Overtime: Wisconsin Spoils Senior Day For Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It may have been Senior Day at Mackey Arena, but Wisconsin (22-9, 14-6) made themselves right at home. Upsetting No. 15 Purdue (23-8, 13-7), the Badgers collected their third road win over a top-15 ranked opponent this season, ending the 2025-26 regular season on a three-game winning streak.

“Tremendous, tremendous basketball game between two terrific teams,” UW head coach Greg Gard said. “I think we got Purdue’s best and I think Purdue got our best. Just matching blow for blow, shot for shot…From a mental standpoint in the timeouts and huddles, very good. Our guys stayed really calm and confident.”

Wisconsin Won Without Nolan Winter

As expected, Nolan Winter did not appear in Saturday’s regular-season finale. In fact, the junior forward did not even travel with the team after suffering an ankle injury on Wednesday against Maryland. Winter’s absence left a huge void in the frontcourt against a Purdue team that already feasted on the offensive glass in the first meeting, racking up 14 boards.

In Winter’s place, the Badgers went with Austin Rapp, who made his first start since Nov. 28 against TCU. Both Rapp and freshman forward Aleksas Bieliauskas stepped up.

Rapp had 17 points and three assists, while Bieliauskas added 16 points. The duo combined eight 3-pointers in a hot shooting afternoon for Wisconsin, including a 4-for-5 effort from Bieliauskas.

While the eyes go to the points, both had some outstanding defensive possessions in the post against Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff.

“I know we gave up 93 points, but they had to work for stuff,” said Gard. “They’re so good. It’s an elite offensive team. Much like us, you have to pick your poison. “

The Badgers Went Off From 3-Point Range

For some teams, you might just say this is an anomaly. However, Wisconsin has done this before, and they broke down the Purdue defense with ease to get these looks.

The Badgers started 12-of-20 from 3-point range and would go a blistering 18-of-34 from downtown. Six of the eight players who saw action for UW made at least one triple. In a game where neither side could really stop the other, the outside shooting was huge for the Badgers, who had 15 fewer field goal attempts than their counterparts, but made eight more 3-pointers.

The 18 made 3-pointers were a season-high for UW, who has now hit 14 or more triples five times in a road game this season. The Badgers are a perfect 20-0 when they score 80 or more points. Thanks to the 3-point shooting, UW was able to hit that with 8:29 remaining.

“That’s how this team is built,” said Gard. “And when we’re playing well together, it works really good.”

Nick Boyd Took Over Late

Wisconsin had Nick Boyd. Purdue did not. That made a difference.

On what was a pretty quiet performance most of the way, Boyd came roaring for the Badgers down the stretch. In fact, Boyd went nearly 18 minutes between field goals, only to score 10 consecutive points with under 5:00 to play as the teams were trading punches.

Boyd finished with 23 points (8-13) and five assists in 33 minutes.

“March is about who can make plays. And when you have two of the best guards in the country, you get wins like this,” said Boyd.

Game Ball

You could say Boyd, Bieliauskas, Rapp, or John Blackwell, who scored a game-high 25 points (7-13). Just give it to the entire team.

Winning in Mackey Arena is very hard. Winning on their senior day when Purdue was recognizing three of the best to ever play in the Gold Black, without the services of Winter, seemed next to impossible.

Remember those days when Wisconsin couldn’t throw it in the ocean at Mackey? The Badgers shot 56 percent on Saturday, averaged 1.52 points per possession, and scored on 59.4 percent of their offensive trips.

“It just shows that we’re fighters,” said Blackwell. “It just shows the maturity of this group. This is probably the best environemnt in the country and they just stepped up.”

Beyond the Box Score

1.52: Wisconsin averaged 1.52 points per possession.

4: UW had four players with three or more assists.

4: The Badgers committed four turnovers in a span of 3:32 in the first half.

4:48: UW committed five fouls in the opening 4:48 of the second half.

5:01: After Boyd picked up his second foul, UW outscored Purdue 15-13 in last 5:01 of the first half.

6: Purdue missed their last six field goal attempts.

10: Boyd had a +/- of 10 to lead UW.

10: The Badgers led by as many as 10 points in the second half.

10: UW made 10 of its last 14 shots to close the first half.

10: Boyd scored 10 straight points down the stretch of the second half.

11: Purdue used an 11-0 run to open up a 22-13 lead in the first half.

11:52: The Boilermakers were in the bonus for the last 11:52 of the game.

12: The Badgers made 12 of their first 20 attempts from 3-point range.

17:44: Boyd went 17:44 between field goals.

42:08: In the final 42:08, UW never missed more than three shots in a row.