Analysts and opposing coaches were crowning Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, one of only three high-major pairings both scoring over 20.0 points per game, as the best backcourt duo in the country. Nolan Winter, who was shooting nearly 70% from inside the arc, returned from a late-season lower-body injury. National analysts, impressed by an electrifying run in the Big Ten Tournament, heralded the Wisconsin Badgers as a dark-horse Final Four contender from the five-line.

The makings of a deep March Madness run, one that would finally get the monkey in the size and shape of seven Sweet Sixteen-less seasons off head coach Greg Gard’s back, were right there.

It never materialized.

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Wisconsin men’s basketball opened the 2026 NCAA Tournament in style, building a ten-point lead over the No. 12 High Point Panthers before the first media timeout. Before halftime, however, HPU knotted the game at 39.

After that, UW never again built a double-digit lead. The Panthers hung around long enough to almost predictably, certainly painfully, deliver a final blow to the Badgers in the closing seconds for an 83-82 victory.

It was the first great upset of March Madness; a result that, because everyone outside of Madison can enjoy it, makes it sting that much more on the isthmus.

“Today sucks. Today stinks,” Gard said in a post-game press conference.

Wisconsin basketball painfully, predictably, loses to High Point

I would not have predicted that Wisconsin would lose to High Point. The formula for how Wisconsin would lose to High Point, however, was plainly apparent: the Panthers force a slew of turnovers, crash the offensive glass, and get out behind the Badgers’ transition defense.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

Wisconsin only turned the ball over nine times, right on par with its 8.9 per game average against a defense that boasts the fifth-highest turnover rate forced in the country.

That was the only silver lining. High Point dominated the rebounding battle, coming down with the 13 offensive boards despite a significant size disadvantage. No Panther that appeared in the matchup measures in at over 6-foot-10. No Panther that played double-digit minutes measures in at over 6-foot-8.

Not once in the regular season did Wisconsin surrender more than 12 offensive rebounds.

In transition, the Badgers were outplayed until the very end. Despite having already surrendered 14 fastbreak points. After a missed layup by Boyd, UW allowed HPU sixth-year senior guard Chase Johnston to race behind the defense and make a wide-open layup, delivering the final 83-82 margin with merely 11 seconds remaining.

Wisconsin allowed the Panthers, which rank third nationally in fastbreak points, scoring 18.88 per contest, to do what they do best when it mattered most.

Arguably, Johnston was the one unexpected x-factor, because he made his only two-point basket of the season on that game-deciding play after the 48.5% three-point shooter had (as could be expected) connected on four of six attempts from beyond the arc.

“I mean, we’ve seen Johnston make some circus ones today off one leg,” Gard said. “It’s exactly what I saw on film. His ability to shoot the ball and get it off quick.”

Gard was correct to say in his post-game press conference that High Point “played a terrific game. Hit some unbelievable shots.” But HPU beat UW in exactly the fashion that anyone, especially a Big Ten men’s basketball team, should have seen coming and been more than adequately prepared to prevent.

The downright predictable formula with which High Point cooked up this upset makes it all the more frustrating.

More heartbreak for Nick Boyd, but he is usual optimistic self

If there is one player I hate this result for more than anyone, it is Boyd. His tenacity made an undeniable mark during his lone season in Madison. In a way, he was the perfect point guard for this new-look Wisconsin offense. His willingness to push the pace, bring an on-court attitude, and ability to single-handedly take over a game when needed paired talent with the newfound flair to Wisconsin basketball.

The All-Big Ten honoree’s 20-second-half points were nearly enough, but instead, it was yet another March Madness heartbreaker for Boyd.

Since reaching the Final Four with the Florida Atlantic Owls in 2023, the Garnerville, New York native has endured nothing but pain in the tournament. That 2023 run ended when San Diego State Aztecs guard Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beater over Boyd in the national semifinal. In 2024, Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer scored with under 10 seconds remaining in regulation, forcing overtime to defeat the Owls in the Round of 64.

After Boyd transferred to San Diego State, his Aztecs lost in the First Four to a North Carolina Tar Heels team that arguably should not have even been in the field after UNC went 1-12 in Quad 1 opportunities before Selection Sunday.

Add this most recent upset, including Boyd’s final collegiate shot (and Wisconsin’s last of the season) being blocked to the list.

Believe it or not, heartbreak is not how Boyd remembers those tournaments. He is “just grateful for every moment.”

It is that gratitude, that attitude, Boyd’s actions that have made his words more than platitudes, that should make him one of the most memorable one-year Wisconsin Badgers ever, and one that certainly deserved a better ending than this.

“I’m a little different,” Boyd added. “I’m high energy, I’m competitive. Sometimes I can be a lot to accept. These guys opened they arms and allowed me to be myself. Changed my life forever as I go on my next journey, wherever it’s at.”

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It may have seemed unlikely in early January, but the day has come: the Wisconsin men’s basketball team is playing in the NCAA Tournament today. In a matter of three months, the Wisconsin Badgers went from a team that, for a moment, lacked a distinct identity on either end of the floor to one that has the potential to deliver UW a Sweet Sixteen appearance for the first time since 2017.

Wisconsin (24-10, 14-6 Big Ten) head coach Greg Gard commented on Wednesday that “casual fans” who may have only started watching the Badgers in March “missed a lot.”

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“So I try to focus more on the journey of continuing to build and get better and be on an ascension to get to this point of, time of the year,” the coach in his 11th season at the helm in Madison added. “And then you have to play your best.”

UW playing its best against the High Point Panthers (30-4, 15-1 Big South) will be a bit easier with junior forward Nolan Winter back in the lineup. Gard has indicated throughout the week that the 7-footer will be available at “full-go” despite missing the Big Ten Tournament. Guard Jack Janicki, who suffered a broken wrist earlier this season, had “not been in a full practice yet” and was questionable at best to play against HPU when Gard spoke on Wednesday.

That puts Wisconsin nearly at full strength against a team “that as you watch them on film, you get more and more impressed with them,” according to Gard.

“They’re going to be aggressive, and we’re going to have to, you know, bring our hard hats and be ready to play,” UW’s second team All-Big Ten point guard Nick Boyd said.

Who to watch: Terry Anderson

High Point is led from the wing by Terry Anderson. The 6-foot-6, 190-pound lefty, scoring a team-high 16.0 points per game, can catch opposing defenses flat-footed if they are not ready for him.

Gard described the sixth-year senior as “athletic, powerful,” before comparing him to standout players in the Big Ten, including Illinois’ Andrej Stojakovic, who scored 17 points against the Badgers last week in the conference tournament.

“He’s so athletic and powerful,” Gard said of the Deer Park, Texas native who earned first team All-Big South and Big South Tournament MVP honors this season. “And he goes to the glass really well.”

Whether Anderson is going to the hoop to grab an offensive rebound, which he does 2.4 times per game, or to draw contact and make it to the free-throw line, which he does 6.4 times per game, the former junior college standout consistently brings intensity to the floor. His 1.4 steals per game are evidence of his willingness to bring it at both ends, too.

“That’s the one thing that jumps out on film, and people say about him, is how hard he plays,” Gard added. “He’s in constant pursuit when he’s on the court.”

What to watch: Turnover battle

2026 is not 2024.

However.

A 30-win mid-major in the 5-12 game wearing purple jerseys with a knack for forcing turnovers on the opposing sideline is probably giving some Wisconsin Badgers fans a bad sense of déjà vu.

Wisconsin turned the ball over 19 times en route to being upset in the first round of the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament by the James Madison Dukes. That UW team was only 47th-best in the country in holding onto the ball, while that JMU squad was 41st nationally in turnover rate forced.

As good as this year’s Wisconsin squad is, led by one of the best backcourts in the country and the third-best team in men’s DI in offensive turnover rate, High Point is excellent at wreaking havoc on the defensive end. Only four teams in the country force turnovers more often than HPU on a per-possession basis.

“Obviously, they’re very active,” Gard said about the Panthers’ defense.

“They’ll play in passing lanes. They’re active with their hands. You’ve got to do a good job of being fundamentally sound, of not floating passes, making sure you’re passing and catching in with two hands, playing off two feet. They’re heavy in gaps. They’ll really dig and commit. They’ll flood to the ball when there is dribble penetration, and they’ll rake it loose.”

Gard emphasized that baskets would not come easily for the Badgers, who, led by veteran guards John Blackwell and Boyd, boast the eighth-most efficient offense in the country. Not only will Wisconsin have to ensure its offensive spacing and decision-making are up to snuff, but it will also have to play through hands consistently trying to slap the ball away.

The Badgers have preached those fundamentals for ages, but they become even more crucial in the tournament.

“We’re not preparing for anything different. What we’ve talked about all year, we talk about passing and catching and take care of the ball the minute they walk on campus,” Gard said in a press conference yesterday. “So we have to continue to do that—what we’ve been very good at—really, really well.”

Why to watch: C’mon, man.

Do I even need to write this?

It’s the tournament. Today could be the last time we see the Boyd-Blackwell backcourt together. It could be the last time Gard sends his son Isaac to the scorers’ table to dribble out a blowout.

From hereon, 64 teams are trying to play just one more game together.

“We have to perform at a high level for 40 minutes or more in order to earn an opportunity to get another 40 minutes,” Gard said.

How, when, where to watch Wisconsin basketball in NCAA Tournament: TV, streaming, radio

Where: Moda Center — Portland, Oregon

When: Thursday, March 19, 2026 — 12:50 p.m. Central

Watch: TBS (Play-by-play: Brad Nessler; Analyst: Wally Szczerbiak; Sideline: Jared Greenberg)

Local radio: Badger Sports Network (Play-by-play: Matt LePay; Analyst: Brian Butch)

National radio: Westwood One — Sirius XM 204/211 (Play-by-play: Ryan Radtke; Analyst: Austin Croshere)

Thank you for visiting BadgerBreakaway.com – With your support, we are quickly becoming a leading independent source for news, analysis, and intel on the Wisconsin Badgers hockey and basketball teams.

Madison, WI — In the past 27 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournaments, only five programs have appeared at least 25 times: the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Michigan State Spartans, Kansas Jayhawks, Duke Blue Devils, and the Wisconsin Badgers. Michigan State, Kansas, and Duke boast a combined 11 national titles and are three of only 15 programs to win the NCAA Tournament multiple times. The Gonzaga Bulldogs’ 47 wins in the big dance trail only the Purdue Boilermakers’ 51 for the most all-time without winning a national championship.

Despite leading a program that has consistently found itself among the college basketball and March Madness elite, Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard does not take it for granted.

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“I know it’s become commonplace here, and—you know it’s not commonplace everywhere,” Gard said after the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday. “So I think the one thing that I always remind myself, and hopefully remind everybody else, that this doesn’t happen easily, doesn’t happen by accident.”

It did not happen easily for a Wisconsin Badgers (24-10, 14-6 Big Ten) team that, before it made a third-consecutive trip to the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, was on the outside looking in at the March Madness picture in January.

“There’s a lot of people and a lot of time and a lot of effort that goes into this, and a lot of people have their fingerprints on it, to be able to be in this consistently over the past quarter century is amazing,” the coach who has been at the helm of the Badgers for a decade added. “And it’s a credit to all the people that have had—like I said—players, coaches, support staff, everybody that’s had their hands in this has—I just don’t want to ever take it for granted, because it’s not, it’s not easy to accomplish.”

After accomplishing that first goal, five-seed Wisconsin now looks ahead to its Thursday matchup in Portland against the twelve-seed High Point Panthers. On paper, the analytics bear out a fast-paced matchup with two high-flying offenses. Before UW can look ahead to a potential second-round matchup, it will be tested by a veteran-laden, deep team with a knack for sniffing out the basketball.

