Purdue vs Wisonsin Basketball Recap

Purdue 60, Wisconsin 57

The result produced by Purdue and Wisconsin on a contentious Thursday night in West Lafayette, Ind., will be discussed for the rest of the Big Ten regular season. The winning team achieved something significant, yet left behind a sense that all is not right in its locker room. The losing team, though dealt a blow on a certain unmistakable level, revealed the positive attributes that have served it so well this season.

Sometimes, reality isn't as simple as the final score. Purdue (5-3 Big Ten) did pull within half a game of Wisconsin (6-3 Big Ten) for second place in the league standings behind 8-0 Michigan State, but aside from the situational significant scalp, the Boilermakers reminded their rightfully antsy fan base why this season hasn't proceeded according to plan.

It seemed that Coach Matt Painter's roster was going to reach the finish line without too much trouble against Bo Ryan's Badgers at Mackey Arena. With 2:28 remaining in regulation, the home folks owned a 56-49 edge. Wisconsin is a tough out against anyone in the United States, and the Badgers' relentlessly physical brand of basketball requires an opponent to exert to the full extent of its capabilities. Purdue did that for the first 37 and a half minutes on Thursday, and as a result, the low-octane Wisconsin offense looked to be dead in the water as the seconds dripped off the scoreboard clock.

But then, Purdue let its foot off the gas, in a late-game meltdown eerily akin to the Ohio State loss a few weeks before.

Entering the final two and a half minutes of regulation, Wisconsin forward Keaton Nankivil - who entered this contest averaging just eight points per game - had already nailed 5 of 6 3-pointers. If there was one path to a comeback for the Badgers, it went through Nankivil. Surely, Purdue's defense needed to lock down the one hot shooter in a red jersey.

That's exactly what the Boilermakers failed to do. While imploding on a pair of their own offensive possessions, the Boilers went "off the boil" and allowed Nankivil to slip free for two more treys which, combined with a Jordan Taylor layup, gave Wisconsin a 57-56 edge in the final minute. (Nankivil finished 7 of 8 from 3-point range, tallying 25 points in the process.) Unconscionable lapses reminiscent of the Ohio State debacle put Purdue in danger of a horrible come-from-ahead loss that would have severely damaged the Boilers' seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Fortunately, E'Twaun Moore stayed the course. The steady guard, who poured in 20 points in this game, hit a floater in the lane with 27 seconds left to give Purdue a 58-57 edge. On Wisconsin's final possession, Purdue's Robbie Hummel did appear to hit the elbow of Wisconsin guard Trevon Hughes on a jumper with seven seconds left, but the officials didn't blow the whistle. After the Badgers maintained possession when the rebound went out of bounds off a Boilermaker defender, Hughes missed a six-footer from the left side of the lane. Purdue center JaJuan Johnson - who showed up late for this game and did not start, in an incident which speaks volumes about this veteran team's commitment (or lack thereof) - grabbed the rebound with one second left and hit two foul shots to put the finishing touches on a very relieving victory.

Yet, while winning sure beats losing, one can't help but wonder? Is this Purdue club really tough enough and focused enough to make a deep run and March and deliver on its considerable preseason potential? The answer right now has to be "no."

Scoreboard outcomes sometimes fail to tell the whole story. Purdue won a battle on Thursday night, but larger indications suggest that the Boilers - who would love to make the Final Four in Indianapolis, just a short drive from their campus - are not in position to win the war known as the NCAA Tournament.

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