CHICAGO -- Ten minutes, 52 seconds to go, and Saturday's Wisconsin-Purdue game at the Big Ten tournament appeared destined for a nail-biting, white-knuckle, close-your-eyes-and-pray type of finish. Here was Purdue, mammoth in frontcourt size and equally large in collective heart, trailing by just two points and taking the top-seeded Badgers to the limit as double-digit underdogs while a pro-Wisconsin crowd nervously fidgeted in their seats.
And then, what followed was one of the most demoralizing, mesmerizing and inspiring displays of basketball you may see this March. That is, unless you left for a bathroom break in the United Center concourse or to make a sandwich in the kitchen. Because in the span of 4 minutes, 34 seconds of game clock, Wisconsin scored 13 consecutive points, swiftly kicking Purdue in the pants and knocking the despondent Boilermakers on their keisters without room for recovery.
The result? A crushing blow in No. 1 seed Wisconsin's eventual 71-51 thrashing of No. 4 seed Purdue on Saturday afternoon in a Big Ten tournament semifinal. Wisconsin (30-3) advanced to play Michigan State (23-10) at 2:30 p.m. CT Sunday in the conference championship game with a very real opportunity on the line to snatch the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
In the process, the Badgers sent yet another message to the nation about what is possible.
"If we play like we did tonight, that can be kind of scary," Badgers forward Sam Dekker said. "I don't want to make it sound arrogant, but when we get up and down like that, we have the talent to play with anybody."
Saturday's game represented the type of performance that confirmed to many why this year's Wisconsin team just might be the best in program history -- a team primed to roll through March and cut down nets in April. During that decisive 13-0 run, Badgers center Frank Kaminsky buried a jumper, Dekker outran Kaminsky for a fast-break two-handed dunk, Nigel Hayes drained two free throws, Josh Gasser swished a 3 after two offensive rebounds kept the play alive, Dekker dunked again off a beautiful feed from Kaminsky and Zak Showalter made two free throws.
When it was over, Wisconsin had turned a 46-44 lead into a 59-44 bulge and left Purdue searching for answers. The Boilermakers missed five consecutive field goals and committed three turnovers in the devastating run that led to their demise.
"Once we got it going, we just kept it going," Gasser said. "It was a lot of fun to be out there. It was a great display of basketball."
It was also enough to make people forget that Purdue (21-12) played exceptional basketball in the first half to establish a 35-30 halftime lead. In the first 20 minutes, the Boilermakers made 50 percent of their field goal attempts and 7-foot center A.J. Hammons blocked three shots, including two early on Kaminsky, the Big Ten's player of the year. Purdue coach Matt Painter used a series of unique schemes, sticking 7-2 center Isaac Haas essentially in a one-man zone under the basket to prevent rim runs, putting 6-7 forward Vince Edwards on the 7-foot Kaminsky and daring Badgers forward Nigel Hayes to shoot 3 pointers. And for one half, all of it worked to perfection.
"We were behind for a reason," Dekker said. "But we're never going to freak out. We're never going to try to get it all back in one play. We know we have a team that can put some things together and string some possessions together and win some ball games."
Wisconsin quickly chipped into the deficit after halftime. Hayes made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 35, and point guard Bronson Koenig's straight on 3 with 16:29 left gave Wisconsin a 38-35 lead. It marked the Badgers' first lead since 10-9 early in the first half. Over the next six minutes of second-half play, the teams exchanged baskets to keep the game close.
But Wisconsin's superior talent prevailed during the final 10 minutes of the second half. UW closed the game by outscoring Purdue 25-7 to turn a tight game into a rout. Koenig scored a career-high 19 points, Dekker and Hayes tallied 15 and Kaminsky added 12.
"We just played with energy," Kaminsky said. "We ran in transition. We were getting stops. We got the crowd into it. Just one of those games, the second half was like we got everything going for us, and we just rode the momentum."
Badgers coach Bo Ryan described this year's team as "fun to watch" after the game, and there was little reason to disagree Saturday. Wisconsin did all the things it has done so well, even if it kick-started one half later than usual. UW held Purdue to its season low in scoring, outrebounded the Boilermakers despite their two tall trees and made more free throws (11) than their opponent attempted (six).
Wisconsin also turned the ball over only three times, though Ryan -- ever the perfectionist -- still expressed his discontent because two of those turnovers came in the final minute with the team's reserves in the game.
"You should have seen how hot I was in the locker room," he said.
Those feelings were sure to dissipate by Sunday, when Wisconsin will try to cut down another set of nets, match the program record for single-season victories and perhaps clinch a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed.
"This is the best team I've played on," Dekker said. "We play well together. We have fun with it. And not to mention we're well coached. When you put those together, it's a pretty good recipe for success."
Wisconsin demonstrated Saturday it's a recipe that could lead all the way to a national championship.
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