“I don’t care where we get sent, who we have to play. Just eager to have the opportunity to make a deep run,” said Gard.

A veteran team that knows how to win

Under first-year head coach Flynn Clayman, the Panthers swept the Big South regular season and tournament titles, going 30-4 overall and 15-1 in conference. Regardless of what league a team is in, winning 30 college basketball games is a tall task.

“When you win 30 games, it’s not by accident,” Gard remarked on Sunday.

HPU is one of only six teams in the country (Miami OH, Arizona, Duke, Michigan, Gonzaga) to lose fewer than five games this season. Putting the Miami Redhawks aside, High Point has played a significantly weaker schedule than those other four teams.

The Panthers have played 22 Quad 4 games, going 22-0, are 5-2 in Quad 3, and are 0-2 in Quad 2 with zero Quad 1 opportunities. Those two games in Quad 2 stick out like a sore thumb. The losses came at UAB and at Winthrop, neither of which finished in the top 130 at BartTorvik. High Point lost both those contests by 17, although the Panthers did defeat Winthrop by two points on HPU’s home court and by 15 in their conference tournament title game.

In High Point’s loss at Winthrop, forward Cam’Ron Fletcher was unavailable. The transfer by way of Kentucky, Florida State, and Xavier missed six games in January. The sixth-year senior is averaging 9.6 points per game since Clayman moved the 6-foot-6 journeyman from a starting role to come off the bench.

“They’ve had a terrific year,” Gard added. “Most of their losses were early they haven’t many, they’ve only had four, but a lot of those came early.”

HPU has only one loss on its resume since December 15th and currently boasts the nation’s longest winning streak. With a first-year head coach and significant roster turnover (losing four of five starters) from a program that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago, the Panthers found their stride in the second half, much like the Badgers.

“What stands out to me most of all is their record 30 and four, and I don’t think they’ve lost game in a very long time,” Wisconsin point guard Nick Boyd said on Monday. “So that kind of reminds me of the team, you know, team I’ve been a part of, you know, great record, and guys who know how to win with experience. And you know, that’s the that’s a scary thing when you step into March Madness, and you have to respect that.”

All but one player in Boyd’s Florida Atlantic Owls team that advanced to the 2023 Final Four was an upperclassman. The only exception was Boyd in his redshirt sophomore year. Four of five HPU starters are seniors. Eight of the nine players who consistently appear in the rotation are upperclassmen.

That veteran presence throughout the Panthers’ lineup has created some of the most reliable depth in the sport. High Point is 22nd nationally in bench scoring, with its reserves contributing 30.41 points per game. Wisconsin is 244th in bench points.

Expect a high pace and number of points

Whether the points come from its starters or the bench, HPU has a penchant for putting the ball through the hoop. Led by sixth-year senior Terry Anderson’s 16.0 per game, High Point boasts the nation’s third-highest scoring offense, averaging 90.0 points per contest, behind only Miami OH and Alabama.

Those points have come from efficient shooting as the Panthers’ .566 effective field goal percentage ranks 19th in men’s Division I. HPU is not an elite three-point shooting team, but it does have a pair of deep-shooting threats. Starting guard Scotty Washington is connecting on 38.2% of his shots from three-point range this season. Off the bench, sixth-year senior Chase Johnston has made 48.5% of his threes, including a 3-3 performance from beyond the arc in the Big South Tournament championship game.

The efficient offense is boosted by HPU’s performance inside the arc. According to BartTorvik, High Point ranks in the top-35 in both two-point shooting percentage and free-throw rate.

Where the Panthers really make their hay is in transition. Do not blink after a basket is made by either team on Thursday. High Point scores 18.88 fastbreak points per contest, the third-highest mark in the country. HPU trails only Georgia and (UW’s potential second-round opponent) Arkansas in that metric.

“Every team, if they can get easy baskets, wants them, right?” Gard said of High Point’s fast-paced offense. “I mean, there’s every, no team in the country is going to turn down opportunities to score in transition.”

According to BartTorvik, the Panthers’ adjusted tempo is 49th in the country.

Old March adage vs. Panthers defense

Wisconsin basketball fans will be giddy every time they hear analysts repeat the line that guard play wins in March. Boyd and junior guard John Blackwell are among the very best backcourt pairings in the country. The All-Big Ten honorees comprise one of just five high-major duos averaging 18.0+ points per game.

“I think probably just how the game has changed in terms of the scoring, in terms of all the rule changes, guard play has become even more accentuated, and rightfully so,” Gard said. “I mean, those guys typically have the ball in their hands, you know, and you have quicker possessions and the game itself is a little—is faster than it was, you know, 10, 20 years ago. Just the pace of play universally is up.”

In addition to their ability to score, the Badgers’ ability to take care of the ball will be tested as both teams look to push the ball in transition on Thursday. High Point and Wisconsin both take tremendous care of the basketball and are each top-five in offensive turnover rate according to BartTorvik. It is on the defensive side that HPU creates a wide gap.

The Panthers’ ball pressure has made them among the best teams in the country in turnovers forced. Defensively, High Point ranks fifth nationally in turnover percentage as it generates a DI-best 10.9 steals per game. With its prowess for valuing the ball on offense, HPU boasts the second-best turnover margin in the country, forcing an average of 7.0 more turnovers than it commits per game. Only four teams nationally boast an average turnover margin of +5.0 or greater.

Because of Wisconsin’s lack of forced turnovers (UW sits sub-300 in turnover rate forced), it is sub-100 in turnover margin despite its top-10 assist to turnover ratio.

“It’s, it’s obviously important,” Gard added on the importance of guard play in March. “And I think obviously we’ve got really good ones, starting with Nick and John, and then obviously the job that Andrew [Rohde] and Braden [Carrington] have done has been, you know, instrumental as well.”

This article has been updated to correct a statistical error detailed in the comments.

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Survive and advance. That is the March mantra Wisconsin Badgers fans must be repeating to themselves after what appeared to be a blowout Wisconsin basketball victory over the Washington Huskies nearly turned into an epic collapse.

Wisconsin led Washington by as many as 18 points in the second half. The Huskies then enjoyed a 21-6 run, topped by an 8-0 run in just over three minutes, to narrow that margin to just one point in the final minute.

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“We just didn’t get stops defensively the back end of that second half,” UW head coach Greg Gard told Big Ten Network after the game.

The Badgers managed to get just enough stops to pull off an 85-82 victory after Huskies guard Zoom Diallo’s last-second three-point attempt rimmed out on the game’s final possession.

“Defensively, we could have had something better, but it is what it is, it’s March,” John Blackwell, who scored a program-record 34 points in a Big Ten Tournament game, said on BTN.

With less than 24 hours between games, Wisconsin immediately shifts focus to a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup with the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday.

“I’ll look through the tape. We’ve got to quickly turn the page and get ready for tomorrow,” Gard said in a postgame press conference. “That’s what this time of year is about, just find a way to get to the next one, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Who to Watch: Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic

When Wisconsin and Illinois met in Champaign earlier this season, the Illini were missing two key pieces. This time, Illinois will be at full strength, while Wisconsin may still be without two key rotation pieces.

Illinois guard Kylan Boswell fractured his shooting hand in a late January practice. The injury left him sidelined for seven games. The conference All-Defensive Team honoree, averaging 13.3 points per game, has been relatively effective offensively since his return, reaching double-digit scoring in four of six games.

Lengthy wing Andrej Stojakovic was out of the lineup due to a high ankle sprain when Wisconsin played at Illinois early this season. The 6-foot-7 junior is a dynamic inside scorer, shooting 58.6% from inside the arc and averaging 13.3 points per game. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood noted earlier this week that Stojakovic played through flu symptoms in his team’s regular-season finale.

On the glass, Stojakovic averages 1.4 offensive rebounds per game, while Boswell averages 1.6 offensive boards. Both are top-five offensive rebounders on Illinois’ roster, and their presence could be a key difference in the second meeting of these squads.

What to watch: A lot of threes, but can UW keep up on the glass?

The first go-around between the Badgers and the Illini was wildly entertaining. A 92-90 overtime thriller in which Wisconsin won its first game at Illinois in over seven years. Both teams combined to shoot 31-69 (31-nice) from beyond the arc.

Stylistically, these Wisconsin and Illinois squads are quite similar. Both teams limit turnovers and have a penchant for shooting the three.

According to BartTorvik, Illinois boasts the most efficient offense in the country. Wisconsin is not far behind in eighth in adjusted offensive efficiency. But since January 1st, the Badgers have the third-best offense in the country. Both squads are top-ten in three-point attempt rate.

The most significant difference between the Badgers and Illini offensively is in offensive rebounding. Wisconsin is sub-200 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, while Illinois ranks third. UW is 73rd in the country in offensive rebounding percentage allowed.

In his postgame interview on BTN, Blackwell specifically cited “the way they rebound” when describing the challenge of facing the Illini.

The statistical difference is one thing, but with Badgers forward Nolan Winter potentially sidelined due to a lower-body injury, UW may be at a personnel disadvantage. Winter snagged a game-high 11 total rebounds against Illinois earlier this season, including seven defensive boards as the Badgers held the Illini to a season-low eight offensive rebounds.

If Winter is unavailable, UW freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas may have his hands full again against Illinois’ frontcourt. That matchup comes immediately after Washington’s impressive performance on the offensive glass, which fueled the Huskies’ furious comeback bid.

“Aleksas, with how he played last week at Purdue and how he played again today, you know, I thought --you know, [Washington forward Hannes] Steinbach is a handful. He’s so good on the offensive glass,” Gard said in a postgame interview. “So all those experiences that he can get against that type of competition help.”

Steinbach corralled six offensive rebounds in Thursday’s matchup in which the Huskies pounded the glass for a season-high 19 offensive rebounds. Before yesterday, Wisconsin had not allowed more than 12 offensive boards in a single game this season.

Washington had offensive 12 rebounds just in yesterday’s second half.

How, when, and where to watch Wisconsin vs Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament

Where: United Center — Chicago, Illinois

When: Friday, March 13th, 2026 — 1:30 p.m. Central (approximate)

Watch/TV/Streaming: Big Ten Network

Wisconsin and Illinois play in the second quarterfinal matchup. The first game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines begins at 11:00 a.m. The Badgers and Illini tip off 25 minutes after the conclusion of that matchup between OSU and U-M.

The winner of each of those two games will play in the semifinal round on Saturday, March 14th, at noon.

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Madison, WI — After a clutch win over the Purdue Boilermakers to close the regular season, Wisconsin basketball has turned its focus to the postseason. With the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago this week and the NCAA Tournament right around the corner, the Wisconsin Badgers appear to be getting healthy at just the right time.

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The Badgers earned a 97-93 victory over the Boilermakers (Wisconsin’s third win in four games inside Purdue’s Mackey Arena) without two players in UW head coach Greg Gard’s rotation. The win came on the tenth anniversary of Wisconsin officially naming Gard head coach of the Badgers. It stands as a testament to the coaching veteran’s penchant for roster construction in the new era of college basketball.

Of the eight players who checked into the game for Wisconsin on Saturday, seven were newcomers to the program this offseason. John Blackwell, whose 25 points led all scorers on the afternoon, suited up beside four transfers and three true freshmen.

After seeing UW walk into Mackey, where Wisconsin is just 7-43 all-time, and beat a projected NCAA Tournament three-seed with those eight guys, it is hard not to embrace all-Big Ten hopeful Nick Boyd’s mentality about what this team can accomplish at full strength.

“I don’t think there’s a ceiling for us,” the point guard remarked on Monday.

