Good evening ladies and gentlemen. The #5-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (24-5; 13-5) are in Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers (16-12; 8-10) in the Kohl Center. This will be the only regular season meeting between the two schools. Purdue has clinched at least a tie (with Michigan the only remaining contender) for the Big Ten Conference regular season title and will be the top seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Chicago next week.
Possible Starting Line-ups:
Purdue - Caleb Furst, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
Wisconsin - Steven Crowl, Tyler Wahl, Connor Essegian, Max Klesmit, and Chucky Hepburn*
* Chucky Hepburn's status for tonight's game hasn't yet been confirmed - he returned to practice after suffering an apparent right knee injury in Wisconsin's last game @ Michigan on Sunday.
Hepburn is averaging 12.1 points and 3.0 assists per game this season. In last season's win at home over Purdue, Hepburn dropped 17 points and two assists, including the game-winning 3-pointer.
Matt Painter's comments on Hepburn - "
We'll prepare for him to be out there. We know how good of a player he is, how tough he is. He's a clutch player. He gets big-time steals late in games, he hits big shots."
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Expect Wisconsin to try and keep this game as a typical conference grinder - see if they can limit Zach Edey to one shot per trip and also limit his offensive rebounding. Wisconsin is pretty good on the defensive glass. In addition, the Badgers will need to keep Crowl out of foul trouble - will be interesting to see how physical this game will be.....would assume above-average for the conference. Wisconsin will also look to force Purdue's weakest shooters to have to beat them from outside. Braden Smith's playmaking would be crucial to countering that. The Boilers have tried to attack the rim, even during this recent down period - just hasn't been effective enough in scoring or getting FT attempts. I'd also like to see Purdue try and get a few transition opportunities - there should be some available.
Wisconsin isn't nearly as potent on offense as last season, but they have capable players - they'll need to shoot well enough with Hepburn, Essegian, and Wahl......and rely on their defense. They're used to playing tight games at a snail's pace - possession-for-possession game. All the more reason Purdue needs to get back to maximizing possessions with limiting turnovers and getting production on the offensive glass.
Wisconsin could really use a big win to help bolster its NCAA tournament bid chances, and they'll have a sold-out arena to help the cause. Purdue is looking to wrap up sole possession of the conference crown and still has a shot at a top seed in the NCAA tournament.
Which team can execute better?
Can Purdue get back on track with the shooting? Zach Edey has taken everything the conference bigs can dish.....and then some......can he end the season with another huge game?
Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith have been terrific overall this year, but the last few games have shown some struggles......can they break back through with a big performance to help get the Boilers over the top?
Purdue's bench needs to assert itself as well.....they could very well be the difference.
A win tonight would not only secure the outright conference championship but also provide the Boilers with some badly needed momentum and confidence after four losses in the last six games, including the last three road games. Can they get back on track tonight?
We shall see, starting in a couple of hours.
Boiler Up, my friends.
