The Big Ten regular-season title will be shared by the 10th-ranked Wisconsin and the 8th-ranked Purdue.
Chucky Hepburn hit a three-pointer off the glass to give the Badgers the win after Jaden Ivey tied the game for the Boilermakers with a three of his own.
The Badgers had a one-game lead over the other teams in the conference. They are now 15-4 in Big Ten games, 1.5 games ahead of the Illini.
Illinois has a head-to-head victory over Wisconsin on Feb. 2. The Illini will be the top seed in the Big Ten tournament if they finish with the same record.
If Wisconsin beats Nebraska on Sunday or if Illinois loses to Iowa in the final two games, the conference title will be itss.
Gard's squad has given the Boilermakers fits. They beat them 74-69 at the Mackey Complex. Tyler Wahl had 19 points in the game.
He did everything in his power to keep the hopes of the Boilermakers alive. He scored their final seven points, including the game-tying three.
Hepburn set a new career-high for the freshman with 17 points in the game. Johnny Davis had 16 points.
Edey had 17 points and nine rebound in the loss. Trevion Williams had six points for the bench.
The Badgers are playing great basketball. They have won seven of their last eight games, but this was their first victory over a ranked team since January.
According to Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, Wisconsin is projected to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament in the same region as No. 1 overall seed.
Matt Norlander @MattNorlanderWisconsin résumé:• 24-5• 16-4 Q1+2 record (second only to Kansas’ 17 Q1 wins)• KPI: No. 3• SOR: No. 4• 4-1 in Quad 3• 12-2 road/neutral record• Big Ten champs
No. 1 seed officially in play.
The Badgers' resume will be enhanced by beating the Boilermakers. The last time they were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament was in the year 2015. They lost to Duke in the national title game.
Gard is having his best season as Wisconsin head coach. The team has one game left in the regular season.
After a great start to the season, the Boilermakers are limping to the finish. The Boilermakers have lost back-to-back games and are 3-3 in their last six games.
They have one more game at home against Indiana on Saturday to build some confidence for the Big Ten tournament. Since reaching the championship game of the conference tournament, the program has not won a game.