Nolan Winter will ‘definitely’ play in NCAA Tournament

Wisconsin beat Purdue thanks, in part, to a pair of standout performers in the frontcourt. True freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas played a career-high 36 minutes and scored 16 points (one shy of his career-high) on 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Portland Pilots transfer Austin Rapp also logged a season-high 32 minutes. Rapp added 16 points of his own on 4-8 shooting from deep.

These versatile forwards make the Badgers difficult to defend. If starting center Nolan Winter can soon return to the lineup, he gives UW an inside-out presence that has made it the third-most efficient offense in the country since January 1st, according to BartTorvik.

Winter suffered a lower-body injury in Wisconsin’s penultimate game of the regular season. With 7:01 remaining in an eventual victory over the Maryland Terrapins, the junior exited the court with help from the Badgers’ training staff. He did not travel with the team to West Lafayette for the regular season finale, in hopes of maximizing his injury rehab sessions.

Gard’s comments to reporters on Monday indicated that Winter’s decision not to travel is paying off.

“I think everything is going well. You know, as far as these days play out, he’s doing more every day,” said Gard when asked about Winter’s recovery process. “We’ll see how this week plays out and he’s trying to be ready for this week, and definitely will be ready by the NCAA Tournament.”

Putting any possibility of Winter playing in the conference tournament aside, the fact that the seven-footer is seemingly trending toward being available for the big dance is a boon to UW’s hopes of making it to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2017.

Making 78.2% of his shots at the rim, Winter is by far Wisconsin’s most-reliable option in the post. Other than Boyd cutting to the rim with speed, Winter is UW’s greatest interior scoring threat in any capacity. Boyd and Winter are the only Badgers this season to make 100 or more shots inside the arc.

As impressive as Bieliauskas and Rapp were last Saturday. Neither of them can truly replace Winter’s role on either end of the floor.

*There is an additional note on Nolan Winter’s injury status behind the paywall for premium subscribers at the bottom of this article.

Jack Janicki could return from wrist surgery

At the other end of the floor, Wisconsin basketball has been missing a defensive specialist. Although redshirt sophomore Jack Janicki has not taken the step forward offensively he was hoping for, the guard had been contributing in other ways before an injury interrupted his season.

Janicki continues to recover after undergoing surgery to repair his broken wrist. The White Bear Lake, Minnesota native suffered the injury in UW’s 86-69 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. He has missed each of Wisconsin’s last five games.

Perhaps, Wisconsin Badgers fans have not yet seen the last of Janicki this season.

“He had another evaluation today. It looks really good,” Gard said on Monday about the reserve guard’s status. “I think he meets with his doctor again, I think, early next week, so potentially by the NCAA Tournament would be a possibility for him too.”

Janicki’s return would help a team that, while improved defensively from the beginning of the season, knows it has room to grow on that end of the court.

Boyd noted on Monday that the Badgers are still searching for a win in which “defense carried us.”

Among all players in Gard’s rotation, senior guard Andrew Rohde leads the way with a 2.9 defensive box plus-minus. Janicki boasts UW’s second-best mark at 2.6.

Despite the 6-foot-5 former walk-on’s lackluster shooting numbers this season (making only 21 of 65 shots from the field), Gard noted earlier this season that “Janicki got on the floor a year ago because of his energy and his hustle and all those intangible things that he can do.”

“We’ve had many guys over the years that have been in that role that they don’t necessarily have to—their job is not to score a lot, but if the opportunity presents it, great,” Gard continued. “But they have to bring some of the other things. The hustle. The energy. The boost when we need it. The little spark and the rebounding.”

Wisconsin has managed without Janicki, going 4-1 with him sidelined. But his return would give Gard another option in a single-elimination tournament where a team’s ability to match personnel can determine the fate of its season.

Nolan Winter sighting?

For any fans interested in sleuthing and wild speculation, I have just the image for you.

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Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten) cruised to a 78-45 victory over Maryland (11-19, 4-15 Big Ten) with an impressive two-way performance. Although UW has been known for its offensive prowess this season, it was perhaps its defensive effort that was most impressive on Wednesday night. The Terps’ 45 points were the fewest allowed by a Badgers team in Big Ten play since a 51-49 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions on February 5th, 2022.

Both UW’s offense and defense are at risk of taking a significant step back, however, as a key contributor who has started 67 consecutive games for Wisconsin, exited the court before the final buzzer sounded on Wednesday.

Nolan Winter injury update

With seven minutes remaining, Winter corralled an offensive rebound following a missed three-pointer by UW guard Braden Carrington. Winter made an impressive put-back layup, but fell to the floor hard.

The Badgers big man was unable to leave the floor under his own power. After spending extended time grabbing his left ankle, Winter’s teammates and team training staff assisted the Lakeville, Minnesota native to his feet and into the team tunnel.

“We’ll know more tomorrow,” Gard said in a post-game interview when asked about Winter’s status. “Early indications, hopefully we avoided the worst.”

Avoiding ‘the worst’ presumably means Nolan Winter would at least be available for an NCAA Tournament First Round 15 or 16 days after suffering the fall. Still, do not count Winter out for a return this Saturday against Purdue or next week in the conference tournament.

“Nolan’s a fighter. If Nolan has the ‘go’ to play, he’s playing. Whether it’s one leg or two legs, he’s playing,” Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, who surpassed Jon Leuer and moved into 20th place on UW’s career scoring leaderboard on Wednesday, said. “We’re gonna keep battling for Nolan how he battles for us.”

In his three seasons with the Badgers, Winter has not missed any of Wisconsin’s 103 games. Previously, Winter has rolled his right ankle, but this, according to Gard, is the first instance that his starting center has rolled the left.

“When you do that the first time, there’s always an extra amount of pain,” Gard added when specifying which ankle Winter injured. “But we’ll see. He was in decent spirits in the locker room and stuff. So he’s already doing treatment, and we’ll see what we learn tomorrow and then have a path forward to get him healed up.”

How Wisconsin basketball responds to Nolan Winter injury

Wisconsin has already had its front court depth tested throughout this season. Sophomore forward Austin Rapp has missed five games this season, first missing time due to an ankle injury and later to an illness. The Australian forward has come into his own as of late, making 3+ three-pointers in three of his last four appearances inside the Kohl Center.

The potential absence of Winter’s stalwart presence down low, however, could present a more significant challenge. UW may have to rely on Rapp and a trio of true freshmen to play even more significant roles.

“He’s a very important part of our team, and to see him go down is not the best,” Rapp said of Winter’s injury. “But we know he’ll fight; he’ll get back as soon as he can. But for us guys to step up when he did get hurt—you know me, [Aleksas Bieliauskas], Will [Garlock] had some good minutes—shows the development of the young guys coming up and showed we can do it too.”

With the victory solidly in hand on Wednesday night, Gard was able to give extended run to some of his younger players. True freshman center Garlock played over seven minutes in the second half. Gard called those “good minutes” with quality experience for a player that might be asked to do more if Winter is unable to play.

“We got a lot of guys who can step into that and play in different lineups,” Gard said of the increased role other players might have in Winter’s absence. “You know, playing small ball, we did some of that tonight. I think Bieliauskas has gotten better. I think the experience of Will [Garlock] as a true five.”

At other times this season, Gard has employed a small-ball lineup, employing Jack Janicki in the front court. With Janicki unavailable due to a broken wrist, Gard’s options are more limited in that department, but true freshman Hayden Jones could be asked to fill in.

“I think we’ve had a next man up mentality, just picking our brothers up,” Blackwell said of the potential ripple effects in the rotation. “Like, as we know right now, [Janicki]’s out, so next man up is Hayden. I think he did a great job of picking [Janicki] up, picking his production up.”

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Wisconsin (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) is back in the thick of the hunt for one of the top seeds in its conference tournament, and it seeks to solidify its positioning in the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers have amassed double-digit Big Ten wins for the 22nd time in 25 years — no other program in the conference can boast the same mark.

Meanwhile in College Park, the Terrapins (11-18, 4-14 Big Ten) are following up a 2025 Sweet Sixteen appearance with their most lackluster season in recent memory. After head coach Kevin Willard departed Maryland for the Villanova Wildcats, all but one player on UMD’s roster exited as well. As a result, the Terrapins will finish this season with their fewest wins in Big Ten play ever, and their fewest in any conference since at least 2012.

As Badgers head coach Greg Gard looks to make his 11th season at the helm of his squad more memorable than his Terrapins’ counterpart’s first, four UW standouts will be honored on Tuesday night.

Who to Watch: Wisconsin basketball senior day

Before the Badgers and Terrapins tip off, Wisconsin will honor its senior graduating class of four players. Three of UW’s graduates are one-year transfers who used their final remaining year of eligibility in Madison. The fourth is a longtime program staple.

Nick Boyd

Wisconsin Badgers fans will certainly place Nick Boyd’s single-season record inside the Kohl Center as one of the most impactful individual contributions in program history. With two regular-season contests and whatever postseason opportunities UW earns remaining, Boyd is averaging 20.3 points per game. The Garnerville, New York native is on the verge of becoming the first Badger to average 20+ ppg since Michael Finley did so in 1995.

“I love to compete. It’s the whole reason why I came here—to play against the best guys in the country,” Boyd said after falling one rebound shy of a triple-double against the Iowa Hawkeyes earlier this season.

“Whether it’s a point guard, shooting guard, center, whoever it is. That’s the reason why I came to the Big Ten. I love to compete. It’s the name of the game.”

Braden Carrington

After two up-and-down seasons with the Minnesota Golden Gophers and a reset year with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Braeden Carrington has earned his sought-after career renaissance in Madison. With a career-high 32 points and a school-record nine three-pointers last time out against the Washington Huskies, the 6-foot-5 guard became the first Badger to score 30+ points off the bench since Rob Wilson poured in 30 against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2012 Big Ten Tournament.

Before January, Carrington was averaging 5.2 points per game. Now, that figure is up to 8.3 ppg, and the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native is peaking right when he wants to.

“With the portal, you know, we had so many new guys that not everything’s just gonna go so well at the beginning,” Carrington said in December after scoring nine points in a win over the Central Michigan Chippewas. “Obviously you want to play your best ball in March.”

Andrew Rohde

The third two-time transfer of UW’s graduating class, Andrew Rohde arrived back home in Madison after stints with the St. Thomas Tommies and the Virginia Cavaliers. The Brookfield native has been an unsung hero in Wisconsin’s defensive and playmaking efforts. The guard’s 2.75 assists per game trail only Boyd’s team-high 3.97; Rohde tallied nine assists in Wisconsin’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern. At the time, he became the first Badger to log 9+ dimes in a single contest since D’Mitrik Trice did so against the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2021.

“I grew up watching all the games, watching both the Final Four appearances; just being able to be here is a blessing,” Rohde said during pre-season practices of the opportunity to suit up for his hometown team. “Getting to learn from Coach Gard and all the players who have been here, just learning the system, learning the environment has been great.”

Isaac Gard

The son of head coach Greg Gard, Isaac Gard joined Wisconsin basketball as a walk-on and has since appeared in 24 career games for the Badgers. As a senior, the 6-foot-3 guard set new or matched previous career-highs in every major statistical category, including a five-point performance against the Northern Illinois Huskies.

He may be the coach’s son, but Isaac has his own penchant for shenanigans. After Blackwell hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat Minnesota in Minneapolis earlier this season, the Oregon, Wisconsin native turned to the Gophers student section to deliver a good-bye wave.

“I had to!,” Isaac told Badger Breakaway in an interview this January. “They were giving it to us the whole game. So, we got the last laugh; I had to just get their reactions right after that shot win in, give them a big scream and—I was just glad that one went in.”

