[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Wisconsin closed out the regular season in dominant fashion Saturday, cruising to a 64-52 win over Purdue (7-20, 3-13). With the win, the Badgers (20-7, 11-5 Big Ten) solidified their hold on the third seed for the Big Ten Tournament and set a school record with their third-consecutive 20-win season.

It was an emotional afternoon, as five UW seniors played their last game at the Kohl Center, and legendary Purdue helmsman Gene Keady coached his final regular season contest.

Before the game, Wisconsin honored seniors Andreas Helmigk, Sharif Chambliss, Zach Morley, Clayton Hanson and Mike Wilkinson. Brought out last, Wilkinson received the loudest ovation from the 17,142 in attendance.

“I still don’t think it’s hit me that this is the last game I’m going to play here,” Wilkinson said. “We had all the stuff beforehand, and the crowd was amazing, like they’ve been all year.”

Then came a tribute to Keady, who made his last trip to Madison as Purdue’s head coach after 25 years with the Boilermakers. To commemorate the Big Ten icon’s final regular season game, the Wisconsin coaching staff presented him with a set of golf clubs and a trip to Wisconsin’s premier golf course, Whistling Straits.

“I didn’t remind him that he dropped a hint to me that he wanted to play there,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “I think it was media day, he asked, ‘hey, how’s that Whistling Straits? Have you played it?'”

While Ryan opened Senior Day with all five seniors in the starting lineup, Keady employed a different method to select his starting five.

“We asked who wanted to start, and five guys put their hand up, and the first five got to start,” Keady said. “Probably the first time in 47 years I’ve ever done that.”

Shortly after tip-off, it became clear that the UW seniors would enjoy the afternoon far more than the Purdue legend. The Boilermakers struck first, on a lay-in from guard Brandon McKnight, but the Badgers quickly took control.

Wisconsin scored 13 unanswered points, including seven from Wilkinson, to take a commanding 13-2 lead with 15:10 to play. The lead would not change hands the rest of the way.

“They got senior day, and that’s fun, and they got a lot of energy,” Keady said. “We couldn’t match it.”

Purdue’s Gary Ware momentarily stopped the bleeding for the Boilermakers with a short bucket inside, but the Badgers countered with a 9-0 run, extending the lead to 22-4 with 11:48 to play. This time it was Adam Lidell who applied the tourniquet with a reverse lay-in, but the damage was done.

“You just got to go hard, and they weren’t doing anything hard,” Keady said of his team’s first-half performance. “They weren’t setting screens good; they weren’t playing with any intensity. They just got their heads down, feeling sorry for themselves. That’s all baloney. These kids are lucky to have a suit.”

In the midst of Wisconsin’s second scoring run, freshman Brian Butch returned to the court for the first time since he was sidelined with mononucleosis Feb. 9.

“Just a little test, and then hopefully now with tomorrow off and then get back at it Monday, try to get him back, try to get him back where he looks comfortable out there on the floor,” Ryan said of Butch.

Wisconsin led by as many as 24 in the first half before entering the locker room with a 40-19 halftime lead. Though the Badgers enjoyed a torrid start, the second half would not be as kind to the cardinal and white.

“The adrenaline’s running pretty good, halftime comes — doggone halftime, I don’t know why they have it sometimes,” Ryan said. “But it just seemed like we couldn’t get it going again in the second half.”

After Wisconsin dominated the first-half action, Purdue outscored the Badgers 33-24 in the second stanza.

“They came out second half and got after folks,” Keady said of his team’s second-half surge. “I think Wisconsin thought they had it made, typical human nature stuff. They probably let up a bit.”

With 9:16 remaining, Keady’s squad came alive. Purdue guard David Teague provided a spark from the perimeter, Ware heated up inside, and the Boilermakers rattled off a 15-4 run. When the dust settled, Purdue had cut the lead to nine points, 56-47, with 3:34 to play.

“Purdue just got physical and got after us and said, ‘we’re going to make a run here, and you better get ready for it,'” Ryan said of the Boilermaker’s late run.

Then reality set in, as guard Kammron Taylor ended the run with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer. After Taylor shifted the momentum back in Wisconsin’s favor, Wilkinson added two free throws of his own, and the Badgers reclaimed a 16-point advantage with less than two minutes on the clock.

With the game well in hand, Ryan called each senior to the bench for a final round of applause from the Kohl Center faithful. As the final seconds ticked down, the Grateful Red paid tribute to the departing class with a chant of “thank you, seniors.”

Wilkinson led the way for the Badgers with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Hanson added nine points and two assists, and Morley pulled down a team-high six rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Teague led all scorers with 17 points for Purdue.

Minutes after leaving the floor to a second standing ovation from the Kohl Center crowd, Wilkinson received post-game congratulations from Purdue’s departing legend.

“I told him that he’s what college sports is about,” Keady said of his conversation with Wilkinson. “He got better, graduated on time — he’s what it’s all about.”

Keady also had warm words for the Wisconsin program and the Big Ten conference.

“I think they’re very good, I think they can go a long ways in the tournament,” Keady said of Wisconsin. “I just hope that the people on the committee understand that we got five, six teams in this league that should go to the NCAA. I get tired of hearing the commentators say the Big Ten’s down.”