Both Wisconsin and No. 15 Purdue are locks for the NCAA Tournament and don’t have a chance to win the Big Ten regular-season title with Michigan already claiming that crown.
But both have something to play for in their second meeting of the season Saturday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind., in the regular-season finale for both teams.
With both teams sitting at 13-6 in league play, the Badgers (21-9) and Boilermakers (23-7) are vying to finish in the top four in the league standings, which would mean a triple-bye in the Big Ten tournament.
Having a No. 5 or No. 6 seed would mean having to play an extra game.
Entering Thursday, Wisconsin and Purdue were battling with Nebraska (14-5) and Illinois (14-5) for the remaining top-four seeds in the conference tournament behind No. 1 Michigan. Michigan State (15-4) has already locked a top-four seed as well, leaving two up for grabs.
For Purdue, the matchup will have special meaning because it will be the last home game for a decorated senior class that includes Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn.
With a win against the Badgers, Purdue’s senior class will tie the record for most conference wins by any class in Big Ten history. It would match the 59 wins by Purdue’s senior classes of 2024 and 2025 and Indiana’s classes of 1977 and 1978..
“It’s easier to build with people that play a lot when they’re young and you can grow through them,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. “You know that constant. Those guys have been great. They’ve always answered the bell. Sometimes we have struggles like everybody else.
“Those guys are always in there watching film the next day or trying to get it figured out. Getting extra shots, putting in extra work and they’ve been great representatives of the university.”
Purdue won the first meeting in Madison on Jan. 3, 89-73, behind 20 points from Loyer. Wisconsin was just 4 of 25 from 3-point range.
Wisconsin hopes to earn some payback and continue a good stretch, with five wins in its last seven games. The Badgers beat the host Boilermakers 94-84 last season.
“We’ll have to chase Loyer and hopefully don’t let him shoot too many 3s,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said.
Wisconsin is coming off a 78-45 win over Maryland on Wednesday in its home finale, but there was a concerning development.
Nolan Winter, the team’s third-leading scorer (13.3 ppg), exited in the second half with an ankle injury.
Gard wasn’t immediately certain on the severity of the injury, but was optimistic it won’t be a big problem for Winter.
“Early indications, hopefully we avoided the worst,” Gard said.
The game will feature three of the best guards in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin has a dynamic duo on the perimeter in Nick Boyd (20.0 ppg) and John Blackwell (18.1 ppg), while Purdue features Smith, who is averaging a team-high 14.7 ppg and is second in the country in assists per game at 8.7.
