MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — In the face of a sold-out Williams Arena celebrating Senior Day Sunday afternoon, the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Minnesota Gophers and regained sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

The Badgers (20-6, 11-4) connected on their first five shots of the game, opened up a 10-point halftime advantage and held off a feisty second-half surge from the Gophers in improving their conference road record to 4-4 on the year.

Wisconsin will have the chance to claim their second consecutive Big Ten title when they host second-place Illinois Wednesday night in their regular season finale at the Kohl Center.

Holding onto a 63-61 advantage in the final minute of play, junior guard Freddie Owens came up with a loose ball after having his shot blocked and proceeded to knock down a 12-foot jumper as the shot clock expired, making it a two-possession game with 20 seconds to play.

Minnesota sophomore Rick Rickert missed a 3-pointer the next trip down the floor, and UW’s Mike Wilkinson and Owens went 4-4 from the line down the stretch, giving the Badgers a 69-61 edge as time expired.

Wisconsin opened the game firing from all cylinders as they opened up a 15-6 lead just five minutes into the game on 6-8 shooting.

Guards Devin Harris, Boo Wade and Owens had no problem dealing with Minnesota’s full-court pressure, and the Badgers were able to effectively set up their offense and find holes in the Gopher defense.

Wilkinson, Tucker and Wade combined to shoot 9-11 in the first half while notching 23 of the Badgers’ 37 points.

Both teams shot the ball exceptionally well in the opening 20 minutes, as Minnesota shot a collective 52 percent to Wisconsin’s 62 percent.

The second half saw an emotional Minnesota crowd will the Gophers back to within 2 points as Rickert knocked down a jumper with 11:15 to play, making the score 48-46.

But Wisconsin would answer every Minnesota run, and the Gophers would never get any closer, as UW senior Kirk Penney exploded in the second half, knocking down four 3-pointers from well beyond the arch.

“Minnesota is a good team that does certain things well, and they played off the energy of their crowd and got that run going,” UW head coach Bo Ryan commented after the game. “Fortunately, we were able to answer on our end with some free throws. It is a competitive environment that our guys came into, and the net result was they played a little bit better than the other team.”

Penney, who entered the game averaging 23 points in his last four games against Minnesota, took over the second half for the second consecutive year in Williams Arena, dealing the Gophers a serious blow to their NCAA tournament chances.

Six more times down the stretch Minnesota would cut the lead to 2 points, but Wisconsin continued to knock down mid-range jumpers as the Gophers went to a 3-2 zone in order to neutralize Penney and the deep-ball threat.

“That’s a very tough environment to play in,” Penney lamented. “Fortunately, we hit some of our shots and pulled it (a win) out.”

Tucker, a freshman playing in his first game at the hostile Williams Arena, was 6-6 from the free-throw line in the final five minutes and repeatedly kept the game a two-possession contest.

“Those were some big free throws,” Ryan commented. “He stared them down and shot them with no hesitation.”

Wisconsin as a team was 18-21 from the charity stripe.

Rickert kept Minnesota in the game down the stretch en route to his game-high 22 points, but in the end, his efforts wouldn’t prove to be enough.

Penney and Tucker each notched 16 points on the afternoon, while Wilkinson added 11 points after tallying 9 in the first half.

Owens shot just 4-12 from the field but knocked down the one that counted, as his last-minute determination sealed the game for the Badgers.

“I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time,” Owens commented. “I was just fortunate enough that the shot went in.”

Wisconsin shot 54 percent from the field in overcoming their 14 turnovers throughout the afternoon.

The win puts the Badgers a half a game above second place Illinois in the Big Ten standings, and for the second-straight year, Wisconsin will play on their home court for the Big Ten title.

This time, however, a win would give them sole possession of the conference championship.

And while the Badgers have spent the entire season not speculating on the possibility of a Big Ten title, it’s now the only regular season obstacle left for them to hurdle.

“It is exciting, and I cannot wait,” Penney said of Wednesday night’s showdown. “It’s the last home game for us, and it’s for the championship. We can’t wait for the challenge at hand.”