A lot has happened since 1972, but a UW men’s basketball victory in West Lafayette, Ind., isn’t one of them. After an 84-65 victory in 1972, the Badgers have suffered a 27-game streak of futility at Purdue’s Mackey Arena, a streak Wisconsin will attempt to snap tonight.
Tonight’s game, however, has a much more significant storyline than UW’s Mackey meltdowns. At 6-1 in the Big Ten (14-4 overall), the Boilermakers can maintain sole possession of first place in the conference with a victory tonight. The Badgers (15-4, 5-2), on the other hand, have an opportunity to vault themselves into a three-way tie atop the conference at 6-2 with Purdue and Michigan, who doesn’t play until Saturday.
“Every Big Ten road game is very tough and competitive,” UW guard Freddie Owens said. “This is kind of like a first-place game, too. That makes it even more intense.”
Owens possesses the toughest responsibility of all the Badgers against Purdue. He’ll have to handle the difficult task of matching up against senior guard Willie Deane, Purdue’s best player.
Coming off a season in which he was an All-Big Ten Second Team selection by the media and one of Purdue’s only bright spots in a difficult season, Deane has gotten even better. He leads the Boilermakers with 17.8 points per game, third best in the Big Ten. He’s been even better in conference play, upping his scoring average to 20.3 per game. He also leads the team in steals and assists and is second in rebounding, so his matchup with Owens, a renowned defensive presence, will be essential.
“I’m just going to try to keep him away from the bucket, basically,” Owens said. “He’s a great penetrator, but he can also shoot it. I’m just going to try to make him hit tough jump shots, and if those go in, so be it.”
Devin Harris, UW’s other starting guard, also acknowledged the importance of playing sound team defense against Deane, particularly in limiting his penetration.
“We try to limit penetration altogether, no matter who it is, and try to keep him out of the lane,” Harris said. “As far as transition, we all have to get back and help out, just do our jobs. We especially [have to] try to get out to our guys after the pass comes back out [from the lane].”
While Deane is Purdue’s centerpiece, a very capable supporting cast accentuates him. Junior guard Kenneth Lowe, who missed last season due to shoulder surgery, has been the perfect complement to Deane, averaging 12.2 points per game, including a game-high 19 in a win over Indiana Jan. 25.
Sophomore Brandon McKnight and junior Austin Parkinson have combined for 4.4 assists per game, while senior Darmetreis Kilgore and freshman David Teague, both 6-foot-5, round out Gene Keady’s deep backcourt.
However, Keady’s frontcourt is equally deep. Junior forward Chris Booker averages 10.9 points per game while leading the team with 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior forward Brett Buscher has chipped in with 7.2 and 3.2, respectively.
All in all, Keady gives an astounding 10 players 10 or more minutes of playing time per game, so Purdue will likely have the freshest legs down the stretch. Despite having just two seniors, the Boilermakers play like veterans, leading the Big Ten in turnover margin at plus 3.83. Wisconsin is second at plus 3.47.
Yet all statistics aside, Purdue has the ultimate Big Ten advantage of playing at home, something UW has used greatly to its advantage at the Kohl Center.
Harris expressed that the first five minutes of the game will be the most important in limiting the crowd factor.
“It’s going to be a hostile environment, and their guys are going to be psyched up to play at home,” he said. “We have to start off really well, contain their excitement early and just play our game. If we contain their excitement, come out and score early, we’ll be fine.”
Kirk Penney earned his first start at Purdue as a freshman, finishing with a then career-high 17 points. The young Badgers will need that performance out of their current youth, as well as their veterans, if they’re going to win tonight.
Nonetheless, this is a team that can win on the road, as they beat Indiana at Assembly Hall for the first time since 1972 and Michigan State at the Breslin Center for the first time since 1996 last season.
If they can snap another of those streaks tonight, a first-place standing will be Wisconsin’s reward.
