Well, we can probably stop talking about Wisconsin as the most unappreciated team in America, right?
After Saturday — when the Badgers went full buzzsaw, dominating Purdue 94-84 at Mackey Arena — Greg Gard’s team can no longer be considered just some plucky overachiever. And while yes, it’s still laughable thinking back to the preseason, when Wisconsin was picked to finish tied for 12th in the Big Ten, that mentality sells these Badgers short. At 20-5 overall and 10-4 in league play, Wisconsin is far more than the biggest overachiever in America.
It’s the best Wisconsin team since 2015 when the Badgers played Duke for the national title.
Hyperbolic? Not hardly, especially to anyone who watched Wisconsin dismantle Purdue in the second half on Saturday. The Badgers were practically unguardable after the break, shooting 72 percent overall, 50 percent from 3 — on 12 attempts — and 80 percent from the free throw line. Wisconsin’s 94 points were the most Purdue has allowed in a game since its 2019 Sweet 16 victory over Tennessee, and its most in regulation since Kansas scored 98 back in the 2017 Sweet 16. Moreover, Wisconsin’s field goal percentage for the game, 61.5 percent, is the highest of any Purdue opponent at Mackey Arena during Matt Painter’s 20-year tenure.
The list goes on. Wisconsin’s 94 points are its most ever against Purdue (in 94 meetings) and its most ever against a top-10 opponent on the road. It’s also the first time in 15 seasons that a team has shot above 60 percent and had three or fewer turnovers in a road game, per stats guru Jared Berson.
So, in every sense, a historic whooping.
The tide of the game changed early in the second half when the Badgers — largely behind transfer John Tonje, who finished with 32 points — rattled off an 11-0 run that interrupted an otherwise back-and-forth affair. The former Missouri guard started it off with a four-point play, getting fouled after draining his trademark stepback 3 and ultimately accounted for eight of Wisconsin’s 11 points during that pivotal run.
TONJE IS HOOPIN’🏀
He leads all scorers with 21. Check out this and-one bucket 🪣 @jerseymikes | #JerseyMikesNaismith2025 | @bigten | 📸: @BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/quupmVoDP0
— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) February 15, 2025
Painter called timeout once his team got down eight, 58-50, with 13:34 to play, but the damage was done; Wisconsin never trailed again, and Purdue could never get it closer than six points.
Ultimately, Tonje scored 22 of his 32 in the second half, the key to Wisconsin scoring a staggering 1.541 points per possession for the game.
But while Tonje’s outburst certainly swung the game, he didn’t do it alone. After Kamari McGee was ejected for a controversial Flagrant 2 foul in the first half, the Badgers needed someone to step up offensively. Do you hear that, folks? It’s Jack Janicki’s music. Janicki — a 6-foot-5 freshman backup who averages fewer than 10 minutes a game — had scored just 10 points combined in Wisconsin’s previous eight contests. But after McGee went out, Janicki went in and delivered a career-best 11 points when the Badgers needed it most, including draining three of the team’s 12 triples. Even more critical was that at least two of those 3s came when Tonje was bottled up and had to kick to Janicki with the shot clock winding down.
As for the Boilermakers, it’s a stunning second consecutive loss in Big Ten play, which hadn’t happened since mid-February 2023. While Trey Kaufman-Renn was again superb offensively, finishing with 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting, his teammates mostly let him down. All-America point guard Braden Smith — who had five assists in the game’s first 10 minutes — looked like he might be in store for a special day. And while he ended up with 12 dimes, he went 2-for-10 from the field and scored just six points — only his fifth game all season being held to single digits. Fellow guards Fletcher Loyer and C.J. Cox combined for 28, but the rest of Purdue’s roster beyond those four chipped in only 20.
That’s not nearly enough, especially against an offense as molten-hot as Wisconsin. Gard’s team has now won 12 of its last 14, with Saturday’s win serving as the statement on the Badgers’ already impressive resume.
About that resume, by the way: In CBS’ mock NCAA Tournament bracket reveal earlier Saturday, the Badgers slotted in as a No. 3 seed — and No. 11 overall — behind only Purdue among Big Ten teams. But after Saturday, that seeding line might need an alteration.
One that more accurately reflects the Badgers being Final Four good
(Photo of John Tonje: Marc Lebryk / Imagn Images)