What to watch: Another meeting of B1G-time point guards

Boyd has relished opportunities to match up with some of the best point guards in the Big Ten. Wednesday night is his latest opportunity as David “Diggy” Coit leads the Terps into the Kohl Center.

After a pair of seasons at Northern Illinois and another spent under the tutelage of Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self, Coit transferred to Maryland under first-year UMD head coach Buzz Williams. Like Boyd, Coit is a ball-dominant guard who leads his team in both scoring (15.1 ppg) and assists (2.39 apg) in conference play.

Williams has touted Coit’s ability to “put up videogame numbers,” as the 5-foot-11 senior has twice scored 40+ this season, including a 43-point performance against Penn State in which he shot 9-15 from three. Coit’s shooting from deep, however, can charitably be described as streaky.

While those nine makes in a single game on January 18th were impressive, Coit’s shooting from beyond the arc has been lackluster as of late. He has failed to make a three-pointer on multiple attempts in three of Maryland’s last four contests. In that span, he is shooting 2-20 on threes.

Since February 15th, the Terrapins have lost four of five games. Over those 17 days, Coit has posted five turnovers while making only four three-pointers on 30 attempts.

Conversely, Wisconsin has been the sixth-most efficient offense in the country since January 1st, according to BartTorvik. UW’s 13.2% turnover rate is the eighth-best mark in the nation.

Why to watch: This is March.

It almost feels blasphemous to have had to wait four days since the month began to watch Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball. While February is literally the shortest month on the calendar, it is, ironically, the metaphorically longest for college basketball fans as we await our glorious march to April.

The Badgers have certainly had an up-and-down campaign, but UW now sits firmly in position to wear home whites in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. According to the consensus at Bracket Matrix, Wisconsin is the highest-rated seven-seed, with ample opportunity to climb another seed line.

Before the NCAA Tournament, and what looks to be UW’s 26th appearance in the last 28 tournaments (one of only five programs to do so), the Badgers still have an outside shot at a top-four conference finish and a triple-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Michigan Wolverines have the outright Big Ten title clinched, leaving three teams with 14 wins just behind them. The Nebraska Cornhuskers, Illinois Fighting Illini, and Michigan State Spartans each have earned 14 wins. Wisconsin and its final regular-season opponent, the Purdue Boilermakers, both have 12 conference victories with two games remaining.

Needless to say, Wisconsin would have to win out to force a tiebreaker that could lead to a triple-bye. Michigan State has two games remaining (vs. Rutgers and at Michigan), but Nebraska (vs. Iowa) and Illinois (at Maryland) both have one remaining contest.

Due in part to UW’s loss at Nebraska in December, the Badgers cannot catch the ‘Huskers. Wisconsin would, however, claim tiebreakers over Michigan State and Illinois if any combination of the Badgers, Cornhuskers, Spartans, and Illini finishes with 14 conference wins.

In short, Wisconsin needs to win out and needs Illinois to lose at Maryland and/or Michigan State to finish 0-2 to earn a triple-bye. The Badgers have already clinched a double-bye due to previous results against Ohio State, Iowa, and (to break a potential tie with OSU) Michigan.

When, where, how to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Maryland Terrapins: TV, radio, streaming

When: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 — 7:00 p.m. Central

Where: Kohl Center — University of Wisconsin-Madison — Madison, WI

Watch/TV: FS1 (Play-by-play: Jack Kizer; Analyst: Donny Marshall)

Listen/Radio: Badger Sports Network — SiriusXM 210 or 196 (Play-by-play: Matt Lepay; Analyst: Brian Butch)

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With less than three weeks until Selection Sunday, Wisconsin basketball is officially in the home stretch of its regular season. The Wisconsin Badgers will play three of their final four games on the road, beginning with a critical road trip out west.

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Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) is looking to continue a dominant stretch since the turn of the calendar. Since January 1st, the Badgers have boasted the 4th-best offense in the country, according to BartTorvik‘s offensive efficiency metric.

UW’s first opponent in its west coast swing, the Oregon Ducks (11-17, 3-13 Big Ten), have not fared as well this season. A slew of injuries and an untimely losing streak have put UO on the verge of its worst season in nearly a generation.

But as the Ducks have gotten one key contributor back from injury, it is Oregon’s blemished resume that makes it so critical that Wisconsin take care of business Wednesday night in Eugene.

Who to watch: Can Nate Bittle pull a rabbit out of a hat again?

Oregon is on pace for its worst season in well over a decade. In the sixteen seasons head coach Dana Altman has been at the helm, the Ducks have never had a losing season. If you add Altman’s previous stops to the mix, this is shaping up to be his first losing season since 1995-96 and only the 41-year head coaching veteran’s fourth-ever sub-.500 campaign.

Do not, however, dismiss UO as a program in decline too quickly. These Ducks have been marred by injury as reigning All-Big Ten contributors Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle have been in and out of the lineup. Star guard Shelstad, who had been averaging 15.6 points per game, is out for the season. Bittle, however, returned earlier this month from a foot injury that sidelined him for five games.

The first time Wisconsin and Oregon met as conference foes, a season ago inside the Kohl Center, the Badgers squandered a 17-point lead en route to an overtime defeat. The Ducks trailed by as many as 14 points with 6:15 remaining in regulation in that contest. Between that final stretch of the second half and overtime, Bittle scored 10 points and added an assist, powering the UO comeback.

On Wednesday night, perhaps Bittle can change Oregon’s fortunes again. In the Ducks’ last game out against USC, the center recorded a 14-point double-double with 11 rebounds and a career-high four steals.

If Bittle, who is averaging a career-high 16.7 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks in his senior campaign, maintains his post-injury trajectory, he stands to pose a significant challenge to Wisconsin’s interior presence. The 7-foot, 250-pound standout has scored at least 14 points in each of Oregon’s last five games.

What to watch: Wisconsin basketball might be able to win through offense alone

The Badgers are on pace to finish 62nd in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Bart Torvik. That would be UW’s second-worst defense since the 2010-11 season, but it might not matter against the leaky Ducks.

Oregon ranks 91st nationally in defensive efficiency. In 14 matchups this season against teams with defenses rated 60th or worse nationally, Wisconsin has scored at least 80 points 12 times. The Badgers are undefeated, 17-0 overall, when scoring at least 80.

Wisconsin has scored 90+ points in 11 games this season, the most 90-point outings in a single season in program history. Its 124.2 offensive efficiency rating would be its 2nd-best of the KenPom era.

Schematically, UW may be able to outpace UO in both points and tempo. Wisconsin shoots more threes per possession than almost any other team in the country; only 11 teams shoot from deep more often. Because the Badgers have a penchant for making those shots from beyond the arc, that could present a problem for the Ducks. Oregon ranks 216th in three-point rate allowed.

Altman’s best hope at containing Wisconsin and the speedy point guard Nick Boyd may be dictating the pace of play. Oregon ranks in the bottom 100, 265th in Division I, in adjusted tempo, while Wisconsin is 88th.

Although the Badgers’ defense has been questionable throughout this season, this may be a matchup in which UW’s offense, so long as it dictates the pace of play, can simply choose to outscore its opponent.

Why to watch: NCAA Tournament resume home-stretch

There are very few, if any, “bad” losses on the road to take in the Big Ten, but Oregon approaches that territory. Regardless of how injuries have obscured the quality of this Ducks squad, 10-straight losses in Big Ten play from January 5th to February 9th have put an anchor around UO’s neck.

That is not a team UW wants to have a loss to on its resume.

Wins over potential top-four seeds Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan State have Wisconsin back where it hopes to be on Selection Sunday. According to Bracket Matrix, the Badgers currently sit as a consensus six-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but are much closer to slipping to a 7-seed than moving up a seed-line.

If Wisconsin manages to earn a road win either at Washington or Purdue to close the season, it will be a significant feather in its NCAA Tournament cap. The more important task ahead of Selection Sunday, however, is for the Badgers to avoid bad losses to Oregon and Maryland.

When, where, how to watch Wisconsin basketball at Oregon Ducks: TV, radio, streaming

When: Wednesday, February 25th — 10:00 p.m. Central

Where: Matthew Knight Arena — University of Oregon — Eugene, Oregon

Watch: Big Ten Network (Play-by-play: Guy Haberman; Analyst: Don MacLean)

Listen: Badger Radio Sports Network // Sirius XM 83 (Play-by-play: Matt Lepay; Analyst: Brian Butch)

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Madison, WI — As March and the NCAA Tournament loom just around the corner, Wisconsin basketball was tasked with responding after a 17-point road loss. After falling behind by nine points early and facing one of the most stout defenses in the country, it would have been predictable to see the Wisconsin Badgers, or frankly any college basketball team, falter.

Instead, UW got an all-time great individual performance and scored more points than any team has against the Iowa Hawkeyes all season.

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“I was really happy with how we responded and some adjustments and things in the second half,” Badgers head coach Greg Gard said of his team’s 84-71 victory. With the win, Wisconsin clinched a winning record in Big Ten play for the 23rd time since 2001-01, the most of any program in the conference.

The win will prove to be what matters come Selection Sunday three weeks from now, but Nick Boyd missed out on a rare individual accomplishment when returning to the bench with 30 seconds remaining in regulation due to one slip of the mind by Greg Gard:

“I didn’t realize he had nine rebounds.”

Nick Boyd has near-miss with Badger basketball history

In Wisconsin men’s basketball history, only two players have ever recorded a triple-double. Josh Gasser established the Badger triple-double club as its first member in 2011. Ethan Happ joined Gasser by notching two triple-doubles of his own during the 2018-19 season.

Happ’s 13 points against the Northwestern Wildcats will remain the most scored by any Badger in a triple-double performance for now, but Boyd came within the slimmest of margins from shattering that record.

Wisconsin’s starting point guard poured in 27 points, assisted on ten buckets, and gathered nine rebounds on Sunday in what was perhaps Boyd’s greatest performance as a Badger yet.

“Letting Boyd get downhill to his left every single possession was not the game plan,” Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said in a post-game interview.

Boyd’s ten assists were a career-high. Only once before had he reached nine. Boyd is only the fifth Badger since the 2004-05 season to log 10+ assists in a single contest (Happ 2x, Gasser, Nigel Hayes, Jordan Taylor).

It was the San Diego State transfer’s fifth-highest scoring performance this season for Wisconsin. Boyd has managed 20+ points in 17 different games with UW. Sunday afternoon was just the most recent great performance by the New York native that has him on the verge of becoming the first Badger since Michael Finley (whose number hangs in the Kohl Center rafters) to average 20 points per game.

Wisconsin basketball forward Nolan Winter, who scored 18 points of his own on 8 of 11 shooting, credited Boyd’s “speed and his ability to to push the ball” in transition for the dazzling performance.

“He’s just kind of a magician with the ball,” Winter added. “He’ll hit you on rolls when you don’t think you’re open. He hit me a couple of times today where, you know, I thought there was no way, and the ball found its way to me.”

Austin Rapp provides much-needed secondary scoring in return

Outside of Boyd and John Blackwell, the highest-scoring duo in the Big Ten combining for over 40 points per game, UW’s secondary scoring has come from a rotating cast.

Austin Rapp, who has been sidelined at various points this season due to an illness, is the latest star in that cast.

The Australian forward sat out Wisconsin’s most recent contest, a road loss at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and made an immediate impact in his return.

Wisconsin closed the game on a 16-6 run over the final six minutes, sparked by an initial 10-0 stretch that began with a three-pointer by Rapp.

“I think we cut it to maybe three, and then actually we’re getting stops,” McCollum said of his team’s effort to trim a Wisconsin lead that had only gotten out to seven points by that time. “And then I think Rapp popped on one, and we had to close out and closed out short. And when you close out short, on him—it didn’t make a lot of sense to close out short, but we did.”

