Game 31 Preview: #3 Purdue vs Wisconsin

Purdue has already won the Big Ten outright, but has much more to celebrate on Sunday as Wisconsin visits to close the regular season, as it’s Senior Day for Zach Edey and his five classmates.
DETAILS: Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024 | 12:30 p.m. ET | TV: FOX (Jason Benetti, Rob Hummel) | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
PURDUE (27-3, 16-3 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
WISCONSIN (19-11, 11-8 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
THREE THINGS ABOUT PURDUE
• Seniors Zach Edey, Mason Gillis, Lance Jones, Ethan Morton, Chase Martin and Carson Barrett will go through Senior Day ceremonies after the game. None are expected back next season.
• A win would mean Purdue wins the Big Ten by a margin of three games for the second straight year. A Purdue win plus an Illinois loss at Iowa would mean a margin of four games.
• With a win, Purdue would close the regular season with three consecutive Quad 1 wins, though NET rankings can fluctuate still. Michigan State and Wisconsin are 22 and 23, respectively, nearing the cusp of the top-30 Quad 1 cut-off for home wins.
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A FEW THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME
• Wisconsin was ranked sixth nationally and leading the Big Ten by two games when Purdue won in Madison on Feb. 4. Since, the Badgers have lost five of eight but still have a double-bye to the Big Ten Tournament to play for.
The Badgers labored to beat Rutgers on their own Senior Night Thursday.
• In the first meeting with Purdue, forward Tyler Wahl went for 20 points, but also five assists against the extra attention the Boilermakers paid him in the post.
TURNOVERS | REBOUNDING | DEFENSIVE ROTATIONS |
It’s always turnovers. Wisconsin isn’t going to give the ball away much, though this isn’t a typical patient, high-IQ Badger team. | The Badgers are vulnerable on the defensive glass and the Boilermakers built to exploit such things. | Purdue’s going to help against Wahl and may get broken down by AJ Storr on occasion. |
GOLDANDBLACK.COM PREDICTION: PURDUE 80, WISCONSIN 68
It’ll be an afternoon where Purdue may have to compete against its own adrenaline as much as Wisconsin. Really hard to imagine Purdue not capping off an unbeaten season at home on Senior Day, perhaps convincingly. Wisconsin has done nothing the past month-plus to look up to the job here.