The Badgers open up the Big Ten season with a tough task against #14 Purdue. The Badgers swept the Boilermakers last year, winning by 7 and 20 in the matchups. Purdue’s only loss on the season came against a tough Butler team, and the Boilermakers have notched wins against quality teams such as Florida and Vanderbilt. The Badgers are following up their shaky performance against UW-Green Bay on Wednesday night. The game will be televised on BTN at 6:00 P.M.
Projected Wisconsin Starters:
G: Bronson Koenig (14.4 PPG, 2.4 APG)
G: Zak Showalter (7.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG)
F: Nigel Hayes (16.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.2 APG)
F: Vitto Brown (10.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG)
F: Ethan Happ (11.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG)
Projected Purdue Starters:
G: P.J. Thompson (5.2 PPG, 2.8 APG)
G: Raphael Davis (10.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG)
F: Vince Edwards (8.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.3 APG)
F: Caleb Swanigan (11.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG)
C: Isaac Haas (12.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG)
Outlook
Purdue is led by a strong and deep front court with Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas, however, their best player comes off the bench. A.J. Hammons, a first round talent, leads the team in scoring with 13.3 PPG and is an elite rim protector averaging almost 3 blocks a game. Hammons is the classic example of a player who seems like he’s been around for… f o r e v e r (Hammons and MSU’s Denzel Valentine take that award this year). Hammons has always been a tumultuous player – last year he got in trouble for being late to the bus for the game against Wisconsin. To start out the 2015-16 season, he got suspended for the first two games for “internal reasons,” and never got his starting job back because Haas has been very productive. Hammons and Haas are both 7 footers and Swanigan is 6’9″, making interior defense a key component to Tuesday’s game.
The “Big Three”, quite literally, all shoot terrifically from the field, contributing to Purdue’s outstanding offensive efficiency shooting 47% from the field as a team.
Purdue has a large rotation with ten players regularly regularly. Four players average in double figures. Purdue isn’t a great perimeter shooting team, but starting guard Raphael Davis is shooting 44% on the year from the three-point line, although he’s known more for his defense.
Offensively, the Badgers are going to have to shoot better from the three-point line to beat Purdue. Hammons’ ability to defend the paint will make it tough for Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ to score efficiently down low. Offensive rebounding opportunities will be harder to come by because of Purdue’s height.
The Badgers’ performance against Green Bay, most notably the 26 turnovers, cannot happen against Purdue if they want to stay in the game.
Gard’s Adjustments
Gard’s first game as head coach saw some changes, mainly with the bench. Jordan Hill played a career high 22 minutes and had 10 points, seeing more action than he ever did with Bo. It will be interesting to see if that’s a trend that will continue against the premier teams in the Big Ten, such as Purdue.
Bottom Line
Purdue’s strengths are what this Wisconsin team doesn’t like to see: tough interior defense and good rebounding. The Badgers won’t get easy looks inside for Happ and Hayes, making three-point shooting from Bronson Koenig key. Vitto Brown is going to have to defend either Swanigan, Haas, or Hammons depending who’s on the floor, none of which is a good matchup for the Badgers. If the Badgers are going to pull off the upset, it’s going to have to be their most complete performance of the year.
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