Rapp scored 14 points, shooting 4-5 from beyond the arc. The sophomore has scored 14+ in three of his last four appearances. When Rapp scores 10+, UW is 10-0.

Gard noted the all-around improvement for the Portland Pilots transfer that began the year as a starter before the staff asked him to make his contributions off the bench.

“There were so many other things, you know, parts of his game, on both ends of the floor that he had to improve upon in order to be on the floor more consistently,” Gard noted. “You can’t be a defensive liability, and you have to be able to do more things offensively than just shoot threes. So he’s added, and he’s worked at his game.”

Whether it was Rapp, who has hit four or more triples five times this season, or Winter, who connected on two of three attempts from deep on Sunday, UW’s bigs helped create the spacing necessary for Boyd’s standout performance.

“When you have those shooters, it really makes a big difference, because you can’t shrink and you can’t plug,” McCollum said of the challenge Wisconsin’s offense presents.

Winter added that when he and Rapp are connecting on threes, it “helps a lot. It helps Nick get downhill having, you know, the other big guys, not being able to just plug the lane, it helps all sorts of guards.”

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Two of the Big Ten’s most prolific scorers meet in Bloomington, Indiana, today as Wisconsin basketball point guard Nick Boyd meets Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson. As the Wisconsin Badgers turn the page on an impressive January to a difficult stretch to close the regular season, they face an opponent that UW has had the better of as of late.

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In its overall history, Wisconsin trails Indiana 99-81 all-time. Before Bo Ryan and Greg Gard arrived in Madison in 2002, that series was significantly more lopsided. The Badgers have amassed a 32-8 record over the Hoosiers during the Ryan-Gard era. Since the 2007-08 season, UW has put together a better record against IU (26-5) than any other team in the Big Ten.

You might, however, want to throw any historical understanding of these programs out the window when they meet in 2026. Indiana has a first-year head coach and zero players on its roster who were in Bloomington a season ago. Wisconsin has scored 90+ points nine times this season, the most in school history.

When these two high-flying offenses meet, expect fireworks.

Who to Watch: Sharpshooting Lamar Wilkerson

Only four players in the Big Ten are outpacing Boyd’s 21.0 points per game in conference play. Chief among them, however, is Wilkerson. The transfer from Sam Houston leads all players, scoring 23.0 points per game in league play.

Although Wilkerson is playing his first season at a high-major level, he plays like a seasoned B1G veteran. The fifth-year senior is coming off a 33-point performance in the Hoosiers’ 81-75 loss to the USC Trojans. In that game, Wilkerson shot 5-12 from beyond the arc — the 10th time this season he has made at least five threes.

Shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc on nearly 200 attempts this season, Wilkerson has helped define IU’s offensive identity in head coach Darien DeVries first year leading the Hoosiers. As a team, 52.0% of Indiana’s shots from the field are threes. IU is one of only 12 teams nationally that shoot the three at a higher rate than Wisconsin (51.0%).

Wilkerson has buoyed those numbers. His 3.7 made threes per game are second-most in the conference, trailing only Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort’s 4.2. Earlier this season, Wilkerson lifted Indiana to a dominating 113-72 victory over Penn State by making ten triples—a new IU program record.

What to Watch: Can Wisconsin basketball capitalize at the free-throw line?

At first glance, the Hoosiers appear to have an exceptional two-point defense. Indiana is holding opponents to 47.1% shooting inside the arc, the 38th-best mark in Division I. That top-line, however, hides IU’s tendency to send opponents to the foul line.

Indiana commits 19.0 personal fouls per game, translating to an allowed free-throw rate firmly in the bottom third nationally, ranking 266th.

That presents an opportunity Wisconsin basketball could take advantage of. UW’s 77.8% free-throw shooting percentage is the 16th-best in the country. Boyd, John Blackwell, and Nolan Winter’s ability to drive downhill and get to the free-throw line has been instrumental to the Badgers’ success this season. This season, UW has made 17.2 free throws per game, which would be its best mark since making 17.8 per contest during its 1971-72 campaign.

Winter, in particular, should look to capitalize on a matchup advantage. The 7-foot Badgers big man could take advantage of an Indiana roster that lacks a player standing taller than 6-foot-10.

Winter is up to 10 double-doubles this season, putting him in rarified air. Only he, Frank Kaminsky, and Ethan Happ have logged 10+ double-doubles (or, double-double in double-figures, if you will) for UW in a single season since 2000.

Why to watch: The road ahead only gets harder from here

Since Wisconsin dropped back-to-back games against Nebraska and Villanova in December, it feels as if Wisconsin basketball turned a corner. Since then, the Badgers are 9-2 and have won seven of their past eight.

Now, Wisconsin has to prove the past month has been more than smoke and mirrors against a relatively easy schedule to open conference play.

Including its upcoming matchup with Indiana, UW is a projected underdog according to BartTorvik in seven of its final nine games of the regular season. A projected record of 20-11 would likely put the Badgers safely in the NCAA Tournament picture, but a team perceived to be slumping ahead of the postseason would be something Wisconsin fans are loudly all too familiar with.

Earning a Quad 1-A win at Assembly Hall would make UW’s closing stretch of the regular season appear far less daunting.

How, when, where to watch Wisconsin basketball at Indiana: TV, streaming, radio

When: Saturday, February 7th, 11:00 a.m. Central

Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall — Indiana University Bloomington — Bloomington, Indiana

Watch/TV: FOX (Play-by-play: Kevin Kugler; Analyst: LaPhonso Ellis)

Listen/Radio: Badger Radio Sports Network // Sirius XM 381 (Play-by-play: Matt LePay; Analyst: Charlie Willis)

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Madison, WI — On Sunday, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team struggled to shoot the ball, shooting 34.3% from the field and 24.3% from beyond the arc, in a competitive two-point home loss. The Wisconsin Badgers continued their homestand on Wednesday night and again struggled to shoot the ball in the first half. But UW’s shooting fortunes flipped in the final 20 minutes, and with them, the final result flipped too.

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When Wisconsin and Minnesota retreated to their respective locker rooms at halftime, UW trailed its border battle rival by 18. An abysmal 5-28 shooting performance, in which the Badgers’ lone two-point basket came in the form of a Nick Boyd layup in the final second before the break, put Wisconsin in the position of needing to mount a historic comeback to extend a historic streak.

By shooting 70% from the field in the second half, including a red-hot 9-15 on threes, Wisconsin men’s basketball tied its largest second-half comeback in its 128-year history and set a new program-best mark with its 11th straight win over Minnesota in a 67-63 victory for the record book.

“We couldn’t put our heads down, or we were going to lose that game,” Badgers guard John Blackwell said of his team’s mentality after the opening 20 minutes.

Badgers’ defense tightens up, shorthanded Gophers offense falters

Combined with Wisconsin’s prolific second-half offense, its defense did just enough to hold Minnesota at bay. The Gophers scored only 28 points after halftime, but did so on 50% shooting. The Badgers forced eight second-half turnovers, getting 14 points off Minnesota giveaways.

“Aggressiveness. Physicality. We had pulse. I thought we just, you know, we initiated things better,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said of the difference between his team’s effort in the first and second halves. “We were in attack mode better. We got to the free-throw line. I thought we were just tougher in all aspects of the game.”

UW shot 16-22 from the free throw line on the night, including 13-18 in the second half, and made nine of their final ten attempts from the charity stripe.

“I just thought they played with a little bit more force defensively,” Minnesota head coach Niko Medved added. “And then we didn’t play with enough force on offense and weren’t able to play through some of the contact that you have to at this level.”

The Gophers came up just short as their leading scorer, Cade Tyson, was sidelined. The senior, averaging 20.1 points per game and 16.4 in league play, suffered an ankle injury in Minnesota’s loss over the weekend to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

After Blackwell shot 1-8 in what he described as “one of the worst first halves” the guard has had, he managed a game-high 23 points on the night, pouring in 18 in the second half.

The Michigan native showcased the talent that makes him an NBA Draft prospect. Blackwell shot 4-9 on threes, 11-14 from the free throw line, and added a team-high seven rebounds.

“He’s a true three-level scorer,” Medved said of Blackwell. “When he’s really making his three-ball like that, he’s a load. He’s quick off the dribble, can get by you, he’s got a mid-range game, can go either way. When he gets it going, he’s really, really difficult to stop.”

With 19 seconds remaining, Blackwell made a step-back three-pointer that Medved described as “huge,” putting UW up two possessions in the closing moments.

Blackwell scored seven points on Wisconsin’s final three possessions.

Wisconsin men’s basketball completes historic comeback, changes early-season fortunes

The Badgers had mounted a pair of impressive come-from-behind victories already this season. Wisconsin had erased its largest second-half deficit this season eight days ago when John Blackwell made a buzzer-beating three to knock off Minnesota in the first meeting between the border battle rivals this season. UW’s largest comeback overall had come just one game prior when it knocked off #2 Michigan on the road after trailing by 14 in the first half.

Wisconsin’s halftime deficit of 18 points on Wednesday was its largest overcome this season. It also tied for the program’s largest second-half comeback victory ever.

The Badgers came back from 18 down against in-state rival Marquette in 1948, winning 67-63. In 2021, Johnny Davis poured in 20 points to defeat Indiana and erase another 18-point deficit en route to a Big Ten title. UW trailed by as many as 22 points in that 2021 matchup before a Badgers’ second-half turnaround continued to keep the Hoosiers winless inside the Kohl Center (a fun fact that holds at time of publication).

Since January 6th, Wisconsin has brought its shaky-at-best NCAA Tournament resume to a solid footing by winning six of its last seven games, and sits as a consensus nine-seed, according to Bracket Matrix. To do so, UW has needed double-digit comebacks in three of its past six games, but its abilitity to overcome those deficits is a welcome change to Gard (even though the two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year admits he would rather play with the lead).

“We got a toughness to us that we didn’t have in November. We got some fight to us,” Gard said after his 124th career Big Ten win, good for the 20th-most among all coaches in conference history.

Against the Villanova Wildcats, the Badgers fell 76-66 due to a similarly disjointed effort. Wisconsin scored only 22 points in the first half (which was, before Wednesday night’s first-half 17, its lowest offensive output in a half this season), but forced overtime before being outscored 20-10 in the extra period.

Whether drawing a comparison to that night in Milwaukee or to UW’s season-low 63-point showing against the TCU Horned Frogs, it is undeniable that something is different about this mid-to-late-season version of the Badgers. Wednesday night’s version, which, for the first time, won despite scoring fewer than 78 points, found a way to win despite a stretch of bad shooting—an idea very much in question less than two months ago.

Perhaps that is enough to propel the Badgers to March, despite them being likely underdogs in seven of their remaining 10 contests.

For what it is worth, Blackwell believes that things are different with this Wisconsin team from what they were not long ago:

“I think we just have more fight, and I think we’re more together. I think games like that early in the season, we got down a little bit and just dropped our heads. But this game, we kept fighting, we kept chipping away.

“Communication on the court in the second half, we’re talking to each other, and everybody’s just, you know, we’re gonna make a mistake. And Jack [Janicki] got my back, [Braeden Carrington] got my back, and Nick [Boyd] got my back. I think we didn’t have that earlier in the year in games like Villanova.

“And then closing time. We just didn’t close that game against Villanova the right way. And I think practice on closing out games has been better, so I think we executed down the stretch today.”

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Madison, WI — While Braden Smith, starting point guard and national player of the year candidate for the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers, became the Big Ten’s new all-time assists leader, showcasing his penchant for taking care of the ball at a consistently high level, Wisconsin basketball struggled to do the same. After his team suffered an 89-73 loss in a game the Wisconsin Badgers trailed by as many as 25 points, UW head coach Greg Gard said his team is close to where it needs to be, but has “things to get more consistent at.”

