The Wisconsin Badgers needed a little magic to have a shot at upsetting No. 6 Purdue on Thursday night, and they got it in the form of former big man Frank Kaminsky. Wisconsin honored No. 44 at halftime, retiring Frank the Tank’s jersey in a ceremony.
Wisconsin upsets No. 6 Purdue on “Frank Kaminsky Night”
The Boilermakers have now lost three straight after falling 57-53 on the road to the Badgers.
The two teams were knotted at 21 at the half before Wisconsin outlasted Purdue down the stretch, converting free throws to seal the game. Midway through the second half, Purdue looked to be taking control after a 10-0 run gave them a 39-32 lead. The Wisconsin men’s basketball Twitter account was all in on Frank Kaminsky Night, using pictures of him to accompany each game update. It got creative after that Boilermaker run:
Wisconsin chipped away at the Boilermakers, eventually tying the game at 43 on a Khalil Iverson Dunk with 4:58 to play. The Badgers took the lead 38 seconds later on two Brad Davison free throws, and they never looked back. Ethan Happ led the way for the Badgers with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Davison chipped in 16 points in an effective 5-of-9 performance from the field.
Wisconsin has struggled over the course of the season with a 12-16 overall record and a 5-10 Big Ten record. After the win, Badgers fans rushed the court, including an appearance from Frank the Tank himself (in a slick red jacket).
Purdue came into the matchup with the Badgers having lost back-to-back games to Ohio State and Michigan State, dropping them from No. 3 to No. 6 in the AP Poll. The Boilermakers finished with 13 turnovers in the game, and the trio of Carsen Edwards (22 points), Isaac Haas (12 points), and Vince Edwards (10 points) combined for 44 of Purdue’s 53 points. Purdue dropped to 23-5 (12-3 Big Ten) with the loss.
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