Following a rare loss at home to the fighting Illini earlier this week, the Purdue Boilermakers bounced back to beat the Wisconsin Badgers, 70-51, Friday night at Mackey Arena.
The Boilers shot out of the gate and never looked back in a much-needed Big Ten victory at home, a big turnaround after the Boilermakers had an anemic offensive performance against the Fighting Illini. A pair of runs in the first half, 13-2 and 12-2, allowed Purdue to control the tempo of the game.
Then Purdue held off a Badger run in the middle of the second half.
Senior forward Evan Boudreaux got the start on the night, his first of the season, and took full advantage. He notched a double-double with ten points and a game-high 13 rebounds, his first double-double since his transfer from Dartmouth in 2018. Boudreaux is in his second season at Purdue since the transfer.
Coach Matt Painter said afterward he noticed that Boudreaux had shown more intensity recently at practice.
“He had a really good week of practice, and I think that earned him the starting job tonight,” Painter says.
Boudreaux also received high praise from 7-foot junior center Matt Haarms.
"He was the hardest working guy on the court and it showed,” Haarms says.
Purdue dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Badgers, 42-16. The Boilers also pulled down 16 offensive rebounds, which led to 19 second chance points.
Freshman guard Isaiah Thompson led the Boilers with 14 points, his most productive night since scoring 17 against Chicago St. on Nov. 16. Sophomore guard Sasha Stefanovic chipped in 12 and Matt Haarms scored 11 despite early foul trouble.
Purdue is 11-9 overall and 3-5 in the conference. Purdue will travel east to New Jersey to play 24th ranked Rutgers next Tuesday.