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“When you get a little off track, the really elite teams are going to make you pay for that,” Gard said after the Badgers’ record fell to 9-5 (1-2 Big Ten). “So, for us, it’s gotta be at a higher level, a more consistent level for obviously longer stretches of time.”

With Smith at the helm of an elite offense, ranked first in the country in adjusted efficiency according to KenPom, Purdue has no doubts about its offensive identity and prowess.

His head coach, Matt Painter, said Smith puts us in positions that really makes the defense vulnerable.”

Gard added that Smith “makes everybody better on that team.” The Boilermakers have the nation’s ninth-highest assists-to-field-goal ratio.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s inability to produce consistent play was on full display Saturday. Lacking its program-defining penchant for taking care of the ball and without its newfound mastery of three-point shooting, the Badgers faltered at the hands of one of college basketball’s great players and teams.

A second-half flare up between two UW players put the frustrations of Wisconsin’s inconsistency on full display.

Badgers struggle with turnovers, Blackwell slump

Wisconsin led for a majority of the first half, but Purdue walked off the court at the intermission with a seven-point lead. With John Blackwell sitting on the bench for most of the opening frame and the Badgers losing the turnover battle by a significant margin, the score certainly could have been more lopsided.

Blackwell sat on the bench for nearly nine minutes to close the first half due to foul trouble. The preseason All-Big Ten honoree committed a pair of personal fouls 39 seconds apart while Wisconsin struggled to take care of the ball offensively.

The junior committed his first foul while trying to prevent Purdue guard Omer Mayer from taking the ball out on the fast break. Mayer jumped into the passing lane, intercepting Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter’s feed intended for Blackwell. It was the third in a stretch of three turnovers in as many possessions by the Badgers.

Even when Blackwell was on the court, he struggled at times to be effective. On 11 field goal attempts and two free throws, the Michigan native scored only nine points. Blackwell was averaging 16.5 points in Big Ten play coming into the night. Since returning from injury, he has missed seven consecutive attempts from three.

“When your best guy is having a tough night, that’s hard,” Painter said of Blackwell. “And like, you know, he’ll bounce back. He’s too good of a player, too good of a scorer.”

As Blackwell checked out of the lineup, Purdue took the lead as UW continued its struggles maintaining possession. Between the time Blackwell went to the bench and intermission began, Wisconsin committed four more turnovers for a total of eight in the opening 20 minutes. The Boilermakers scored 13 points off the Badgers’ first-half giveaways.

“When you’re playing a team this experienced, elite, composed, with a terrific point guard, the margin for error, and, as I call them mulligans, are non-existent,” Gard noted to begin his post-game press conference.

Painter said he thought his team “did pretty good job taking care of the basketball. We had a couple sloppy turnovers late, but, for the game, only having seven turnovers on the road, it’s a good number.”

Wisconsin basketball ‘got some good looks; they didn’t make them’

Although Wisconsin took better care of the ball in the second half, committing only three additional turnovers, UW’s inability to make shots, and some timely Purdue offensive rebounds, put the game quickly out of the Badgers’ reach.

In 4:05, the Boilermakers doubled their lead from seven to 14, thanks, in part, to a flurry of four offensive rebounds in under two and a half minutes. In one possession, Purdue grabbed three consecutive offensive boards, prompting a fiery moment between Badgers point guard Nick Boyd and forward Austin Rapp.

“It’s been a dream of mine to play in these type of games in these environments. I want to win so bad and, I mean, you get emotional out there and you have that urge to just, you know, get some certain messages across to each other,” Boyd said of the on-court exchange. “When you’re in a battle like that, most importantly, you gotta stay composed. But I know Aussie and we have a good relationship, so, you know, sometimes I can get on him and he gets on me. We’re just gonna keep building.”

“Nick’s one of our leaders. I’ve said to him out there, I need somebody to yell at me if I’m in the wrong,” Rapp added. “I feel like I can take criticism well. And he’s looking out for me and I’ll do the same for him. So, if he gets on me, I take it as a compliment. He believes in me and he knows I can do better, so I take it as a compliment when he gets after me like that.”

On the evening, Purdue attempted 71 shots to Wisconsin’s 57.

Although Wisconsin only allowed one more offensive rebound the remainder of the evening after that exchange, the Badgers struggled to make shots of their own. After leading the Big Ten in made three-pointers a season ago, UW struggled from deep on Saturday, making just four of its 25 attempts from beyond the arc.

Gard pointed to that, plus Wisconsin’s shooting performance from deep against the Milwaukee Panthers, acknowledging his team’s slump.

“We went four for 22 the other night, so my math tells me that’s eight for a lot,” the two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year figured.

“Everyone on our team can really shoot the ball,” Rapp said of UW’s recent woes. “We just got to stay confident in ourselves. We’re getting really good looks. It’s not like we’re shooting bad ones.”

While Wisconsin struggled to make shots, Purdue connected on 37% of its three-point attempts, including a 6-13 performance in the second half to pull away. Painter acknowledged and appreciated the impact of that dynamic.

“I thought the difference for us was the defense. And then, when you face a team that gets them, because they got some good looks; they didn’t make them,” Painter said. “You know, things always look better when you make shots and things always look worse when you miss shots. And I though like, if they could have made some of those threes, that could have got them some momentum.”

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Madison, WI — Well-rounded scoring and improved defensive effort helped Wisconsin basketball finish non-conference play on a high note. With nine Badgers scoring at least five points, Wisconsin earned an 80-60 victory over the Milwaukee Panthers on Tuesday night inside the Kohl Center.

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On a night where Wisconsin Badgers (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten) points came with fits and starts, UW head coach Greg Gard’s defense shone from start to finish. Milwaukee’s 60 points were its second-lowest scoring output of the season, and Wisconsin’s second-fewest points allowed. The Panthers’ 21 first-half points tied the Badgers’ fewest allowed points in a single half this season.

“Collectively, we’ve taken a more consistent step forward to being the type of defensive team we have to be,” Gard said. “We’re not there yet, but we’re better than we were maybe 30 days ago.”

Wisconsin, with the 44th-ranked defense in the country by KenPom’s adjusted efficiency ranking, is on the upswing in the defensive metrics. Previously, it had been trending toward UW’s worst unit since 2017-18. That season remains the Badgers’ only sub-.500 finish since 1997-98.

“I was glad that we came out guarding, being active on defense, and communicating as well,” Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd added.

Milwaukee made only 33.3% (21-63) of its attempts from the field and 13.6% (3-22) of its attempted threes. Both marks are the lowest UW has allowed this season.

The victory extended the Badgers’ winning streak in non-conference matchups at home to 19 games. That mark is tied with the Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks for the longest-active such streak in the Big Ten and is the fifth-longest in UW program history.

With Boyd leading the way, the streak-continuing win came against an in-state opponent that left Gard impressed.

“Bart [Lundy]’s got them playing hard, and they’ve got some talent. They’ll be good in that league,” the Badgers’ head coach said of his counterpart leading the Panthers. Milwaukee entered this season as the favorite to win the Horizon League championship.

Nick Boyd presents matchup nightmare for Milwaukee

While the Badgers were well-balanced offensively, it was Boyd who carried the load. In limited action due to foul trouble, the senior scored a team-high 16 points in just under 22 minutes, shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field in the second half.

Milwaukee, playing on back-to-back nights, lacked answers defensively for the speedy guard. Boyd scored four fast-break points against the Panthers.

“When we got down there in the second half we tried to face guard him a little bit and if this was a different team with a different guard, we would have trapped and scrambled their eggs a little bit,” Milwaukee head coach Bart Lundy said of the unique challenge of guarding Boyd.

“I just didn’t feel like with his speed — I mean, that’s how much respect I have for his speed,” added Lundy. “We’re pretty good at coming back from deficits and we can trap you, turn you over and make you play faster than you want. I just thought there’s no way we can get him in a trap and it’d be effective.”

Boyd’s performance was marred by only a pair of turnovers, including one bad pass that temporarily sent the New York native to the bench. That mishap did not faze the veteran.

“Obviously when he came back in the second half after I pulled him on the turnover, I mean, he was dynamite,” Gard said of Boyd’s ensuing 12 points and two assists in 5:09 of gametime. “He just blew the game open.”

As a team, Wisconsin shot 59.3% from the field on 27 attempts in the second half.

“When [the Badgers] get a lead, it’s going to be difficult for other teams to come back,” Lundy said. “Because you can’t, you know, speeding [Boyd] up is probably a bad idea.”

Boyd has scored in double figures in each of Wisconsin’s 13 games this season. His 19.2 points per game are the sixth-most among all Big Ten players.

Wisconsin basketball ‘able to find other ways to score’

UW’s most noticeable box score blemish was its three-point shooting. The Badgers made only four of 22 attempts from beyond the arc. Wisconsin’s previous season-low for made threes was seven against BYU, TCU, and Nebraska.

The difference between those games for the Badgers and the matchup with Milwaukee, however, was the outcome. Four made threes is Wisconsin’s fewest in a win since a 74-70 victory over the Maryland Terrapins in February of 2024.

“Obviously you always want to shoot it better, but to be able to find other ways to score when you’re not raining threes is a good sign,” Gard said.

Even freshman Zach Kinziger, who played 18 minutes in his second-ever appearance for UW, was not spared from the shooting woes. The De Pere native missed all three of his attempts from deep.

“Games like these are bound to happen to any shooter, no matter what level you play at,” Kinziger said. “I know one thing is, I’m gonna keep shooting the ball whenever I get the looks.”

The former consensus four-star recruit shot 36.2% on over 200 three-point attempts his senior year of high school.

Despite struggling beyond the perimeter, Wisconsin dominated inside. It tied a season-high with 46 points in the paint, as junior forward Nolan Winter returned to the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury against the Central Michigan Chippewas.

With Winter and preseason all-Big Ten honoree unavailable by the end of that matchup against CMU, both of their statuses were seemingly up in the air leading up to Tuesday’s matchup. Winter was listed as questionable on the pregame injury report, but he and Blackwell were both able to play.

Their return “means everything to this team,” noted freshman forward Will Garlock.

“Obviously we play an assortment of bigs, but I think Nolan especially, he can kind of do it all,” Garlock added. “Shoot it, put it on the floor when he needs to, and then also on the defensive end.”

Winter scored 14 points and corralled seven rebounds in 21 minutes. He has contributed double-digit scoring in each of UW’s past six games.

“Nolan to gut through, I know the ankle doesn’t feel the best, but he was able to get through, gut it out and do some good things,” Gard said.

Up next for Wisconsin basketball

The Badgers now turn their sole focus to Big Ten conference play and the second half of a four-game homestand. Wisconsin hosts the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers inside the Kohl Center this Saturday, January 3rd. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central.

UW will then host the UCLA Bruins on Tuesday, January 6th, before embarking on a two-game road trip to face the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines and Minnesota Golden Gophers.

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An offensive revolution continues to pay dividends for Wisconsin basketball. With the new-look Wisconsin Badgers offense, head coach Greg Gard is taking his program to rarely seen scoring heights. Averaging 91.2 points per game, UW’s third-highest average through six games in program history, the Badgers are on the verge of capturing a third-straight holiday tournament title.

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While putting together its second-best six-game start of the Gard era, the Badgers (5-1) have scored with tremendous efficiency. UW’s 122.3 adjusted offensive rating is its third-best mark of the KenPom era, behind only the mark set by UW last season and its national runner-up squad in 2015. On the offensive glass, Wisconsin is pulling down rebounds more often than it ever has under Gard, while enjoying its second-best turnover rate in the two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year’s 11 seasons.

