March 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nThe final-second shot will go down as one of the top moments in Big Ten tournament history and rendered Rapp\u2019s performance to footnote status, but the Badgers forward put on a shooting display for the ages. With Wisconsin trailing 54-39 and under 10 minutes remaining, Rapp hit five consecutive 3-point attempts on five straight possessions to push the Badgers ahead 62-58. His shots came from every part of the floor, both in set positions and off the fast break. His final 3-pointer sent the divided United Center crowd into a 113-decibel uproar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came out and airballed my first 3 that I shot in the second half. I knew I was good from there. I don\u2019t airball very often. That next shot went down, and I made a couple after that. Then yeah, it felt like I was throwing it into the ocean by the end of it. It was kind of cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Wolverines rallied with a 7-0 run, sparked by a pair of Aday Mara buckets followed by an Elliot Cadeau 3-pointer with 46 seconds left. Wisconsin knotted the score at 65-65 on Nick Boyd\u2019s 3 with 29.3 seconds left, giving Michigan one final possession. Without calling a timeout, the Wolverines worked the ball around the perimeter until reaching Lendeborg just right of the key for the game-winning 3-pointer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe play call was for me to get the ball down low in the post,\u201d Lendeborg said. \u201cI didn\u2019t do a good job sealing. (Cadeau) had a driving angle. I tried to clear it out for him, and he kept his composure. Didn\u2019t force up a bad shot, made the one more to the open guy, and I happened to be there to make the shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Badgers (24-10) largely held Lendeborg in check until the final shot. Lendeborg, a senior transfer from UAB, scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, and added three assists and two steals without a turnover. Mara led the Wolverines with 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, while Cadeau scored 15 points.<\/p>\n
Rapp\u2019s game-high 18 points all came on second-half 3-pointers, while the Badgers\u2019 backcourt tandem of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.<\/p>\n
The Boilermakers beat UCLA 73-66 in Saturday\u2019s second semifinal.<\/p>\n