History has repeated itself for the Wisconsin Badgers at Mackey Arena. Last year, the Badgers upset No. 7 Purdue 94-84, with John Tonje's 32-point performance without one of their stars, Kamari McGee. This year, the Badgers rolled into Mackey without Nolan Winter, and many UW fans had decided the game would "be what it will be." However, Wisconsin did it again, knocking off a No. 15-ranked Purdue 97-93.
They also discovered a new tradition after beating Purdue: take a picture in the weird locker room Purdue stuffs their visitors in. What was a spur-of-the-moment, "we came into your trap and took over your trap" picture, has now become an annual trolling picture.
See the comparison between the two pictures below:
New year, same shit. pic.twitter.com/GKtPee1NNV
— Wisconsin Recruiting (@BuckyRecruiting) March 7, 2026
Wisconsin has now made it a tradition of beating Purdue even in Mackey Arena
Related: John Blackwell sends Wisconsin message after Purdue upset that no one can ignore
Those two pictures are iconic, and they represent a larger trend of beating Purdue at Mackey under Greg Gard. Wisconsin from 1968 to 2011 had a record of 2-37 at Mackey. Terrible. Mackey was the house of horrors for Wisconsin (as it is for many Big Ten teams). From 2012 to 2026, the Badgers are 5-6, now with two wins in a row.
According to Wisconsin stats, "Wisconsin's 5-6 record at Mackey Arena since 2012 trails only Michigan (6-6) for the best record at Purdue over that span." There's something happening in the game plan that's allowing Greg Gard to exploit Purdue even on the road.
It does help that his team has embraced being the villain. The Badgers love it, and have now gone into three hostile arenas for ranked teams this season and won. Beating top-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor, top-10 ranked Illinois in Champaign, and now No. 15 Purdue in West Lafayette.
It's not that they've only been doing it, but the team has been embracing it. After the game, during the CBS interview, when Purdue fans were heckling and yelling at them. The Badgers were enjoying every second of it, with their own taunting back. Wisconsin has embraced the villain role and are executing it flawlessly.
The picture in the lockerroom after winning in Mackey is now a tradition and it's a good troll.