How the Badgers rallied around their heartbeat in a season-defining win over Purdue

Saturday’s win was much more than any other victory for the Badgers.

In arguably their biggest game of the year, the Wisconsin Badgers were dealt with an unexpected form of adversity: Kamari McGee’s controversial Flagrant 2 late in the first half due to an inadvertent blow to the midsection while fighting through a screen.

McGee, who has been seen as the heartbeat of the team, had been enjoying a career year as his shot, playmaking, and overall game IQ improved, while the tenacity and defensive pressure that kept him in the rotation last year remained.

And his departure came at a time when Wisconsin was slowly clawing into Purdue’s lead in the first half, looking to add some momentum heading into the locker room.

“I felt like when I had got in the game, we had a good rhythm,” McGee said on Monday. “And me personally, I felt like I had a good rhythm. I felt like I was bringing that spark like I normally do. And yeah, it was just a lot of built-up frustration because I didn’t know whether to be mad, sad, or like, I was just pacing back and forth for at least a good 10 minutes.”

“I felt like I was in a pretty good rhythm. Like, even early in warm-ups, like pre-game, I felt like I was in a good rhythm. And then just not being able to play the entire game just kind of had me very upset.”

McGee had been a quick spark off the bench on Saturday, coming in and quickly dishing out an assist before later getting fouled for a pair of free throws and hitting a tough floater off the baseline with the shot clock expiring over his four minutes of action.

Wisconsin had faced adversity at times last year, only in a different realm. McGee, John Blackwell, and Tyler Wahl all nursed injuries during the month of February, when Wisconsin spiraled into a downturn at the worst time of the season.

While the loss of McGee would only impact one game, Saturday’s contest was crucial for the Badgers as a late-season test, kicking off a tough three-game stretch where Wisconsin would face Purdue, Illinois, and Oregon. With the NCAA Tournament just a month away, this period was, in a way, a good litmus test of where the Badgers stood as a potential contender in the 2024 season.

Well, with their backs against the wall, the Badgers passed their first test with flying colors, pulling through with an astounding 58-point second half to edge past the Boilermakers 94-84 in a major victory, improving their record to 20-5 on the season, including 10-4 in conference play.

And while McGee wasn’t on the court, he was a big reason for the Badgers’ second-half fire, as the team sought to pull out with the win to have their teammate’s back.

“He was pretty emotional,” head coach Greg Gard said of McGee’s demeanor at halftime. “He took it really hard. He really has invested a lot in this team and loves his teammates. So he felt that he had let everybody down and that was not the message we gave him as we left.

“I was the last one to leave the locker room and gave [him] a big hug. I said, ‘Kam, we got you. We’re gonna go get this for you.’ And he was very emotional after the game too, which was awesome to watch.”

The Badgers had one of their best halves of the season, putting up 58 points on 72 percent from the field. John Tonje stepped up with 22 points on 6/7 from the field. John Blackwell poured in 11 points on 5/6 from the field. And Max Klesmit stepped up with 10 points, hitting 6/7 of his free throws. All of that was a part of Wisconsin’s second-half onslaught, as the starters took it upon themselves to close the game out.

But, it was an effort that took every man standing. And with McGee out, the Badgers turned to redshirt freshman guard Jack Janicki to step into some point guard minutes for the first time in his career.

Well, Janicki repaid Greg Gard’s trust with arguably the biggest minutes of his young career, hitting two clutch threes in the second half and finishing the game with a career-high 11 points to lead Wisconsin off the bench. And nobody was happier for him than McGee.

“I loved it,” McGee said of Janicki’s performance. “And I expressed that to him after the game a lot. I just told him, ‘Man, you went in there and you shined, bro.’

“Usually, if I was playing, I would have probably been a good amount of that time. But with him, he stepped up big, and I was just so happy for him because Janicki works so hard behind closed doors. Like, nobody knows how hard he works but us. So it’s like seeing him shine like that, I was back there just yelling ‘Janicki’ the whole time.”

The Badgers clearly wanted to show out for their teammate, showering him with love and support as they headed back to the locker room. The team even posted up for photos with McGee front and center, making waves on social media after the game.

Now, after a half of cheering from the locker room and some time to reel in his emotions, McGee is ready to lace up his shoes and step back on that court Tuesday when the Badgers take on the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Kohl Center.

And as Wisconsin looks to push through their tough stretch and vie for the Big Ten regular-season title, they’ll need McGee’s presence off the bench to help set the tone in front of the home crowd in what could be the Badgers’ worst remaining matchup stylistically.