Coming into Sunday’s road contest at Wisconsin, Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter continued a constant theme — the Boilermakers would win if they could rebound, get good shots and quality possessions and limit Wisconsin’s weapons.
Check.
Check.
Check.
And, as a result, Purdue left the Kohl Center in first place in the Big Ten Conference, picking up a 75-69 win over the sixth ranked Badgers. With the victory, Purdue sits at 21-2, 10-2, while Wisconsin fell to 16-6, 8-3.
The win, however, wasn’t solidified until the final minute despite big production from both Lance Jones and Braden Smith, who helped spark a 9-0 run to push Purdue ahead at the half.
“Obviously, it was a hard fought game, it went back and forth. We really wanted to limit their three’s, but with that said, we didn’t want to let them live in the paint. When we did a good job of containing the dribble and not letting them in, that helped us. It wasn’t our best game offensively. We wanted to hammer the glass and get quality shots. They are a tough team, not a lot of people are going to get a win here. Feel real fortunate to the win,” Painter said after the game.
The game was indeed back and forth as both teams traded baskets in the first half, while Purdue struggled, shooting 1-of-5 from behind the arc in the first half and being outscored 20-10 in the paint. Despite that, the Boilermakers took a 34-32 lead into the lockers.
The frenzy pace would continue in the second half until it didn’t, as Wisconsin went an ice cold 0-of-11 behind the arc in the second half, allowing Purdue to take control in the period.
Purdue coach: “We wanted to hammer the glass”
Coming in, Painter said Purdue had to control the glass, and the Boilermakers did just that. Purdue outrebounded the Badgers 14-10 on the offensive glass and held a commanding 42-29 overall edge.
“Huge, no question about it,” Painter said about the rebounding edge.
Purdue big man Zach Edey was a main cog in Purdue’s success, as he grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with 18 points for his 55th career double-double.
“He’s such a load to keep off. He’s the best I’ve been around at tapping it back. You always think it’s over the back, but he’s just seven inches taller than the other guy. His effort is amazing. For someone who is carrying around that sort of cargo, he gives effort on every play. We thought that was a big piece,” Painter said.
Boilers in position to win Big Ten championship
With the win at Wisconsin, Purdue sits atop the Big Ten Conference standings.
Painter touched on how important it was to string together several wins, both at Mackey Arena and on the road, remembering something legendary Purdue coach Gene Keady used to say.
“If you want to win the championship, you have to take care of business at home. You’ve got to be able to get at least half of them. Coach Keady used to always talk about win all your home games, split them on the road and that puts you at 15-5. That’s going to put you in position at that point. As a coach, you’re greedy. You want don’t five losses, but in this league, it’s a pretty big accomplishment to go 15-5 and put yourself in that position. It’s hard to win,” Painter said.
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