Rough last two games but losing by a total of 4 points when the other teams played their best game in over a month and Purdue arguably could have played a lot better....I like our chances in the BTT and the Tourney when it becomes a win or go home scenario with 4 seniors and the steadiness it takes to navigate that. At this point in the season you take the advice of the late Jim Valvano: 'Survive and advance!'
Teams by the Rankings:
Wisconsin:
RPI: 150th
Kenpom: 94th
BPI: 84th
AP: Not Ranked
Coaches: Not Ranked
BTT Seeding: 10th-11th
Tourney Seeding: None likely
Purdue:
RPI: 12th
Kenpom: 4th
BPI: 3rd
AP: 6th
Coaches: 7th
BTT Seeding: 1st-3rd
Tourney Seeding: 1 seed (NCAA Tourney Selection Pre-draw)
ESPN's BPI's Game Predictor has Purdue as an 89.7% favorite to win.
Teams by the Stats:
Wisconsin:
Offensive Scoring: 67.6 (307th)
Defensive Scoring: 67.1 (51st)
FG%: 45.3% (150th)
Assists per Game: 12.8 (193rd)
3pt FG %: 34% (226th)
Total Rebounds per Game: 30.96 (339th)
FG Defensive %: 46.4% (292nd)
Assist to TO Ratio: 1.13 (129th)
Free Throw %: 70% (225th)
Purdue:
Offensive Scoring: 82.5 (30th)
Defensive Scoring: 64.3 (18th)
FG%: 49.6% (16th)
Assists per Game: 17.8 (4th)
3pt FG %: 42.4% (3rd)
Total Rebounds per Game: 35.7 (172nd)
FG Defensive %: 40.1% (19th)
Assist to TO Ratio: 1.65 (3rd)
Free Throw %: 75.2% (50th)
Prediction:
It is likely that Wisconsin, with arguably one of the better post defenders in the country in Happ, will look to leave Haas one on one in the post while trying to run the other players off the three point line in a similar fashion to what has happened since the IU game. If Wisconsin is successful early on in limiting Haas effectiveness and forcing Purdue in to bad shots from the outside, Wisconsin has a shot to make this game interesting throughout given Happ's ability to score and Davison's ability to get hot at times.
However, it is more likely that Purdue has attempted to work out the kinks in the offensive slowdown to work the ball to get more open looks from the perimeter through better off-ball movement in the offense. If that happens and Wisconsin doesn't get multiple players going for career games (hello OSU), Purdue should walk away from this game with a bit of its' swagger back (thanks Kobe for the shoes!) and looking to beat a very good Penn State team looking to get in to the NCAA Tourney with a season defining win.
Purdue: 82
Wisconsin: 64
Teams by the Rankings:
Wisconsin:
RPI: 150th
Kenpom: 94th
BPI: 84th
AP: Not Ranked
Coaches: Not Ranked
BTT Seeding: 10th-11th
Tourney Seeding: None likely
Purdue:
RPI: 12th
Kenpom: 4th
BPI: 3rd
AP: 6th
Coaches: 7th
BTT Seeding: 1st-3rd
Tourney Seeding: 1 seed (NCAA Tourney Selection Pre-draw)
ESPN's BPI's Game Predictor has Purdue as an 89.7% favorite to win.
Teams by the Stats:
Wisconsin:
Offensive Scoring: 67.6 (307th)
Defensive Scoring: 67.1 (51st)
FG%: 45.3% (150th)
Assists per Game: 12.8 (193rd)
3pt FG %: 34% (226th)
Total Rebounds per Game: 30.96 (339th)
FG Defensive %: 46.4% (292nd)
Assist to TO Ratio: 1.13 (129th)
Free Throw %: 70% (225th)
Purdue:
Offensive Scoring: 82.5 (30th)
Defensive Scoring: 64.3 (18th)
FG%: 49.6% (16th)
Assists per Game: 17.8 (4th)
3pt FG %: 42.4% (3rd)
Total Rebounds per Game: 35.7 (172nd)
FG Defensive %: 40.1% (19th)
Assist to TO Ratio: 1.65 (3rd)
Free Throw %: 75.2% (50th)
Prediction:
It is likely that Wisconsin, with arguably one of the better post defenders in the country in Happ, will look to leave Haas one on one in the post while trying to run the other players off the three point line in a similar fashion to what has happened since the IU game. If Wisconsin is successful early on in limiting Haas effectiveness and forcing Purdue in to bad shots from the outside, Wisconsin has a shot to make this game interesting throughout given Happ's ability to score and Davison's ability to get hot at times.
However, it is more likely that Purdue has attempted to work out the kinks in the offensive slowdown to work the ball to get more open looks from the perimeter through better off-ball movement in the offense. If that happens and Wisconsin doesn't get multiple players going for career games (hello OSU), Purdue should walk away from this game with a bit of its' swagger back (thanks Kobe for the shoes!) and looking to beat a very good Penn State team looking to get in to the NCAA Tourney with a season defining win.
Purdue: 82
Wisconsin: 64
