Ten Tournament game, putting up a 12 point, 5 rebound and 5 assist stat line, and hitting the game-winning layup with just 4.8 seconds on the clock.

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