They found a way to overcome his absence.

Wisconsin kept its composure, used the ejection as motivation and rallied to beat No. 7 Purdue 94-84, handing the Boilermakers a second loss this season on their home court.

“I think the ejection actually threw more gas on our fire,” Badgers coach Greg Gard said. “I probably talked less in these huddles than I have all year because they were so engaged, so locked in with what we wanted to do.”

The Badgers (20-5, 10-4 Big Ten) needed Saturday’s victory to help them chase what they really crave — another regular-season conference championship. By beating the two-time defending Big Ten champs, the Badgers pulled within 1 1/2 games of No. 20 Michigan, are one game behind No. 11 Michigan State, 1/2 game behind the Boilermakers and squarely in play for earning a double-bye in next month’s league tournament.

Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) tries to drive on Purdue guard C.J. Cox (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

But when the refs determined after a replay review that the collision between McGee and screen-setting Trey Kaufman-Renn, which ended up with McGee’s hand hitting the 6-foot-9 forward in the groin, warranted a Flagrant 2 foul, it appeared the Badgers may be doomed.

McGee first went to the bench as the raucous crowd at Mackey Arena roared, then was escorted by a team official to the locker room, blowing kisses to the crowd as he walked through the tunnel.

The Badgers didn’t let his absence bother them.

“I didn’t look at the (video) board or anything, I was having more conversations about what happened on the previous possession when I felt our guys were like bowling pins, falling down and getting knocked around,” Gard said. “I felt when they gave the explanation (on McGee), that’s the letter of the law, it’s not up for debate. We needed to move on and keep playing.”

Eventually, they did.

First, though, Kaufman-Renn, who doubled over briefly during the replay review, made both free throws. C.J. Cox added a midrange jumper to put the short-handed Badgers in a 31-22 deficit just 44 seconds after McGee’s departure.

But Purdue couldn’t take full advantage of the opportunity and Wisconsin refused to collapse in front a national television audience.

It turned out to be a big mistake for the Boilermakers.

“You’ve got to be able to expand your lead at that point, and we just didn’t,” Kaufman-Renn said after scoring a career-high 30 points on 12 of 16 shooting. “We didn’t quite do that.”

Instead, the Badgers charged back to cut the halftime deficit to 37-36, and John Tonje wound up scoring 22 of his 32 points in the second half including the 4-point play that gave them a 51-50 lead — a lead they never relinquished thanks to some unlikely contributors.

Sparingly used Jack Janicki finished with a career-high 11 points, Nolan Winter matched his highest scoring total, 12 points, over the past month and Carter Gilmore provided productive minutes, too.

Gard wasn’t surprised.

“McGee had to hit the showers early and I think it made our other guys unite even more,” he said. “They’re just extremely confident and they know, collectively, they’re a really good team.”

Kaufman-Renn’s 30 points led Purdue. Fletcher Loyer scored 15 and Braden Smith had 12 assists for the Boilermakers (19-7, 11-4), who lost their second straight for the second time this season.

Purdue honored All-American forward Caleb Swanigan at halftime. The 2017 Big Ten Player of the Year and first-round draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers died in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2022 at age 25. The local coroner ruled Swanigan died from natural causes.

Takeaways

Wisconsin: After a sluggish start, the Badgers showed what they’re capable of by nearly outscoring Purdue in the first half and playing much better defense in the second for their fourth straight win.

Purdue: The Boilermakers struggled to find a second scoring option in the second half when Kaufman-Renn had 21 of Purdue’s 47 points. The result: A rare second home loss.

Key Moment

Tonje’s four-point play with 15:47 left in the game not only gave the Badgers their first lead since 16-14, it spurred an 11-0 run that put Wisconsin in control for the rest of the game.

Key Stats

Wisconsin made 18 of 25 shots and 6 of 12 3s without turning the ball over in the second half.

Up next

The Badgers begin a three-game homestand Tuesday against Illinois. The Boilermakers visit No. 11 Michigan State on Tuesday.