Wednesday, Jan. 10 8:00pm ET
Purdue's Smith scores 17 in second half
RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Rodney Smith had his dream of
playing in last year's Final Four spoiled by Wisconsin.
|  | | Carson Cunningham delivers down the stretch to help the Boilermakers upset the Badgers. |
When he got the chance for some payback, he didn't let Purdue
down.
Smith scored 19 points, including a go-ahead 15-foot jump shot
with 1:47 left, to lead Purdue to a 73-67 win against No. 17
Wisconsin on Wednesday night.
"That loss was devastating," Smith said about the Badgers
64-60 victory last March 25 in the regional final. "That's the
reason we play the game -- to get to the Final Four and they took
that away from us. That was in our head all year. We wanted to come
out and play as hard as we could, and we did."
It took Smith awhile to get going. He had only two points in the
first half.
Smith scored 17 points in the second half, and made three
3-pointers. He scored 10 straight points, on two of his 3-pointers,
early in the half, to give the Boilermakers (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) a
40-34 lead.
"At halftime, the only thing coach (Gene Keady) stressed was
somebody has to make a shot. In the first half, I wasn't getting
the ball in a position where I could score. In the second half, I
wanted to get in the low post to start off. Once I make an inside
shot, I feel I can hit a lot of outside shots," he said.
Smith's game-winner gave the Boilermakers a 66-64 lead.
They had tied the score at 64 on Carson Cunningham's bank shot,
and Cunningham followed Smith's shot with a layup and a free throw
for a 69-64 edge.
Kirk Penney's 3-pointer with 18.7 seconds left brought the
Badgers (10-3, 1-2) to within 70-67, but Purdue sealed the win with
free throws.
The Badgers went 19-of-24 from the line, while Purdue made 21 of
29 attempts.
Wisconsin interim coach Brad Soderburg said Smith was the
difference in the outcome.
"He showed why he is an All-Big Ten player. That's been the
type of player the last two years that has given us trouble," he
said.
Smith finished 8-of-14 from the field, and made 3-of-5 from
3-pointers.
"I always feel like I can hit my shot. Coach tries to tell me
not to shoot it too much, but forget that," he said.
Wisconsin went on a 9-0 run late in the second half to take
54-53 lead. The Boilermakers then scored the next five, to regain
the lead but couldn't hold it. Wisconsin's Roy Boone, who led the
Badgers with 22 points, and Maurice Linton combined for five points
and a 64-62 lead.
Kenny Lowe scored 15 points for Purdue, which has won 10 of its
last 11 games.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak against the Badgers.
Keady said he wasn't looking for revenge.
"We had our chance. I've never dwelled on those sort of things.
If you're going to do it, you've got to do it at that time. I used
to dwell on it. I'd blame myself for everything we did wrong. I
figured out after 30 years of coaching, sometimes it's the players'
fault," he said.
It's the Boilermakers second win this year against a Top 25
team, having previously beaten then-No. 1 Arizona 72-69 on Nov. 25.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Wisconsin Clubhouse
Purdue Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rodney Smith and the Purdue Boilermakers upset No. 17 Wisconsin.
avi: 2578 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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