Live Game Thread & Updates for No. 15 Purdue vs. Wisconsin

WEST LAFAYETTE — No. 15 Purdue will close out its season on Saturday afternoon inside Mackey Arena, hosting Wisconsin. It will be Senior Day for several Boilermakers, including Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Oscar Cluff and Liam Murphy.

This will be the second meeting between Purdue and Wisconsin this season. The Boilermakers won the first matchup in Madison 89-73 in early January. Can they sweep the season series and end the regular season on a high note?

Purdue Boilermakers On SI will have all the coverage from Mackey Arena on Saturday afternoon. You can refresh this page frequently for the latest updates throughout the game.

#15 Purdue vs. Wisconsin live game blog

2nd half

FINAL — Wisconsin 97, Purdue 93. The Boilermakers fall on Senior Day at Mackey Arena.

Ultimately, this one boiled down to Purdue failing to defend the three-point line. Wisconsin was 18-of-34 from behind the three-point line. The Badgers were also 21-of-24 from the free throw line.

John Blackwell had 25 points, Nick Boyd finished with 23, Austin Rapp had 17 and Aleksas Bieliauskas ended with 16.

For Purdue, Fletcher Loyer had 23 points, Braden Smith scored 20 and had nine assists and Trey Kaufman-Renn had 17.

13.0 — Braden Smith misses a three-point attempt after a pair of made free throws by Braden Carrington. Trey Kaufman-Renn is fouled on the rebound. He makes 1-of-2. Wisconsin leads 96-93. Purdue takes a timeout.

29.4 — Nick Boyd continues to be clutch, making a circus sot to give Wisconsin a 94-91 lead. Purdue just had multiple chances to get a bucket, but couldn't convert. Oscar Cluff gets fouled and makes just 1-of-2 from the line. Timeout Purdue and the Badgers lead 94-92.

1:52 — Nick Boyd has been able to get to the rim and score on Wisconsin's last two possessions. But Trey Kaufman-Renn responds with an old-fashioned three-point play. It's 90-88 Wisconsin.

4:27 — Purdue's offense has been great today, but it continues to struggle to get stops. Wisconsin leads this one 86-83. The Boilermakers take a timeout after a layup from Braden Smith.

Regardless of how this one ends, Fletcher Loyer deserves a ton of credit for his performance. He's give an all-out effort on both ends of the floor. He's done a lot of things that don't sow up in te stat book to go along with 20 points.

7:08 — Third media timeout of the second half and Wisconsin leads it 81-79. Both teams are shooting better than 55% from the floor and above 53% from three-point range. Things are getting intense, as fans didn't like a foul call against Trey Kaufman-Renn. He now has four fouls wit a lot of time left.

8:28 — A controversial call as Jack Benter seemingly took a charge against Nick Boyd. However, it's called a blocking foul and Nick Boyd converts a three-point play. Wisconsin is back up six points. Purdue hasn't been able to sustain momentum for very long in this game.

10:03 — Purdue has retaken the lead at 73-72 and Mackey is rocking again. Fletcher Loyer hit a three to pull the Boilers within two, then Jack Benter knocked one down to give Purdue the lead. Really good rebounding efforts from Daniel Jacobsen to keep the posssession alive for Purdue.

11:52 — Wisconsin leads Purdue 69-64 at the second media timeout of the second half. Jack Benter was fouled on a layup attempt, so he'll have two free throws out of the break. John Blackwell is 4-of-8 from three, Austin Rapp is 4-of-7 and Aleksas Bieliauskas is 3-of-4. As a team, Wisconsin is 15-of-27 from deep.

13:01 — Purdue had a 62-61 lead, but Wisconsin has answered with a 9-0 run to take a seven-point advantage in the second half. The Badgers have made their last three field goal attempts.

14:21 — Trey Kaufman-Renn just picked up his third foul. He's been physical all day on both ends, so that's a significant development in this one.

15:22 — Fletcher Loyer is saving this game right now for Purdue. Right after the big sequence, he knocks down a triple on the offensive side then draws a charge. After trailing by 10 points, Wisconsin's lead is now just one point at 61-60 at the first media timeout.

16:15 — Fletcher Loyer just dove on the floor to get a steal, then raced down the other end of the floor and converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Purdue needs a lot more effort like that.

17:35 — Wisconsin opens the second half on a 6-2 run to build a 59-49 lead. Purdue just can't get any stops on the defensive end right now.

1st half

HALF — Wisconsin 52, Purdue 47. Simply put, Purdue didn't have an answer defensively for Wisconsin's three-point offense. The Badgers got great open looks from the perimeter and made 12-of-22 for the half. They were led by John Blackwell, who had 15 points. Austin Rapp scored 13.

