The Wisconsin Badgers pulled off another massive, ranked upset on the road this year, toppling Purdue 97-93. Wisconsin did it all without Nolan Winter; he wasn't even on the trip. He was back in Madison recovering from an ankle injury he sustained in the last game against Maryland. Beating Purdue was the good news, but what Gard said after about Winter may be the great news.
When the Badgers announced that Winter would be left in Wisconsin instead of making the trip, the original day-to-day news felt like a bit of a sham. Maybe even bad news instead. However, after beating Purdue, Gard said that Winter stayed behind for his treatment and "We feel much better than when it happened Wednesday night."
Greg Gard says medical staff is "very satisfied" with where Nolan Winter is health-wise.
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) March 7, 2026
Stayed back in Madison to continue treatment.
Remains day-to-day.
"We feel much better than when it happened Wednesday night."#Badgers
Nolan Winter seems to be truly day-to-day as the Badgers head into the postseason
Will he make it back in time for the Big Ten Tournament? It's too early to know yet, but there's optimism from Gard and his staff. Missing the Purdue game for extra treatment, rest, and recovery was part of the plan.
Before the Badgers took off for Purdue, Blackwell talked about how the Wisconsin team functions on a "next man up mentality." That's exactly what happened in the win over Purdue. While Nick Boyd will get a lot of the credit, rightfully so, both Aleksas Bieliauskas and Austin Rapp both filled in admirably. Bieliauskas finished with 16 points, two rebounds, one steal, and one assist. Rapp had 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
However, what Gard was most pleased with was their defensive efforts. He praised Rapp a ton after the game about it, but the stats also tell the story. The pair was able to keep Trey Kaufman-Renn
to only 17 points and Oscar Cluff to 10.
After the big win without Winter, Blackwell made sure to shoutout Winter on the Wisconsin social media team, “Shoutout you, Nolan Winter… this is for you, baby!”