No. 16 Wisconsin’s second-half shooting saddles No. 7 Purdue with two-game losing streak

The path to a third-straight Big Ten championship has run into a series of potholes.

Michigan delivered the first blow on Tuesday, knocking the Boilermakers out of first place. On Saturday, Wisconsin pushed Purdue down another notch in the standings after posting a 94-84 victory at Mackey Arena.

There is still plenty of time left for the seventh-ranked Boilermakers to finish strong, but two losses in the same week could damage their chances of winning another title. The 16th-ranked Badgers are now in the thick of the race after extending their winning streak to four.

Purdue held three nine-point leads in the first half, but Wisconsin – which is 6-43 all-time in Mackey Arena – created separation after halftime.

PDF: Purdue-Wisconsin statistics

Trey Kaufman-Renn kept the Boilermakers going by scoring eight straight points to start the second half, but they couldn’t keep up with John Tonje. The graduate transfer, who played at Missouri and Colorado State, poured in 13 points after halftime as the Badgers scored 11 straight to lead 58-50. Tonje finished with 32 points.

But it was Jack Janicki who helped put Wisconsin over the top. The walk-on redshirt freshman scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to give the Badgers another scoring option. He averaged 1.7 points before Saturday. In his last four games, Janick scored a combined three points.

A handful of mini-runs cut into the deficit, but Purdue couldn’t make enough defensive stops to slow down Wisconsin. The Badgers shot 72% in the second half, living in the paint throughout the game.

Kaufman-Renn was the centerpiece of trying to bring the Boilermakers back. He had 21 of his 30 points in the second half. Fletcher Loyer had 15 points, and C.J. Cox added 13, but most of the production came before halftime.

Wisconsin’s Kamari McGee was ejected late in the first half after the senior guard was issued a Flagrant 2 foul. McGee tried fighting through a Kaufman-Renn screen but hit the junior in the groin area.

Kaufman-Renn’s two free throws increased to 29-22 with 6:20 to play. However, the Badgers took advantage and outscored the Boilermakers 14-8 heading into halftime to trail by one.

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