March 7, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) drives toward the basket during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Image John Blackwell scored 25 points to lead Wisconsin to a 97-93 win at No. 15 Purdue in the Big Ten regular season finale on Saturday.
Nick Boyd scored 23 points, Austin Rapp added 17 and Alexas Wieliauskas added 16 for Wisconsin (22-9, 14-6), which has won four straight against ranked teams for the first time since advancing to the NCAA Championships in 2014-15.
Wisconsin, playing without top big man Nolan Winter due to an ankle injury, made a season-high 18 3-pointers, 52.9% of 3-pointers, and 87.5% of free throws. The Badgers could earn a No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a possible triple bye if Illinois loses at Maryland on Sunday.
Fletcher Loyer scored 23 points, Braden Smith had 20 and Trey Kaufman-Renn added 17 points in the trio’s final game for Purdue (23-8, 13-7), which built a 34-22 rebounding advantage at Mackey Arena. The Boilers shot 11 of 25 3-pointers and 34 of 67 overall.
The teams traded leads four times in the second half, and Wisconsin took the lead on Andrew Rhode’s 3-pointer with 8:57 left.
Every time Purdue hit a big shot, including Loyer’s 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to 92-91 with 1:24 to play, Wisconsin responded. Boyd hit a jump hook to regain the three-point edge.
After Purdue’s Oscar Cluff hit a pair of free throws with 29.4 seconds left, the Boilers fouled Braeden Carrington, who sank both free throws to give Wisconsin a 96-92 lead.
Kaufman-Renn hit a pair of free throws with 13.0 seconds left to make it 96-93, and Boyd did the same. Purdue missed a pair of 3-pointers before the buzzer sounded.
Wisconsin trailed 32-28 with 6:50 left in the first half, but countered with a 9-0 run to take a 37-32 lead with 5:25 left in the first half.
The Badgers led by as many as seven points in the first half and took a 52-47 lead into the locker room at halftime. They set a program record for first-half 3-pointers by making 12 of 22 attempts.
Purdue held a 62-61 lead with 14:59 left, but Wisconsin went on a 7-0 run to take a 69-62 lead with 13:03 left.
The Boilermakers battled back to take a 73-72 lead with 10:06 left, and Wisconsin responded with a 9-2 surge to take an 81-75 lead with 8:29 left.
–Field level media
