3-Point Shot: Badgers fall to Purdue, 84-80
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Badgers rallied a couple of times but couldn't come all the way back on Friday night against the Purdue Boilermakers, falling in overtime 84-80. BadgerBlitz.com's top three takeaways from the game are included below.
1. The stars came out and shined.
This game spotlighted a pair of preseason All-Americans in Ethan Happ and Carsen Edwards. Edwards, a Purdue junior, entered Friday’s game as the Big Ten scoring leader with a 24.5 points per game average.
Happ sparkled brighter in the first half, helping Wisconsin erase an 11-point deficit during a 16-1 run, capped by a layup off a feed from Brad Davison that gave the Badgers a 32-28 lead with 2 minutes, 41 seconds to go in the first half.
Wisconsin’s senior standout scored 18 first-half points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. He also had eight rebounds and dished three assists.
Happ scored a team-high 31 points on 14 of 17 shooting, and grabbed 13 rebounds. The points total was three shy of his career high of 34.
Edwards, a point guard, scored a game-high 36 points, including six 3-pointers and 11-of-14 from the free throw line.
The Badgers’ Khalil Iverson was tasked with guarding Edwards, who along with Happ is a semifinalist for the Wooden Award, the accolade given at the end of the season to the top NCAA Division I player.
2. Davison and Trice power UW in the second half
Brad Davison scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, including a 3-point bucket that gave Wisconsin a 47-44 edge with 14:42 to go. He then proceeded to get his first foul of the game, sending Edwards to the foul line for three free-throw attempts. Edwards made 2 of 3 free throws. Davison capped a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:32 left to tie the game at 67.Trice scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and overtime. Trice nailed a pair of 3-pointers, including a banked basket, to even the score at 74-74 with 15 seconds left in regulation.
3. Turnover trouble hamstrung UW.
Just when it felt like Wisconsin could stay in contention in the second half, an errant pass into the lane by Aleem Ford, or a forced pass by Happ into traffic under the basket nearly thwarted any momentum.A quick pass by Happ to Iverson forced a turnover and gave Purdue the ball with 46.9 seconds left in overtime. The Badgers finished with a season-high 17 turnovers, including eight from Happ.
Up Next
Up Next
The Badgers travel to College Park, Md., on Monday for a road game against the Terrapins on Monday, with tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.