In an era of layups and threes, the Badgers are attempting a greater share of shots from beyond the arc while making a higher percentage of their shots from two than ever before. In its 104-83 victory over the Providence Friars in the semifinals of the Rady Children’s Invitational, UW attempted 40 three-pointers, tying a single-game program record dating back to 2001.

Now, the Wisconsin offense faces a significant test in a championship game matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs (4-2). Head coach Jamie Dixon’s squad boasts the 35th-best defense by KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rating—second-best, trailing only BYU, among teams UW has seen to date.

Who to watch: TCU basketball guard Brock Harding

The Horned Frogs’ starting point guard should be familiar to Wisconsin basketball fans. After spending two seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Brock Harding has taken his talents to Fort Worth, Texas. There, Harding has stepped up to the task after coming off the bench in Iowa City.

As a facilitator, the junior distributes the ball well, following up on a sophomore season in which he finished 38th nationally in assist rate, according to KenPom. In TCU’s 84-80 victory over the Florida Gators, Harding logged a 19-point double-double with 12 assists. He can, however, be susceptible to turning the ball over at times. Earlier this season against the Kansas City Roos, who rank 339th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin, Harding committed six giveaways.

Wisconsin logged 10 steals against Providence. With its 11 takeaways against the Campbell Fighting Camels, the Badgers have two games with 10+ steals already, tying their total-season mark from the 2024-25 campaign.

As a scorer, Harding excels at getting to his spots in the paint and around the rim, despite his slight size. The 6-foot guard showcased crafty scoring talent and the ability to get to the paint against a Florida frontcourt that measures significantly taller and longer than Harding, despite not yet finding his three-point shot this season. After connecting on nearly 40% of his attempts from deep a season ago, Harding is shooting only 5-21 from beyond the arc at TCU, and missed all six of his attempts against UF.

What to watch: Horned Frogs’ perimeter pressure

Harding is among the reasons TCU’s defense has maintained its high level of consistency under Dixon. On a per-possession basis, the Horned Frogs rank 10th nationally in turnovers forced, and Harding ranks 10th among all players in steals.

TCU frustrated Florida’s offense by applying pressure on the perimeter, preventing the Gators from consistently getting the ball inside to their bigs. Although Wisconsin is more willing to play from beyond the three-point line than UF, which ranks 345th in three-point shooting percentage, the relentless pressure remains an issue for any team facing TCU. Beyond forcing Florida into tough shots, the TCU defense disrupted many high-low offensive sets that the Gators tried to run.

Wisconsin runs some similar offensive looks, particularly with forwards Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp.

Why to watch: John Blackwell needs his bounceback

Rapp, after a disappointing day against the BYU Cougars, bounced back with a 20-point outburst against Providence. Badgers point guard Nick Boyd scored a career-high 33 against the Friars and is scoring 21.5 points per game, the second-most of any player in the Big Ten.

But NBA Draft hopeful John Blackwell has had a perplexing couple of weeks.

When Gard added a new ball-dominant guard in Boyd to the lineup, there were bound to be growing pains for Blackwell. After playing alongside AJ Storr and John Tonje, adapting to slightly different roles offensively is not a new challenge for Blackwell, but it takes time.

The junior scored in double-figures against Providence, but only shot 2-10 from the field. Blackwell has consistently found his way to the free-throw line, like when he poured in 14 points despite shooting only 3-13 against BYU, but has struggled to find his shot inside.

In Wisconsin’s last four games, Blackwell has made only four of his 17 shots from inside the three-point line. Opposing coaches have sung praises for Blackwell’s mid-range game, but he has not gotten to his spots as consistently as of late.

If the Badgers win a third-straight holiday tournament championship, and their fourth in five years, it will likely be in no small part because Blackwell plays a significant role against an aggressive defense.

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It was a sequence emblematic of the final result, as Wisconsin dominated Providence for 40 minutes in the semifinals of the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational.

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After surrendering 98 points in a 28-point loss to the BYU Cougars less than a week earlier, the Badgers answered the call of head coach Greg Gard, who demanded his team “compete, rally, and fight back,” and put together a 104-83 beatdown of the Friars. It was the first time UW eclipsed 100 points since scoring 116 in a win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on January 3rd.

For their efforts, Wisconsin earned the chance to compete for a third-straight championship in the November tournaments. The Badgers will face the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday at 4:30 p.m. TCU upset the reigning national champion Florida Gators to reach the title game.

Nick Boyd has a career-high performance on Thanksgiving

Transfer point guard Nick Boyd, whom Greg Gard had previously described as “a jet,” cruised to a career-high scoring output in a game the Badgers outscored the Friars 32-14 in the fast-break, including a 19-1 first-half margin.

The Garnerville, New York native poured in 36 points, the best single-game scoring performance by any Badger this season, and assisted on another 19. His seven assists were one shy of a career-best. Boyd did not commit a turnover; as a team, Wisconsin committed only 7, while forcing Providence into 14 turnovers.

Boyd’s addition to the Gard’s roster has been a natural fit for a team that wants to push the pace in transition, but still values defensive effort more than ever. On Thursday, Wisconsin came away with 10 steals, turning those extra possessions into 13 points.

The transfer by way of the Florida Atlantic Owls and San Diego State Aztecs leads the Badgers in scoring, assists, and trails only John Blackwell for the team lead in made threes.

Well-rounded effort leads to Wisconsin basketball domination

As impressive as Boyd was, it was far from a one-man show. Wisconsin got significant contributions from up and down its roster. The day included everything from double-digit scoring by Blackwell (despite him shooting only 2-10 from the field) to Isaac Gard scoring points against a high-major opponent for the first time.

Wisconsin’s starting forwards provided an inside-out scoring threat. Nolan Winter has spoken of his need to be a more physical presence in the interior since the offseason. The Lakeville, Minnesota native showcased what a physical presence he can provide at his best, scoring 19 points on 7-9 shooting and 10 rebounds, for his fourth double-double in six games this season.

UW added nine points off Winter’s four offensive rebounds, scoring each of the four times the junior created second-chance opportunities. Entering Thursday, the seven-footer was one of six players in the Big Ten averaging double-digit rebounds.

While Winter has been a model of consistency, sophomore Austin Rapp has been looking to find a more consistent groove. In Salt Lake City, the Portland Pilots transfer scored zero points, failed to tally an assist or collect a rebound, and turned the ball over twice. Nobody needed a bounce-back game more badly.

When he needed it most, the Australian forward scored a season-high 20 points and tied his Badgers-best eight rebounds. Apparently used to the friendly rims inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego, Rapp connected on five three-pointers, one shy of the career-high mark of six he last hit inside the same gym.

If Rapp’s shot is falling, he is the most dangerous player in the gym with a shot fake Boyd described as “deadly, because you know he can knock it down.”

Those two transfers showcased some chemistry against the Friars, too. In the final 80 seconds of the first half, Boyd assisted on three Rapp triples.

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“I didn’t like how we responded in the game, in terms of punching back enough, but I like how we’ve responded here in the last three days of practice,” Gard said in a press conference on Wednesday. “They’ve gotten after each other, which is a good sign. They’re very, very competitive.”

The lone bright spot from UW’s loss in Salt Lake City, Utah, Braeden Carrington, agreed, saying that since the defeat, the Badgers have had “probably the most competitive practices so far this season.”

“Everybody’s going at each other,” Carrington, who poured in 14 points on 4-5 three-point shooting against the Cougars, said in a mid-week interview. “We realize how good we can be, but we, obviously, we have to work for it.”

Wisconsin will have its work cut out for it in San Diego this week. UW opens tournament play against the Providence Friars, who Big East coaches picked to finish fourth in the conference in a preseason poll. Afterwards, the Badgers will face either the TCU Horned Frogs or the reigning national champion Florida Gators.

Find out who, what, why, when, where, and how to watch Wisconsin and Providence in the semifinals of the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational on Thanksgiving Day.

Who to watch: Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers

The Friars run their offense through a veteran-laden backcourt. Seniors Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers provide a steady presence, limit turnovers, and can get to the free-throw line.

“They really revolve around those two,” Gard said.

In a pre-tournament media call on Wednesday, Providence head coach Kim English boasted that each Edwards and Sellers are enjoying their most-explosive offensive ratings to date, despite not finding their three-point shooting groove. As a team, the Friars rank 254th nationally, shooting just 30.6% from beyond the arc.

As a distributor, Edwards is “having the most success in his career,” ranking among the top-50 players in men’s Division I with a career-low 4.6 turnover rate.

Sellers, who missed all but three games a season ago due to a back injury “is healthy. He’s feeling good. His back is good,” English said.

“Those guys are getting better and better. And the better they get, the better our team will,” English added.

What to watch: Mental response from Wisconsin Badgers

In an interview after the loss to BYU, Badgers forward Nolan Winter recalled a non-conference result from his freshman season, when Wisconsin “had this exact same thing happen” in a road loss by 25 to the Arizona Wildcats.

Following that game, the Badgers won nine of their next 10 before reaching the Big Ten Tournament championship game and earning a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“I know what we’re capable of,” Winter said. “I know what the coaching staff is going to be able to do with us. And I love this team, but we gotta take it upon ourselves, and really reflect and regroup as a team.”

If Providence, which plays at the 24th-quickest adjusted tempo in the country according to KenPom, races out to a lead, how the Badgers respond early could be crucial to preventing Wisconsin’s loss to BYU from snowballing.

“That’s the benefit of playing in these [tournaments],” Gard said Wednesday. “You’re gonna be tested and pushed in a time of the year, but maybe you’re not ready for it, but it’s going to expedite your learning. And it’s going to expedite your growth. That’s what, hopefully, we’ve expedited it last Friday night and now we’re ready to take another step forward.”

Why to watch: Feast Week’s finest

Wisconsin Badgers basketball and Thanksgiving are a match made in heaven. In the past 19 seasons, UW has competed in a November non-conference event 17 times. That participation has been marked by plenty of success, as the Badgers are 32-13 in November tournament games since 2005.

Now, at the Rady Children’s Invitational, Wisconsin looks to win a November tournament for the third straight year and the fourth time in five seasons. UW has won nine of its last ten games in November tournaments, capturing championships at the 2021 Maui Invitational, 2023 Fort Myers Tip-Off, and 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off.

“You want really good events that are well run, and you want really good competition,” Gard said of how the Badgers choose which events to add to their schedule in a changing college basketball landscape. “And that’s why we chose this event, because we’ve heard nothing but great things about it. And, obviously, the competition we’re going to see is going to help us as we go through the year.”

Where, when, and how to watch Wisconsin basketball Thanksgiving tournament

Where: Jenny Craig Pavilion — University of San Diego — San Diego, California

When: Thursday, November 27th, 4:30 p.m. Central / 2:30 p.m. Pacific

Watch/TV/Streaming: Fox Sports 1 (Play-by-play: Cory Provus; Analyst: Donny Marshall)

Listen/Radio: Badger Sports Network / Sirius XM 139 or 196 (Play-by-play: Chris Vosters; Analyst: Brian Butch)

If you do not have rooting interest in the Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions game, or if you have a second screen, you can watch TCU vs. Florida tip-off on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 2:00 p.m. Central. Wisconsin and Providence follow at the conclusion of the first semifinal.

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Winter went on to say it was not so much the “technical” aspects of the game, the Xs and Os on the court, that contributed to the defeat, “rather than that, I think it was more internally, I think it was out mindset, our aggressiveness, our physicality.”

The Lakeville, Minnesota native noted that UW should have been prepared to bring those intangibles against an opponent that ended Wisconsin’s season less than eight months earlier.

