Wisconsin's seniors help Badgers pull away from Maryland in home finale

MADISON, Wis. - After delivering his three best scoring outputs on the road, senior Braeden Carrington managed to save some of his suddenly dynamic offense for his final home curtain call.

Scoring 13 of his 18 game-high points in the first half, Carrington's offense was a big spark to push Wisconsin in what turned into a 78-45 victory over Maryland at the Kohl Center.

Closing the home portion of its schedule with a 15-2 record, the victory keeps hope alive for Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten) to clinch a triple bye into the tournament's quarterfinals. That hasn't bothered UW the last two years, having advanced to the tournament final after winning three games in three days.

Nothing seems to be bothering Carrington down the final stretch of his collegiate career on the offense end. Averaging 6.6 points in his career, Carrington has surpassed that number 12 times in the past 15 games.

Guard John Blackwell added 14 points, while fellow guard Nick Boyd had 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists in his final home game.

Nolan Winter had seven points and six rebounds but landed awkwardly after trying for a putback layup with 7:01 remaining and landed awkwardly on his left ankle. He was down on the court for several minutes before being taken to the locker room in front of a deathly-silent crowd, unable to put any weight on the foot.

That energy in the building never returned on a night that was turning into a celebration.

Guard Andre Mills had 14 points for Maryland (11-19, 4-15), which will finish the regular season with just one power-conference victory away from home.

The night had the look of an offensive slog, a problem that has plagued Wisconsin of late when it's matched up against teams near the bottom of the Big Ten standings.

Wisconsin started 2-for-12 from the floor, a combination of missed perimeter shots and unfriendly rolls around the rim. The only good thing from the horrendous start was that Blackwell had an offensive rhythm, finding production with two buckets in the paint on the first three possessions. That set him up to later hit UW's first three on its 10th attempt and a tough pull-up baseline jumper over Mills.

It was a stark change from the final three games of February when Blackwell went 11-for-35 from the floor and 8-for-24 from the perimeter.

Carrington hasn't needed much of a spark, not with the confidence he generated after scoring a career-high 32 points and setting a school record with nine three-pointers in Saturday's 90-73 win at Washington.

Carrington made Maryland guard him from three, even going as far out as making a three in front of the logo to bump the lead to nine, but he attacked the rim for a pair of layups when lanes opened in front of him.

With Carrington getting UW rolling, the Terps never launched a counter. Having struggled for most of the season with injuries, Maryland shot just 32.1 percent in the first half and started 1-for-7 in the second half as UW slowly pulled away.

What it means: Wisconsin avoided the last pothole on its 2025-26 schedule, winning a Quad-3 game that could have dropped the Badgers at least one seed line had the result gone the other way. Barring some upsets in next week's conference tournament, UW finished the season 9-0 against Quad 3/4 opponents and protected its NCAA profile. However, Winter's injury is going to loom large.

Star of the game: A replay review was about the only thing that went wrong for Carrington in the first half. Having suddenly turned into an offensive juggernaut, Carrington scored 13 points in the final 10:34 of the half, including seven on three straight possessions. He ignited the crowd when he banked in a three-pointer off a set play with 0.5 left before halftime, only to have the officials wave it off after taking a second look.

Regardless, after UW started 2-for-12 from the floor, Carrington's production helped UW finish 10-for-19 and lead, 34-21, at halftime.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin held Maryland to 30.4 percent shooting, the lowest of the season for a Badgers' opponent.

Reason to be Concerned: Winter's injury could be devastating for Wisconsin. Frontcourt depth is one of the roster's biggest weaknesses, and losing a player who is averaging 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and is second in the Big Ten with 12 double-doubles a week before the postseason is the worst-case scenario.

Don’t overlook: After senior Andrew Rohde notched a steal to push the fast break, he dropped a pass behind his back to a trailing Carrington. Despite possibly being contacted, Carrington stayed red hot with a three as he fell to the court to push the lead to a then game-high 13.

What’s next: Wisconsin closes the regular season with a top-15 road matchup at Purdue on Saturday. Mackey Arena has historically been one of the toughest venues in the country, but the Boilermakers (22-7, 12-6) lost all four of their ranked games at home. Entering the season finale, Purdue ranks 313th nationally and last in the Big Ten in "Home Rank" at EvanMiya.com, which measures how much better teams play at home vs neutral or away.

Purdue isn't playing with the same swagger it had when it beat UW, 89-73, in Madison on January 3, entering the week having lost three of four. UW is 6-43 at Mackey Arena but has won two of the last three meetings.

The tip from West Lafayette, Ind., will be at 3 p.m. and be televised on CBS.