Boilers fall to Wisconsin
By Doug Healey
and
Greg Conner
MADISON, Wis. — Purdue
couldn’t overcome Wisconsin's second-half burst.
After the Badgers closed
the first half with a 13-4 run and led 43-31 at halftime, Wisconsin
scored the second half's first 11 points en route to a 19-5 run, as
the Badgers beat Purdue 77-66 Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
At the start of the second
half, Purdue (9-11, 1-5 Big Ten) was held scoreless for the first
4:43, until junior Willie Deane, who led the team with 24 points,
hit a 3-pointer to stop the scoreless drought.
The last time the Boilers,
who have lost three consecutive Big Ten games, started 1-5 in the
Big Ten was the 1965-66 season.
"We have a lot more enthusiasm
in our practices than we do in our games," said Purdue coach Gene
Keady, who is in his 22nd year as Purdue's coach. "It's just unbelievable.
"Somebody has to step up
and be a leader when the coaches aren't around, and it's not happening."
Wisconsin (11-8, 4-2) stretched
its lead to 26 points in the second half, following the 19-5 run,
but Purdue began to come back.
The Boilers went on a 17-4
run to pull within 14 points with 6:26 to play in the game, and after
Deane hit a 3-pointer with 1:48 to play, Purdue was within 10 points.
But the Boilers couldn’t get any closer.
"We got ourselves in such
a hole that time basically ran out on us," said Deane, who leads the
Big Ten in scoring."
Purdue hasn't had much
scoring other than Deane and junior Darmetreis Kilgore, who added
15 points. Center John Allison, who came into the game averaging 10.1
points per game, didn’t attempt a field goal in the first half
and was held scoreless after going 0-1 from the floor in the second
half.
Wisconsin, who improved
to 7-1 at home this season, shot 55.1 percent, which marks the fifth
time in six conference games that the Boilers have allowed its opponent
to shoot above 50 percent. The Badgers, who had five players score
in double figures, were led by freshman guard Devin Harris and freshman
forward Mike Wilkinson, who each had 16 points.
Purdue shot 48.1 percent
from the field (25-for-52) and 37.5 percent from 3-point range (9-for-24).
The Boilers were outrebounded
31-22, while both teams had 13 turnovers.
"We don’t have a lick
of basketball savvy," said Keady. "It's amazing. Where did it all
go? It's like someone came out of a space ship and zapped us with
a gun and sucked all the knowledge out of our brain."
Purdue played from behind
the entire game, but after an 8-0 run that pulled the Boilers to within
four points at the end of the first half, Wisconsin extended its lead
to double digits by halftime and it remained that way for the remainder
of the game.
The Badgers have won seven
of its last 10 meeting against Purdue.
"It's going to be a challenge,
and we're going to see if we can't fight out of this baby and come
up with something special we hope," said Keady. "It's not over 'til
it's over."
PURDUE (9-11, 1-5)
Buscher 3-5 0-0 6, Marshall
3-5 2-3 9, Allison 0-1 0-0 0, Deane 10-18 0-0 24, Parkinson 0-0 0-0
0, Ford 1-1 0-0 2, Lewis 2-5 0-0 5, Smith 2-7 0-0 5, Carroll 0-1 0-0
0, Kilgore 4-9 5-7 15, Garrity 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 25-52 7-12 66.
WISCONSIN (11-8, 4-2)
Wills 4-7 1-1 12, Mader
2-5 0-0 4, Davis 3-5 4-6 10, Penney 3-7 1-2 9, Harris 5-7 3-6 16,
Owens 4-8 0-2 10, Wilkinson 6-10 4-4 16. Totals 27-49 13-21 77.
Halftime: Wisconsin 43,
Purdue 31. Three-point goals-Purdue 9-24 (Deane 4-7, Kilgore 2-6,
Marshall 1-3, Lewis 1-4, Smith 1-4), Wisconsin 10-15 (Wills 3-4, Harris
3-4, Owens 2-2, Penney 2-4, Davis 0-1). Fouled out-none. Rebounds-Purdue
26 (Allison 6), Wisconsin 31 (Wilkinson 10). Assists-Purdue 10 (Allison
3), Wisconsin 18 (Davis 6). Total fouls-Purdue 22, Wisconsin 14. Att.-16,328.
