The 19th ranked Wisconsin Badgers rebounded from Saturday’s 4-point loss to Penn State by beating 11th ranked Purdue 66-59 in Big Ten action at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The win moved the Badgers (16-5, 6-3) within 1/2 game of the Boilermakers (18-5, 7-3) for second place in the Big Ten Conference. The win also assured the Badgers wouldn’t have a losing streak. Wisconsin hasn’t lost back-to-back games since late January of the 2008-09 season.
Senior Jon Leuer scored 24 points and sophomore Ryan Evans made a couple of big plays in the final minute to lead the Badgers. Evans hit a jumper with 50-seconds left to put the Badgers ahead for good 60-59. He then tied up the Boilermakers’ E’Twaun Moore for a jump ball with the possession going to the Badgers with 25 seconds left.
The Badgers struggled out of the gates, hitting just 1 of their first 7 shots from the floor. After finally heating up, the Badgers took the lead and went into the locker room at halftime up by 7.
Purdue started the second half on a 9-2 run and eventually took the lead with just over 17-minutes left in the game. The battle was on from there with the Badgers finally pulling out a late win.