Wisconsin secured at least a share of the Big Ten title in the regular season for the second time in three years late Tuesday thanks to Chuckie Hepburn’s tie-break with 3 points in the final seconds of a 70-67 victory over Purdue.
“I knew we were going to be Big Ten champions when I released him,” Hepburn told reporters before smiling. As a matter of fact, and Hepburn knows that, it was a bad shot.
Johnny Davis of Wisconsin summed things up well.
“Hey, I’m not gonna lie … that was bullshit,” Davis said. “But he came in.”
It really was.
So Wisconsin is now 24-5 overall, 15-4 in the Big Ten and is the conference champion for the sixth time this century. If the Badgers close the regular season on Saturday with a victory at home over Nebraska – and Greg Guard’s team will be a double-digit favorite in this game – they will be clear champions of the Big Ten for the first time since 2015.
Wisconsin is No. 7 in Wednesday’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 daily college basketball rankings. Purdue is up to number 12. The Boilmakers are now just 3-3 in their last six games and are in a two-game losing streak, including consecutive losses due to threes that their opponents in the final suffered an equal seconds of adjustment. This is rude, especially considering that Hepburn’s shot only went into the field because it was so far from the line that he managed to enter.
“It’s bad luck,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter.
The Boilmakers closed the regular season on Saturday with a game against Indiana. Winning there will ensure that Purdue will finish no worse than third in the Big Ten rankings.
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Top 25 and 1 rankings
IN: Boyce State
out: Ohio