WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? After escaping with a narrow victory against Michigan in its last game, the Wisconsin men?s basketball team wasn?t as fortunate Saturday, as the team dropped its first Big Ten contest of the season to Purdue 60-56 at Mackey Arena.
The No. 11 Badgers (16-3, 6-1 Big Ten) had won their last 10 games before Saturday’s loss to the unranked Boilermakers (15-5, 6-1), who, in a stretch dating back to last season, became the fourth straight conference opponent to storm the court after beating UW at home.
Wisconsin found itself playing from behind for most of the game, but after Purdue?s E?Twaun Moore ? who led the Boilermakers with 16 points ? missed a jump shot that could have put the game out of reach, Wisconsin found itself in possession of the ball down two points with 10.8 seconds left in the game.
After head coach Bo Ryan called a timeout, sophomore Jason Bohannon inbounded the ball to Michael Flowers at midcourt, and after driving to the basket Flowers appeared to have an open lane. But Flowers? layup attempt was blocked by Purdue?s Robbie Hummel. After a pair of Hummel free throws, Wisconsin was left to watch as Boilermaker fans stormed the court.
?[Flowers] is a great player, so I was just trying to contain him a little bit and he kind of got by me and got to the basket,? Hummel said. ?I was fortunate to recover and block his shot.?
It was Flowers who hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer earlier this season when Wisconsin found itself in a similar situation against Texas, but the senior couldn?t repeat his heroic gesture this time around.
?I thought he had a good opportunity to try and make a play,? Ryan said. ?It just didn?t work out this time.?
Wisconsin fell behind early after a 10-0 Purdue run gave the Boilermakers a quick eight-point lead. For the rest of the first half the Badgers found themselves battling back. Purdue?s Keaton Grant hit a pair of threes to extend the lead to 29-23 before a Trevon Hughes? buzzer-beater cut the lead to three at the break.
Though the Badgers did grab a brief 41-40 second-half lead following a pair of Bohannon free throws, the Boilermakers quickly took back control of the game.
A Hummel 3-pointer made the lead five with a little over four minutes to play, but the Badgers once again fought back and gave themselves a chance to tie the game with just over a minute remaining.
Bohannon missed a 3-pointer, however, and Joe Krabbenhoft, after grabbing the offensive rebound, turned the ball over.
?I think it was just a typical Big Ten battle, back and forth, back and forth,? Butch said. ?They just made a couple more plays than we did.?
Purdue entered the game with just one loss in league play, and the youthful roster came out fired up against Wisconsin.
?Credit has got to be given to Purdue,? Krabbenhoft said. ?I thought we could have played a little better, but we didn?t and they did. That?s why they won. It’s that simple.?
Wisconsin, winners of only one game at Mackey Arena since 1972, didn?t help themselves as the team was outrebounded by its opponent for the second straight game, and had more turnovers (13) Saturday than it did assists (11).
?We?re a better team than the things that we did tonight,? Butch said.
Butch played one of his best games of the season, leading the team with 20 points including a pair of threes and 13 rebounds, and several clutch boards coming late in the game. But the effort was wasted as the team couldn?t come up with the baskets they needed down the stretch.
?If we make one or two different plays, maybe it goes our way,? Krabbenhoft said.
Still, with No. 7 Indiana, who was also upset Saturday, coming up as its next opponent, Wisconsin must quickly try and learn from its mistakes.
?We got to bounce back and move on to the next [game],? Krabbenhoft said. ?We?ve just got to get better and learn.?
