Wisconsin Knocks Off Top-Seed Purdue in OT, Advances to Big Ten Tourney Final
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Greg Gard and his Wisconsin Badgers have had plenty of success against a very good Purdue program the last several years. Because of that, they never back down, never waver, never worry.
The confidence, and maybe a little chip on their shoulder, was on full display Saturday in the first Big Ten Tournament semifinal. They was pushing, shoving, jaw-jacking and tenacity from the start to the finish, and the game ended in overtime with a Max Klesmit basket, giving the Badgers a 76-75 win — and a trip to the tournament finals on Sunday.
They also survived 28 fouls being called against them while battling with 7-foot-4 Purdue center Zach Edey, and three guys fouling out. They never blinked, and got a huge win, their 22nd on the year and third straight after a rough February. It was their fifth win over Purdue in the past six-plus years.
And in a tight game, they just kept making plays.
Like they knew they would.
"Yeah, I think our confidence is coming from the chemistry we've all built, this bond we've built in the locker room. It's carrying it outside onto the floor now,'' said Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit, who hit the game-winner with five seconds left. "Our ability to learn during that stretch in late February, early March, and not dwell on it or look at it as a burden was really important.
"Coming into work every day, everybody is super positive, ready to go, ready to learn. I think that's just starting to show now on the floor. There's not a better group of guys I'd want to be around. I've never really been this far in March in my career. So I just want to keep playing with the dudes we've got in this locker room. It's been a lot of fun.''
That positive attitude was present from the beginning, despite losing twice to the Boilers in the regular season. Klesmit and Edey had words in the third minute of the game, and Wisconsin center Steven Crowl stepped into the shouting match, nose-to-nose with Edey. Both got technical fouls, but it was also clear that Wisconsin was here to fight.
It was a battle throughout, too. There were seven lead changes, the game was tied for nearly nine minutes and no one led by more than three points for the entire second half.
Purdue had a chance to win the game in regulation. They had a three-point lead and the ball with 22 seconds to go, but turned it over on a bad pass from Edey. It was one of 16 turnovers for Purdue.
Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn, who finished with 22 points, scored on a drive to make it 65-64 with six seconds to go. The Badgers then fouled Edey right away, but he only made one of two.
Down two after a timeout, Hepburn found an opening and drove to the lane without any resistance. He scored to send the game to overtime.
"The three was the first option, but I had seen that (Purdue point guard) Braden (Smith) was a little too close to me,'' Hepburn said. "So I knew I had the angle on him, and I was able to get to the rim. I knew they didn't want to foul, so he just stepped out of the way, and I was able to convert.''
In overtime, Purdue led by three but Hepburn against eschewed the three and scored with 39 seconds to go. On the other end, guarding Smith tight, he got a charging call when Smith pushed off with 21 seconds to go.
"I was just trying to force a turnover,'' Hepburn said. "I knew Braden had gotten into me a little bit. So I was able to sell the charge and he definitely extended, and they called it.''
Wisconsin sealed the win with Klesmit's basket. A desperation three-pointer at the buzzer by Purdue's Lance Jones went wide, and the Badgers had their ticket to tghe finals.
"I was really just trying to get something at the front of the rim,'' Klesmit said. "Chucky drove it into the lane and he draws a lot of attention. So his ability to just see the floor, kick it out to me, and it was on me to continue to try to put pressure on the rim. I just got a good look at the end, and it went in.''
Wisconsin had an ugly late stretch in February and early March, losing eight of 11 games. But they seem to be back to their old selves now, a team that was ranked as high as No. 6 in the country earlier in the year.
"You're always trying to instill belief in them because they get so many negative shots from the outside world, that you constantly are countering that,'' Gard said. "We've talked all year, actually since September, to believe, earn, and finish. You have to see it first. You have to dream about it. This group has big goals. I've said before, the only one that's gotten away from them so far is the regular season. Then you've got to go do the work. You've got to earn it, and you've got to finish it.
"I think this group has always had strong belief in themselves, but they're 18 to 22 years old that are going through a lot of things sometimes, some adversity for the first time. Sometimes you've got to prop them up. But at the same time, you hold them accountable and push them through and help them fight through it. Then you get to this point in time, and hopefully that maturity and those experiences start to pay off.''
Hepburn had those 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and had four assists and zero turnovers in 38 minutes of playing time. Wisconsin only had five turnovers all game. AJ Storr added 20, Klesmit had 12 and Crowl 11.
Edey led the way for Purdue, scoring 28 points, with 14 of them coming from the line in 19 attempts. He became the Boilermakers' all-time leading scorer, passing Rick Mount.
Because of all the early flame-outs to low seeds the past few years, Purdue knew this season was all about having success in March. Those 31 regular season games don't mean a lot, even with the a Big Ten regular-season title thrown in there for a second straight year. Losing here hurts, but it's all about next week and the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue is now 29-4 on the season. After their previous three losses, they bounced right back quickly, winning at least six games in a row all three times.
Win six more now, and that would be their first NCAA title.
Edey said the difference with this year's team is that a defeat has shaken their confidence as it has in the past. That's why Saturday's loss won't bother them, either. It's all about the NCAA Tournament now.
"I think it's been a big area of growth for us, compared to this year from last year. Last year it would rattle us and check our confidence,'' Edey said. "This year we know who we are, we know what type of team we are, and we know what we can do.
"I think, when you take a loss, like this year it doesn't shake us at all. We stay true in what we believe, and what we believe in ourselves, and that's kind of like that veteran presence of being kind of through a full season as a team together.''
The 16 turnovers were an issue. They'll need to be better in that area the next three weeks.
"I thought the big stat of the game was just it's kind of our magic number,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "If we get 14, 15, 16, 17 turnovers, I know it's our only fourth loss, but all four losses that number is right in there. We've just got to do a better job across the board of taking care of the basketball.
"You can go and look at individual plays or all the way through the game, and we just needed one more stop somewhere, one more score, one more free throw, whatever it might be, to kind of put this game out of reach and get to that two possessions late in the regulation or late in the overtime. Give the credit to them.''
Purdue will know it's NCAA fate on Sunday night. They're probably still a No. 1 seed and will more than likely play the first and second games in Indianapolis.
Wisconsin will try to win a conference title first on Sunday afternoon. They'll play No. 2 seed Illinois, which defeated No. 3 seed Nebraska 98-87 on Saturday.
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