Road-warrior Wisconsin Badgers knock off their third top-15 opponent of the season

The University of Wisconsin left its best interior low-post presence at home to rest an injury left ankle. The Badgers compensated by unleashing a clinic from beyond the perimeter and letting their star point guard take over to knock out another ranked conference foe on the road.

A hot perimeter game opened up alleys for senior Nick Boyd to take over down the stretch, scoring 11 of Wisconsin's final 13 points to register a thrilling 97-93 victory over No.15 Purdue at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, in the regular-season finale.

John Blackwell returned to his confidence form by scoring a game-high 25 points, while Boyd scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half to lock in the third top-15 road win of the season for Wisconsin (22-9, 14-6), which clinched no worse than the fifth seed in next week's conference tournament in Chicago.

Final #Badgers scoring

John Blackwell 25, Nick Boyd 23, Austin Rapp 17, Aleksas Bieliauskas 16, Braeden Carrington 8, Andrew Rohde 6, Hayden Jones 2.

Wisconsin shoots 55.8 percent, including 18-for-34 from three, to clinch at least the five seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) March 7, 2026

The Badgers have an outside shot at the No.4 seed and the triple bye if Maryland can upset No.11 Illinois in College Park on Sunday. The Badgers are going to playing with heaping levels of confidence no matter when they end up playing.

Whether starting center Nolan Winter plays will be decided over the next week. The junior didn't travel with the team after injury his left ankle late in the Badgers' 78-45 win over Maryland on Wednesday. He is third on the team in scoring (13.3 ppg), the team's leading rebounder (8.3), and shooting 69.9 percent from two-point range.

In his absence, sophomore Austin Rapp started and him and freshman forward Aleksas Bieliauskas combined for 33 points on 9-for-16 shooting.

UW pivoted without Winter's inside presence by letting three-point shots fly from all five positions. Six of the Wisconsin's eight rotational players hit a three in the opening half, accounting for a school-record 12 made threes on 26 attempts.

The Badgers only attempted four two-pointers, just one after the 15:05 mark, but the three-point marksmanship allowed them to flip a nine-point deficit into a five-point halftime lead.

UW led by as many as 10 after starting the half on a 9-2 run and spent the rest of the half counterpunching every Purdue run with one of its own.

The Boilermakers (23-8, 13-7 Big Ten) put four players in double figures, led by 23 points from Fletcher Loyer, but couldn't grab the lead back after the 9:39 mark because UW kept making shots.

No player was a bigger shot maker down the stretch that Boyd, who wasn't a part of the three-point onslaught in the first half but certainly took advantage of the gaps those shots created in the second half. Boyd went 6-for-8 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line in the second half, doing a lot of the damage by getting to his left hand and attacking the rim.

What it means: Wisconsin would have had an easier path to a Big Ten Tournament title had it lost but tanking isn't in the Badgers' DNA, especially when they know they can compete and beat anybody in the Big Ten. Without the Badgers' best interior player, Wisconsin found a way with timely shots and some big defense down the stretch, as Purdue missed its last six shots from the floor.

Star of the game: If you're a Big Ten all-conference voter, how can you watch this game and tell me Nick Boyd isn't one of the best five players in the league? In addition to his points, Boyd had five rebounds, five assists, and only two turnovers. When the lights are the brightest, Boyd has delivered each time for the Badgers.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin was 4-for-25 in the 89-73 loss to Purdue on Jan. 3. UW went 18-for-34 from three on Saturday, breaking the program record for made threes on the road that was set in UW's last road game.

Reason to be Concerned: Is a full week off enough for Winter to be ready for the postseason? Wisconsin was clearly undermanned in the low post against Purdue's veterans and will be at a match-up disadvantage for the forseeable future while he recovers. It took Winter

Don’t overlook: There's something about playing ranked team on the road that brings out the best in Bieliauskas. The freshman's first two shots were made three pointers, the sixth game this season he's hit multiple threes, and he kept pouring it on to finish with 16 points (4-for-5 3FG) in 36 minutes. He finished one-point shy of his career-high, which he set earlier this season in a win at No.2 Michigan.

What’s next: Wisconsin will have at least four full days off and a short travel down to Chicago. The Badgers will either be the No.5 seed and play the winner of the No.13/No.12 game on Thursday afternoon or be the No.4 seed and will await the winner of the No.5 and No.13/No.12 game on Friday afternoon.