“Knowing what BYU brought last year and what they were gonna bring this year, what we needed to bring as a team, and we didn’t do that,” said Winter. “Obviously, shots didn’t go in, but we still scored 70 points, so I don’t think offense is an issue right now. I think it’s more of a defensive thing, more of an internal thing within each of us just having that physicality every night.”

“I didn’t like how we responded from a toughness standpoint,” added Gard. “We got a little—we got a little out of character. We did some undisciplined things on both ends of the floor.”

Those “undisciplined things,” particularly on defense, ultimately doomed Wisconsin. BYU shot 29 free throws, making 22, the most attempts and makes from the line the Badgers have allowed since last December.

Despite the setback, it is only November. Wisconsin struggled in its first test against a high-major opponent and, as Gard said previously, has “a long ways to go.”

“It’s a learning [opportunity], and we’re going to learn a lot from this,” the two-time Big Ten head coach of the year said of the loss. “You know, when you get knocked around like this and kicked around, it’s going to be what we have to fix. There’s technical things, but then, how do we respond from a mental standpoint and grow?

“We have to get better and that’s why you play these type of games against these type of teams.”

Hear full post-game remarks from Gard and Winter in the video below:

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For what it’s worth, head coach Gard and the Badgers did not walk off feeling proud of their performance either.

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“There’s a lot of things that are gonna have to be fixed,” Gard said. Obviously, we’ll go through the film, but what I didn’t see enough of—how we didn’t respond. That’s my biggest takeaway from this game.”

A 13-0 run by BYU in just under four minutes ripped away a slim Wisconsin lead early on, but it was all Cougars the rest of the way. On rare occasions, the Badgers made a push, but between shots not falling and, as Gard explained, a lack of UW response, BYU controlled the game throughout the afternoon.

Badgers never find three-point shooting stroke

After leading the Big Ten in made threes a season ago, Wisconsin had picked up right where it left off to open the season. Through its first four games, UW made 49 shots from beyond the arc, its most at that point of a season since at least 2002.

That three-point shooting prowess did not show itself on Friday. Players up and down head coach Greg Gard’s lineup struggled from deep. Austin Rapp, who made the second-most threes among all freshmen nationally a season ago, the forward went 0-5 from deep against BYU. On the Utah Jazz’s court, Rapp frequently shot from beyond the NBA three-point line, rather than stepping up to shoot from the NCAA’s threshold.

Rapp was not the only Badger who struggled from three. Nolan Winter and Nick Boyd were blanked on four attempts each. John Blackwell made only one of his five three-point tries. One of Winter’s misses came after Wisconsin cut what had been a 16-point BYU lead in half. The open look could have cut the deficit to five with less than three minutes before intermission, but, instead, the Badgers never led after the first 3:30.

Braeden Carrington, who shot an impressive 4-5 from beyond the perimeter, was the only Wisconsin shooter to make more than one triple.

“You can say, ‘well, we didn’t make shots,’ but if you have a level of toughness about you, you’re going to make—you’ll find a way to make shots,” Gard said, alluding to the message he delivered to his team after the game.

Gard insisted that, on a night Wisconsin shot below 40% from the field, only 65.4% from the free throw line, and combined to shoot just 7-29 from beyond the arc, the shots themselves were not the main problem.

Wisconsin basketball ‘can’t shell up and be mentally weak’

On a night that BYU scored 98, recording 1.38 points per possession, stopping the ball, rebounding, and defending the Cougars’ offense without fouling was of much greater concern for Gard and Winter after the game went final. Gard noted that there will be “technical things” for his group to improve, but his top concern was Wisconsin’s lack of a response in the face of a challenge.

“I didn’t like how we responded from a toughness standpoint,” said Gard. “We got a little—we got out of character. We did some undisciplined things on both ends of the floor.”

Winter heard his head coach’s criticism and turned it up another notch. Despite posting his third double-double in five games, with 14 points and 14 rebounds, the junior forward laid responsibility at his own feet.

The seven-footer noted that even when shots are not falling, “we can’t shell up and be mentally weak.”

“I got to be better on the boards,” Winter added. “Everyone’s got to be better on the boards. I think that was one of our biggest issues tonight. But, I think it was more just having that physicality throughout the whole game.”

Even in the matchups where Wisconsin showed signs of success, like against preseason All-American and potential first-overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, AJ Dybantsa, it was far from perfect.

“We did a decent job on Dybantsa; he was three for eight [from the field],” Gard noted. “But we put him at the line 12 times.

The 2025 McDonald’s All-American made 11 of his 12 foul shots and scored a total of 18 points.

Next, Wisconsin travels to San Diego to compete in the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational tournament. The Badgers open tournament play on Thanksgiving against the Providence Friars.

“We’ll prepare for Providence as we go through the week, but I think the biggest thing is, hey, how do we respond?” Gard explained. “Take the coaching, take the film work. Show all the things we did well. Shows a lot of the things we didn’t do well, and then bounce back on the court tomorrow afternoon and get back to work.”

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Six of the nine Badgers who played in that 2025 NCAA Tournament game are no longer in Madison, but you might not know it from the way head coach Greg Gard’s roster is treating the meeting with No. 9 BYU.

After a win over the SIUE Cougars on Monday, transfer guard Nick Boyd mentioned Wisconsin’s next opponent unprompted. Boyd said the way SIUE made tough shots “foreshadows our next game coming up against BYU. A lot of talented offensive players who are gonna make some tough shots at the end of the clock.”

Who to watch: AJ Dybantsa

Could it be anyone else?

The true freshman and potential number-one pick in the 2026 NBA Draft is a matchup nightmare and the epitome of a talented offensive player who is going to make some tough shots on Friday afternoon. At 6-foot-9 and 212 pounds, the Brockton, Massachusetts native is not of tremendous size in the frontcourt. His explosiveness and apparent newfound ability to step out and make shots on occasion, however, can force opposing defenses to bring their bigs outside or into mismatches on switches.

Even if Dybantsa, who did not profile as a shooter coming into college, cannot find a three-point shooting stroke against Wisconsin, he can take the Badgers’ bigs out with foul trouble. The 2025 McDonald’s All-American draws over six personal fouls per game, but is only shooting 65.2% at the line.

Against a Wisconsin frontcourt that, beyond starters Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp, has struggled to defend without fouling, Dybantsa threatens to eclipse 20 points against a high-major opponent for the third time in as many tries.

What to watch: Is Wisconsin basketball really an elite offensive rebounding team?

BYU might be a candidate to regress up as an offensive rebounding team, given how it has performed through four games. To date, this Cougars team ranks only 133rd in offensive rebounding rate, but has the requisite size and philosophical makings to be better in that department.

But is Wisconsin’s mark as the 24th-best team on the offensive glass a mirage?

Under Greg Gard, the Badgers have rarely come down with a plethora of offensive boards, finishing outside the top 100 in offensive rebound rate each of the past eight seasons. So far, UW is bucking that trend. While boasting the eighth-tallest roster in men’s DI college basketball, Wisconsin has corralled 57 offensive boards on 127 misses from the field.

In its first four games against low and mid-major competition a season ago, Wisconsin collected only 34 offensive rebounds on 123 misses.

BYU head coach Kevin Young admitted in a media call on Wednesday that against a team with UW’s size, “it can be difficult to rebound at times, but then there’s also advantages. If we elect to go a little bit smaller, it can be really challenging to keep up with the space and pace in the perimeter attack. So I think there’s a give and take.”

Young sometimes opts for a four-guard lineup. It could cause defensive challenges for the Badgers. On the other hand, Wisconsin’s guards rebounding three-point misses, as they did 12 times against the Ball State Cardinals, could be the best of both worlds for UW.

Either way, this feels like a game in which Badgers forward Nolan Winter, who is averaging 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds this season, needs to come up big.

Why to watch: BYU availability concerns; opportunity for Wisconsin signature win

With only so many games on a college basketball schedule before Selection Sunday, teams have to seize big wins where they can find them. Against the Cougars, in Utah, might be one of the handful of best opportunities for the Badgers to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume.

On Wisconsin’s team sheet, this game will almost certainly go down as a Quadrant 1 opportunity. Neither the day Wisconsin and BYU played nor who was available for the Cougars will be an asterisk next to a potential season-bouying victory.

In BYU’s most recent game, a two-point loss to the UConn Huskies, starting center Keba Keita suffered an upper-body injury. The veteran provides a modest scoring output, but is an excellent rim protector. Without Keita available for most of the game against the Huskies, Young said his team’s defense at the basket suffered.

“He’s trending in the right direction,” Young said on Wednesday of Keita’s potential availability against Wisconsin.

“I’ve gotten good feedback in terms of he is doing better,” the second-year head coach added. “But at the same time, he is currently still out. It is more positive than it is not, but the situation that he’s in is more of a day-to-day type thing.”

Kennard Davis, another starter for BYU, also figures to be out on Friday. According to multiple reports, the junior was arrested and cited for driving under the influence and marijuana possession following a motor vehicle crash last week in Provo, Utah. Davis has since pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“I think it’s safe [to assume he won’t play Friday],” Young said of the transfer wing’s status after missing the past two games. “But I also think there’s a lot of stuff being sorted out.”

In BYU’s first two games, Davis averaged nine points, a rebound, and 1.5 assists in 27.0 minutes.

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs BYU basketball

Where: Delta Center — Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Friday, November 21st, 3:00 p.m. Central

Watch/TV/Streaming: Peacock (Play-by-play: James Westling; Analyst:

Mike O’Donnell)

Listen/Radio: Badger Radio Sports Network / The Varsity App / SiriusXM 211 or 195 (Play-by-play: Chris Vosters; Analyst: Brian Butch)

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Madison, WI — Much like a season ago, Greg Gard has his Wisconsin basketball team and its star transfer humming early on offense. With a 94-69 victory over the SIUE Cougars, the Wisconsin Badgers improved to 4-0 and are averaging 93.3 points per game. It is the fourth-most prolific offensive output in program history through four games, and the most points Wisconsin has scored through four games in a season since 1975.

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Although the Badgers only led the Cougars by seven at the half, UW quickly pulled away after the break. In five minutes and 16 seconds, Wisconsin turned a 48-43 lead into a 64-43 margin. It came, in large part, due to some hot three-point shooting.

Wisconsin made the most threes in the Big Ten a season ago and shows early signs of the ability to do so again. Transfer guard Nick Boyd has scored in double-figures each of his four games with UW. The Badgers have made 49 shots from beyond the arc this season, their most made threes in the first four games since at least 2002, and seven more than Wisconsin had made to this point a season ago.

“When you have like-minded individuals in the locker room, you’ll have a united team, and that’s what we have,” Gard said of his team’s early success. “And that’s the coachability. They take coaching. Some guys, I get after them in the huddle, and they respond. And they want to be better. They want to do something special.”

No. 23 Wisconsin will have a chance “to do something special” on Friday afternoon as it travels to face the No. 9 BYU Cougars (yes, back-to-back Cougars) at a semi-road venue in Salt Lake City. It is a challenge the Badgers have been looking forward to ever since being eliminated by BYU in the NCAA Tournament in March.

“I think we’ve gotten to a point where we need to see what’s coming, and we know the challenge it’s gonna be,” said Gard. “And I think this group is ready for it. They’re hungry for it. And I am proud of how they’ve handled these games.”

Listen to SIUE head coach Brian Barone, followed by Wisconsin’s Austin Rapp, John Blackwell, and Boyd, before hearing Gard’s full post-game remarks.

Thank you for visiting BadgerBreakaway.com – With your support, we are quickly becoming a leading independent source for news, analysis, and intel on the Wisconsin Badgers hockey and basketball teams.