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Bo Ryan's philosophy steadies UW toward Senior Day
Vitto Brown has upper leg muscle strain (Madison.com)
Purdue says Jay Simpson has career-ending heart condition (Indy Star)
Keys to victory:
1. Get off to a fast start
In Wednesday's contest, if Wisconsin starts quickly and can overcome the external distractions that come with honoring the seniors before tip-off, then I think the Badgers roll. The Boilermakers don't have a dead-eye shooter like D.J. Byrd this season to knock down threes to help them mount a possible comeback.
Also consider this: Wisconsin is 22-3 when leading at halftime this season, and Purdue isn't nearly as potent offensively as Indiana and even Ohio State for that matter.
2. Limit Terone Johnson
Purdue is 2-6 in Big Ten play when Johnson is held to 10 or fewer points, so I'll say it again: Here's looking at you, Josh Gasser.
The only way I see the Boilers upsetting Wisconsin inside the Kohl Center is if they get a stand-out individual performance, and the player most capable of such a performance is Johnson. He had a superb game in Purdue's upset of the Badgers last season, controlling pace much of the game en route to 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
3. Get Ben Brust going from behind the arc
After being mired in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career, Brust has connected on seven threes in his last three halves of basketball, so it appears he's back to his typical self from distance. However, the one thing you continue to do when you've got a shooter on your team is continue to feed him until he's back into his groove.