Things didn't start very well for Wisconsin basketball against No. 7 Purdue on Saturday, as the Boilermakers jumped out to an early lead in the first half. On top of that, key guard Kamari McGee was ejected with just over six minutes remaining in the first half after he was given a Flagrant 2 foul.

The Badgers wasted no time responding to the ejection by playing some of their best basketball of the season. Wisconsin quickly closed the gap before the half before storming through the second half with 58 points in the final 20 minutes to run away with the 94-84 win.

After the game, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard revealed that McGee's ejection may have actually been a blessing in disguise for the Badgers, via Nick Osen of 247 Sports.

“They're just extremely confident,” Gard said. “They know, collectively, they are a really good team. And obviously, we've got major star power too with some guys, but just how they rallied together. I think actually McGee getting the ejection threw a little bit more gas on our fire, and really united us.

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“I probably talked less in these huddles than I have all year, because they were so engaged and so instrumental and instructive with what they wanted to do, on both ends of the floor.”

John Tonje was the biggest factor in the win, finishing with a very efficient 32 points on 10-for-15 shooting while getting to the free throw line nine times. Purdue had problems keeping Tonje and the rest of the Wisconsin backcourt out of the paint for the entire second half, and the Badgers took advantage by scoring at will.

Wisconsin has no time to rest after the win, as it will take on Illinois at home in another battle of two of the best teams in the Big Ten on Tuesday night. As it stands, this Wisconsin basketball team is currently in fourth place in the Big Ten, so Gard and company are battling for a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

Not only are the Badgers fighting for seeding in the conference, they are also battling to get a protected seed in the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee gave Wisconsin a very favorable ranking at No. 11 in its top 16 reveal on Saturday morning, and this win over Purdue should only strengthen that position. If Gard and company can stack a few more impressive performances together, they could find themselves on the 2-line on Selection Sunday.