The Badgers were the talk of the town in a big win on Saturday afternoon.
The Wisconsin Badgers picked up their most impressive victory of the season, as Greg Gard’s crew went into Mackey Arena and defeated seventh-ranked Purdue, 94-84. It was the most points the Badgers have ever scored in West Lafayette.
This game showed the Big Ten and the rest of the country that Wisconsin basketball is for real. Perhaps no moment showed the resilience of this team than when Kamari McGee was ludicrously ejected for running into a screen from Trey Kaufman-Renn in the first half with the Badgers down five. That moment spurred the Badgers as they closed the Purdue lead to one at halftime and exploded in the second half for 58 points.
We got your back, Kam.
For life.#BadgerBrotherhood pic.twitter.com/EjCQRICfnj
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 15, 2025
Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s big win at Purdue:
John Tonje
Tonje showed up today at Purdue with 32 points, including 22 in the second half. Tonje’s second-half takeover, where the graduate transfer went on an 11-0 run, gave the Badgers a 53-50 lead and never trailed the rest of the game.
It was Tonje’s third 30-plus-point game this season, and he has proved to be one of, if not the best, transfers in the country.
Jack Janicki
Wisconsin coaches have been high on Janicki’s shooting, and today was his best day as a Badger.
After McGee’s ejection, the rest of the bench had to step up. Janicki had his best season scoring output Saturday afternoon, as the redshirt freshman finished with 11 points.
Janicki hit two clutch three-pointers in the second half to keep Purdue at arm’s length away.
Greg Gard
Before the 2024-25 season, Wisconsin was predicted to finish tied for 12th in the Big Ten preseason media poll. After all, the team lost Chucky Hepburn and AJ Storr to the transfer portal and Tyler Wahl to graduation.
So what has Gard done? As of this writing, Wisconsin is now ranked ninth in KenPom with the sixth-best offense in the country.
This season is proving to be Gard’s best coaching job at Wisconsin, and this win has placed his name in the conversation for National Coach of the Year.