For Purdue, Braden Smith leads the way with 10 points, Fletcher Loyer has nine and Trey Kaufman-Renn had eight.

Perhaps one of the other telling stats today is that Purdue has nine offensive rebounds to Wisconsin's three. owever, the Boilers only outscored the Badgers in that category 12-8.

11.9 — Hustle plays from C.J. Cox on Purdue's last possession resulted in two points. Wisconsin takes a timeout and will have the final possession before halftime to try to increase its lead.

2:31 — Wisconsin has rebuilt its lead back to seven points at 47-40. The Badgers are living behind the three-point line, and are now 11-of-19 from deep. John Blackwell has 12 points and Austin Rapp has 11. Four different Badgers have made at least two three-pointers today.

4:25 — Potential momentum-building play. Daniel Jacobsen goes 1-of-2 from the free throw line, but Jack Benter gets the offensive rebound. He kicked it out to Omer Mayer, who knocked down an open three. Mackey was rocking after that sequence.

5:41 — Oscar Cluff just picked up his second foul. That's a significant development, as Daniel Jacobsen has really struggled in this game, especially defensively. Wisconsin is now 9-of-15 from three and has a 37-32 advantage on Purdue.

6:29 — Wisconsin is now 7-of-13 from three-point range. Purdue has no answer right now defensively. Fortunately, shots are falling for the Boilermakers, too.

7:42 — Oscar Cluff only has two points and two rebounds, but it certainly feels like he's been everywhere this afternoon. He just finished off a possession by fighting through contact, getting a shot to fall and drawing a foul. Big play to put Purdue ahead 28-25 at the third media timeout.

8:42 — Wisconsin has found some momentum offensively and is getting Purdue into rotations now. The Boilers, on the other end, seem to have found a lid on te basket. Purdue still leads 26-23.

11:35 — Second media timeout and Purdue leads Wisconsin 22-16. An excellent stretch defensively for the Boilermakers. The Badgers scored just three points in that four-minute period. It culminated in a 13-3 run for Purdue and four Wisconsin turnovers. Fletcher Loyer has six points for Purdue, CJ Cox and Braden Smith both have five.

13:37 — A really good stretch here for Purdue. The Boilers are on an 8-0 run to take a 17-13 lead and have forced three Wisconsin turnovers.

15:54 — First media timeout and Wisconsin leads 13-11. Through the first four minutes, Wisconsin is getting a lot of good looks at the basket and is shooting 4-of-6 from the floor. Aleksas Bieliauskas is off to a good start with six early points. Trey Kaufman-Renn has been intentional with his post touches, but has been responsible for two early turnovers, as well.

17:35 — Purdue got a stop and Trey Kaufman-Renn grabbed the rebound but threw it right to John Blackwell, who gets a layup and an and-one. Wisconsin takes an 8-5 lead. It's the first mistake for the Boilermakers this afternoon.

18:43 — Seniors are off to a good start in this one. Fletcher Loyer opens with a three, then Trey Kaufman-Renn gets a bucket as time winds down on the shot clock. But Wisconsin has answered eac basket. It's 5-5 to start.

Starting lineups

Purdue — #0 CJ Cox (G), #2 Fletcher Loyer (G), #3 Braden Smith (G), #4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (F), #45 Oscar Cluff (C).
Wisconsin — #2 Nick Boyd (G), #7 Andrew Rohde (G), #25 John Blackwell (G), #22 Austin Rapp (F), #32 Aleksas Bieliauskas (F).

Availability report

Purdue — OUT: None. QUESTIONABLE: None.
Wisconsin — OUT: Nolan Winter, Jack Janicki. QUESTIONABLE: None.

Tipoff between Purdue and Wisconsin is set for 4 p.m. ET and the game will air on CBS.

What's at stake

Purdue can still finish anywhere from No. 4 and No. 7 in the Big Ten standings, depending on Saturday's outcome vs. Wisconsin. With a victory, the Boilermakers would secure a spot in the top five and could potentially still earn the No. 4 seed for the Big Ten Tournament next week.

If Purdue wins, it would also need Iowa to defeat Nebraska on Sunday to secure the No. 4 seed for the Big Ten Tournament.

With a loss to Wisconsin, the Boilermakers could not finish any higher than sixth in the conference standings. If Purdue loses and UCLA loses to USC, the Boilermakers will have the No. 6 seed. With a Purdue loss and a UCLA win, the Boilers would have the No. 7 seed.

There's a lot at stake for the Boilermakers on Saturday afternoon inside Mackey Arena.

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