The Wisconsin Badgers were not done any favors by the Purdue Boilermakers last week. If you recall, we wrote about the fact that Purdue hammered Michigan State before the Spartans met Wisconsin. This put Michigan State in a bad mood and gave the Spartans a wake-up call. Michigan State led by more than 20 points before ultimately beating Wisconsin 67-55 this past Friday. Purdue, with a 29-point drubbing of Michigan State, put Wisconsin in a bad spot.
Entering another Friday night Big Ten game this week, Purdue has once again put Wisconsin in a tough spot… but this time, Wisconsin isn’t playing a team Purdue crushed a few days earlier. Wisconsin is playing the Boilermakers themselves after Matt Painter’s team got smashed at home by the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Yes, Wisconsin’s opponent figures to be mad, much as Michigan State was one Friday earlier, but Purdue isn’t nearly as good as Michigan State. Purdue isn’t putting another team in Wisconsin’s way. Purdue IS the team in Wisconsin’s way. It should make for a fascinating game in Mackey Arena, as the Badgers begin a very difficult four-game stretch with three road trips and one home date against Michigan State.
This is one of the great variables of any sports season. Everyone knows when two teams will cross paths, but no one can know how those two teams will be playing when they ultimately collide. Wisconsin was fortunate to visit Penn State when the Nittany Lions were slumping, but last Friday at Michigan State and this Friday at Purdue are examples of playing teams which have just been embarrassed, which is exquisitely bad luck for UW.
The Badgers will simply have to play through this misfortune, and not allow Purdue’s anger after the Illinois loss to fuel the Boilermakers in West Lafayette.
What will this game show about the Badgers? Here is a simple answer: It is one thing to beat an ordinary (but not terrible) opponent. It is another matter to beat that ordinary opponent when it has extra motivation and desperation on its side. Wisconsin is catching Purdue when the Boilermakers face what is close to a must-win situation. Beating Purdue on a night when the Boilermakers might be playing for their postseason existence will show that Wisconsin can take an opponent’s best punch and withstand a difficult challenge. If Purdue plays on Friday night with the passion normally associated with an NCAA Tournament game, and Wisconsin still thwarts the home team in Mackey Arena, the Badgers will know that they have evolved to a considerable degree… much greater than anyone might have imagined on Christmas Day.