WEST LAYFAYETTE, Ind. – After dropping their first game of the year against Rutgers in conference play 25 days ago, No. 3 Purdue (12-1, 1-1) will kick of the new year by returning to Big Ten play, hosting No. 23 Wisconsin (10-2, 1-1) on Monday at 7 p.m. ET in Mackey Arena.
The matchup can be viewed on the Big Ten Network. While Purdue single game tickets are sold out through the regular season, verified resale tickets can be accessed through Ticketmaster.
Prior to the ball drop, the Boilermakers played their last game of the calendar year at home against Nicholls State, taking down the Colonels 104-90. By shooting 14-for-29 from the three-point line, Purdue made a season-best 48.3% from behind the arc, powered by four makes from senior guard Sasha Stefanovic.
Purdue’s lone loss came in their only true-road game against the Scarlett Knights on Dec. 9, falling 70-68 after Ron Harper Jr. sank a near half-court buzzer-beater to take down the top team in the AP Poll at the time.
Monday marks the second game that Wisconsin has played in since Dec. 15, with their scheduled game against Morgan State and replacement versus George Mason both canceled due to COVID-19 in their respective programs. Their most recent tilt came against Illinois State, in which the Badgers won 89-85 in overtime.
Wisconsin’s marquee win came against Houston on Nov. 23, when the Cougars were still at full strength. Since, the Badgers have fallen to No. T-16 Providence on Nov. 15 at home and were blown out in Columbus by Ohio State on Dec. 11.
Wisconsin ranks second in the country in offensive turnover percentage, only coughing up the ball on 12.4% of their possessions, per KenPom.
All-Time vs. Wisconsin
- Monday’s tilt will mark the 124th time the programs have faced off, with the Boilermakers holding a strong lead on the series, 83-40.
- The last time the two faced off was on Mar. 2 2021, with Purdue winning at home 73-69.
Boilermakers Notes
- Purdue ranks fourth in the country in points per game at 87.2.
- The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten in field goal percentage (51.6%), three-point field goal percentage (41.1%) and assists per game (18.8).
- Sophomore guard Jaden Ivey leads the team in both points (16.7) and steals (1.3) per game.
- The team’s victory 104-90 over Nicholls State on Wednesday marked the first time the program has scored over 100 points since Feb. 5, 2020, when Purdue took down Iowa, 104-68.
- Purdue ranks second in points and rebounds per game in the Big Ten 82.7 and 41.7 per contest, respectively.
- Despite only starting three games, senior forward Trevion Williams ranks third in points (13.3) and leads the team in rebounds (9.1) per game in just 20.7 minutes per contest.
Scouting the Badgers
- Since head coach Greg Gard took over the Wisconsin program in 2015-16, the team has ranked outside the top 40 in adjusted defensive efficiency just once (2017-18). The Badgers are currently ranked 39th in the statistic across Division-I, per KenPom.
- Sophomore forward Johnny Davis ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring at 20.8 points per game.
- In addition to scoring, Davis also leads his team in rebounding (6.6), assists (2.5) and steals (1.5) a game, making him the only player in the conference to lead his team in each statistic.
- While Wisconsin is outside the top 250 in two-point (46.5%, No. 270) and three-point percentage (30.4%, No. 281), they rank No. 39 in free throw percentage at 76.8%.
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