Wisconsin basketball travels to play Purdue in a Saturday matinee matchup. Continue reading for a full Wisconsin vs Purdue prediction and preview.
The Wisconsin Badgers have not faced a ranked opponent since playing #5 Marquette on December 7th. The Badgers have won their past three games, surging to #16 in the AP Rankings. Purdue currently sits at #7 in the rankings.
Latest on Purdue basketball:
Purdue dropped their last game at Michigan by just two points. Leading by one point with 2 minutes and 48 seconds remaining, Purdue would not score until there were 24 seconds left in the game, and by that point, it was too late. The Boilermakers’ glaring weakness has been their lack of depth. They did not have a single point off the bench against the Wolverines.
Despite the loss, Purdue has been playing very good basketball. In 2025, they are 10-2 in conference play. Trey Kauffman-Renn has done a nice job securing rebounds and is averaging 6.4 boards per game. This is a Purdue team without a true big man following 7’4 Daniel Jacobsen’s season ending injury, and they have relied on a team effort to box out on the boards. It has worked, as they have a +2.3 rebounding margin per game.
The Boilermakers are highly efficient, shooting 49.3 percent from the field, and 37.4 percent on their three pointers. With three guards and two forwards, they space the floor and move the ball well. Braden Smith (16.4 ppg) and Kauffman-Renn (19.0 ppg) are their two main scoring threats with sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer (13.8 ppg) causing havoc from deep.
Latest on Wisconsin basketball:
Wisconsin’s win against Iowa last Saturday was decided in the second half. Trailing by two at the break, Wisconsin held the Hawkeyes to just 24 second half points, moving to 19-5 on the season, and 19-4 in conference play. John Tonje dropped 22 points, for his fifth 20+ point game in Wisconsin’s past six games. John Blackwell got going, scoring 19 on 7-for-15 shooting.
Wisconsin has won 11 of their past 13 games dating back to December 14th, establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the Big Ten. Part of Wisconsin’s identity has been their lockdown defense, as they are holding opponents to under 70 points per game, while averaging 81 points per game themselves.
The Badgers will need to continue to shoot the three well if they want to upset Purdue. Wisconsin has knocked down 10 or more threes in 14 games and are 11-3 in those contests. Considering Purdue’s strong defense, Wisconsin may need a role player to step up and have a big night. Keep an eye on Max Klesmit.
Wisconsin vs Purdue prediction: Boilermakers by 1
This game should come down to the wire. Given both teams’ high-powered offense and defense, it is unclear which will prevail. Ultimately, I think Purdue will be able to rally around the energy in the building to pull out a victory, but this one could go either way.
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