All Badgers

Wisconsin's road success is on par with the greatest Badgers team of the modern era

Wisconsin's four-straight wins over an AP Top-25 opponent is a first for the program since the 2014-15 season.
Benjamin Worgull|
Mar 7, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) celebrates making a basket during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena.
Mar 7, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) celebrates making a basket during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

News and notes from Wisconsin's 97-93 victory over No.15 Purdue, helping the Badgers (24-9, 14-6 Big Ten) clinch at least the fifth seed in the Big Ten Conference Tournament next weekend.

Team notes

The Badgers reached 22 wins for the 20th time in program history. Greg Gard has now been at the helm of eight of the 20 highest single-season win totals in Wisconsin history.

Wisconsin reached 14 Big Ten wins for just the sixth time in program history, four of which have come under Greg Gard (2019, 2020, 2022, 2026). Former head coach Bo Ryan's 2008 and 2015 teams hold the record with 16 conference wins.

With Purdue ranked ninth in the NET rankings, Wisconsin tallied its sixth Quad 1 win of the season. The Badgers are now 12-9 in Quad 1/2 games this season.

The Badgers now have wins over teams ranked 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th in the NET.

Wisconsin tallied its fourth-straight win over an AP Top-25 opponent for the first time since the 2014-15 season. UW has wins at #2 Michigan, at #8 Illinois and over #10 Michigan State.

The Badgers have their most top-25 wins in a season since going 5-3 in 2021-22.

Wisconsin has won three road wins over top 25 opponents for the third time in program history - all have come under Greg Gard (2015-16, 2019-20, 2025-26).

Wisconsin, Arizona and Michigan are the nation's only teams with 3 road wins over top-15 teams this season.

Wisconsin scored its most-ever points at Mackey Arena and tallied the most for an opponent at Mackey since Indiana scored a 97-60 win over Purdue on 1/30/13. Wisconsin scored at least 90 points for the 13th time season and improved to 19-0 when scoring at least 80 this season. The Badgers are 27-0 all-time under Gard when scoring at least 90 points.

The Badgers matched Illinois from earlier this year for the most 3FGs ever made by an opponent at Mackey Arena with 18.


Wisconsin has now won three of the last four meetings with Purdue and won back-to-back games at Mackey Arena for just the second time in school history (also 2012 and 2014).

Wisconsin improved to 7-43 all-time in Mackey, but five of those wins have come since 2012. The Badgers' 5-6 record at Mackey Arena since 2012 trails only Michigan (6-6) for the most wins and best record at Purdue over that span.

Improving to 7-11 against Purdue, Gard is 235-126 (,651) overall with a mark of 131-83 (.612) in Big Ten play.

Gard ranks 18th on the conference's all-time wins list and his 61.2 win percentage ranks seventh among Big Ten coaches of the last 40 years (since 1980). The victory moved him one tenth of a point ahead of former Purdue head coach Gene Keady.

The Badgers claimed their sixth Big Ten road win, the program's most since going 8-2 on the road in conference play in 2021-22. The Badgers finished 6-4 in true road games in 2025-26.

Wisconsin shot 18-for-34 (52.9 percent) from 3-point range, connecting on a season-high 18 triples and matching the third-highest total in school history.

The Badgers are now 13-1 this season when shooting 40.0% or better from 3-point range.

Wisconsin is 7-0 in games when it makes 15+ 3-pointers and UW is now 19-3 when hitting 10+ triples.

The Badgers shot a season-high 55.8% from the field, going 29-for-52. UW improved to 18-1 when shooting 45% or better from the field.

Wisconsin shot 21-for-24 (87.5%) from the free throw line, improving to 7-1 when making at least 20 FTs in a game this season.

On the season, the Badgers rank 3rd in the Big Ten shooting 78.2% (492-for-629), a mark that would rank 3rd in school annals.

The Badgers turned the ball over eight times in the win, improving to 19-2 on the season with 10 or fewer TOs.

Individual notes

Graduate student Nick Boyd finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Boyd has now scored 624 points and moved into a tie with Devin Harris for the 4th- highest single season scoring mark in program history.

Most single-season points in school history
1. 732 Frank Kaminsky 2015
2. 724 John Tonje 2025
3. 716 Alando Tucker 2007
4. 624 Devin Harris 2004
4. 624 Nick Boyd 2026
5. 621 Jon Leuer 2011
6. 620 Michael Finley 1993
7. 617 Jordan Taylor 2011

Boyd scored 415 points during the Big Ten season, the second-highest total in UW history. He trails only Michael Finley's 417 points in the 1992-93 season.

Boyd is averaging 22.7 ppg in six games against AP top-25 opponents this season. That is the most of any player in the Big Ten.

Junior John Blackwell posted a game-high 25 points, going 5-for-10 from 3-point range and 6-for-7 at the FT line.

Blackwell has now scored (1,405) career points, moving into a tie with Cory Blackwell (1,405, 1969-71) for 19th place on Wisconsin's all-time scoring list.

Blackwell has connected on 169 career 3FGs, moving into 13th place on the Badgers all- time ledger.

Blackwell scored 20+ for the 13th time this season and the 21st time of his career.



Senior Braeden Carrington had 8 points (2-5 3FGs) and matched his career high with five assists.

Carrington is shooting a team-high 42.7% from 3-point range this season, going 64-for-150.

Sophomore Austin Rapp posted 17 points fueled by a 4-for-8 clip from deep and 5-for-6 at the FT line. Rapp also notched 3 boards and 3 assists.

Rapp has now hit at least 3 triples in 5 of the last 8 games, going 23-for-46 (50.0%) over that stretch.

Rapp hit double figures for the 12th time this season. Wisconsin is 12-0 when Rapp scores in double figures.

Freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas scored 16 points, the second-highest total of his career. He went 4-for-5 from long range, the 2nd-highest 3FG output in his career.

Bieliauskas scored in double figures for the 4th time this season. Wisconsin is 4-0 in such games.

- Notes provided by UW Athletic Communications

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Benjamin Worgull
BENJAMIN WORGULL

Benjamin Worgull has covered Wisconsin men's basketball since 2004, having previously written for Rivals, USA Today, 247sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, the Janesville Gazette, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

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