MINNEAPOLIS — Two days, two games and two wins for the Badgers, who topped Northwestern on Friday afternoon and survived to advance to the conference semi-finals, where they'll meet a familiar foe, the Purdue Boilermakers.

The Wildcats, particularly Boo Buie, came out scorching hot. Northwestern led 21-10 at the 12 minute mark in the first half, and looked to be on the verge of serving Wisconsin a similar fate it dished out to Maryland. Wisconsin responded, however, and got it done to advance to Saturday.

Here are my takeaways from the Target Center:

The Wildcats entered the conference tournament a shell of their former selves in terms of personnel. Guard Ty Berry has been out since mid-February, and their biggest interior presence Matthew Nicholson was deemed out for the tournament. Still, their main engine Buie was fully operational. And in the first 10 or so minutes of the game, it appeared as if he was going to will the Wildcats to victory.

"Obviously, completely different type of game than yesterday in terms of we had to really gut it out, dig in defensively after not a great start," head coach Greg Gard said. "But I thought these two guys (AJ Storr and Steven Crowl) and the guys in the locker room did a phenomenal job of buckling down and really turning the screws defensively."

Buie started 4-of-4 from long range. He simply couldn't miss early, and he wasn't even hitting the rim — his shots were cash only. After his third three and two in the last two possessions, Gard called timeout for the Badgers to regroup.

"He got loose a little bit, a little hot early in the game," Kamari McGee told BadgerBlitz.com. "But we just had to be a little more physical, just make him feel us more on that defensive end because we were being too soft at the beginning of the game. So once we locked in and knew how we had to guard him, it was better from there on out."

Without Chucky Hepburn in the lineup, arguably Wisconsin's best on-ball defender, the Badgers struggled to stay with Buie as the Wildcats ran their ball-screening action. Hepburn has the ability to negate some of those screens by getting over the top, and without him, Wisconsin couldn't keep up early.

Buie still finished with 29 points, including an absurd 7-for-11 from downtown. But the Badgers survived his herculean effort early on, made the necessary adjustments, and didn't let themselves fall at the hands of who's likely the best point guard to ever come through Evanston.

When the starting lineups dropped, freshman John Blackwell was penciled in for the starting point guard Hepburn. A UW spokesperson informed the media that Hepburn was in fact available if necessary. To the Badgers' good fortune, however, it never came to that.

In the locker room after the game, BadgerBlitz.com spotted Hepburn with ice on his right knee. The guard didn't appear to be immobilized by any stretch, however, and, keeping him out appears to have been a precautionary measure.

Without Hepburn, point guard duties were divided amongst Blackwell and McGee. Blackwell logged 24 minutes, while McGee played 23. Blackwell fouled out and had a rough day shooting the ball — 1-for-8 from the field — but played with the same composure and confidence that's been prevalent throughout his entire freshman season. McGee, meanwhile, once again put his ability to drive to the rim on display and had a few gorgeous left-hand finishes.

"I felt great, honestly," McGee said. "That was probably the most minutes I've played since I've been back...it felt good controlling the pace and being there to help my teammates as much as I could."

"He fouled too much. That's why he didn't play as much as maybe I would have anticipated," Gard said of Blackwell. "But John's not a freshman. I keep getting asked about him a lot and other media outlets about a freshman, and I was like he's grown up. He understands no moment is too big for him."

Again, not having Hepburn certainly hurt Wisconsin's defense, especially early on when Buie couldn't miss if he tried. But it's a highly encouraging sign that the Badgers didn't sink without their floor general on the court.

It was noticeable in the second-round game as well, but Wisconsin fans dominated the stands in the Target Center once again on Friday. Even past the designated Wisconsin sections, splotches of red could be found everywhere. When Northwestern made a run, there was a murmur from the Wildcat faithful. But when the Badgers made plays, the crowed roared.

"It was definitely a boost. We definitely felt it," Blackwell said.

With Madison's obvious proximity to Minneapolis, it's not much of a surprise that Wisconsin fans have showed out thus far at the conference tournament. But it's gotten to the point where the Target Center feels like a quasi-home-court advantage for the Badgers.

"It definitely feels good, and we've got a lot of Minnesota guys on the team so we knew that it would feel sorta like a home court advantage. And we love that. It definitely helps a lot through these games," McGee said.

This is especially notable considering what awaits the Badgers on Saturday at high noon. The three-match with Purdue will take place in the first semi-final game, and Wisconsin will need every ounce of support it can get if it wants to finally take down the mighty Boilermakers. The Badgers played Purdue extremely close in Mackey Arena just five days ago. Now, at a "neutral" site, they'll get their third shot at the Big Ten regular season champions.

30 - Points scored by Storr, a new career high for the sophomore.

29 - Points scored by Buie, who left nothing on the floor even in the Wildcats' defeat.

45.5 - Wisconsin's three-point percentage. Not quite as efficient as it was against Maryland, but still a great clip.

1 - John Blackwell's first career start in the Cardinal and White, likely the first of many.

6 - Total threes made by Crowl in the Big Ten tournament thus far.

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