New-Look Badgers Blow Out Campbell to Start the Season
The Badgers start the season with a win over the Campbell Fighting Camels.
The Wisconsin basketball team kicked off its 2025-26 regular season campaign tonight at home in front of a half-full Kohl Center, welcoming the Campbell Fighting Camels.
Wisconsin entered the game tonight looking to win its 10th consecutive home opener, and its 27th in the past 28 years.
Badgers shake off lackluster start
After a slow start in their scrimmage against the UW-Platteville Miners last week, a fast start against an inferior opponent would be a good way to start the season. Unfortunately, it was more of the same thing.
Offensively, the Badgers looked okay, with newcomer Nick Boyd slicing into the paint and scoring the Badgers’ first four points.
On the defensive end, however, the Badgers struggled mightily to slow down the Camels early on, falling into a seven-point deficit less than five minutes into the game.
Gard wasted no time looking for a spark, going to his bench early on. With 13:22 left in the first half, Gard had already cycled five off the bench. Jack Janicki and Braeden Carrington made an early appearance, while freshmen Aleksas Bieliauskas, Hayden Jones, and Will Garlock were among those early substitutions.
Janicki was a big part of the turnaround in the first half, causing chaos on the defensive side of the floor. He tallied four steals in the first half, including a pair on back-to-back possessions.
Eventually, John Blackwell got going and could not be stopped. The junior guard poured in 17 points in the first half to push the Badgers’ lead to ten at the break.
The second half was a very similar story. Again, the Badgers let the Camels hang around and hit a few shots. The Badgers’ lead was cut down to as little as five before Blackwell erupted again, helping the Badgers to a 31-4 run to end the game.
During the run, the Badgers dominated and put their foot on the gas. Once they got their run going, they didn’t look back. The team put clamps on the Camels defensively, and Blackwell continued to play at a high level offensively, either hitting shots or making plays for his teammates, including a nice assist to Winter, who came flying down the lane for a nice layup.
John Blackwell has a career night, showing he’s a superstar
Coming into the game, there was a lot of hype surrounding the new additions to the team, but returning guard John Blackwell reminded everyone tonight that he is the returning star for the Badgers.
When the Badgers found themselves behind early, he was the guy to take over and bring the Badgers back out front. Similarly, in the second half, when the Camels cut the lead to five points, Blackwell took over.
The junior guard finished with 31 points, just one shy of his career high. He did, however, match his career high in made threes (6) and set a new career high in three-point attempts (11). This is the third time in his career that he’s reached 30 points in a game.
This team can put up points in bunches, and Blackwell will be leading the way.
Nolan Winter dominates the boards
Over the offseason, Nolan Winter made it a point to improve his rebounding heading into this season. In the scrimmage against Platteville, the junior forward poured in 17 points and 15 rebounds. He followed that up with a 17-point performance with 12 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds. This was Winter’s fourth career double-double.
That’s one of the things I was looking at heading into this season: could he and Austin Rapp form a presence in the post that I don’t feel the Badgers have had in recent years? It’s early, but so far the answer is yes.
The Badgers are going to need that version of Winter this season, especially when Big Ten play starts up in December.
The new guys look the part
The Badgers got contributions from a handful of their new players tonight. Nick Boyd, who was the big addition via the portal, scored a quiet 21 points tonight while adding four assists and three rebounds. His aggressive play style also drew seven fouls from Campbell. His 21-point effort is the second-most points in a Wisconsin debut since 2000. The only player ahead of him is John Tonje, who scored 23 against Holy Cross last season.
Austin Rapp, the Australian transfer from Portland State and reigning WCC Freshman of the Year, scored 13 points in his debut for the Badgers. He went 2/4 from three, but his passing is what really stood out to me. He and Nolan Winter worked really well together, specifically with the high-low action. From the top of the paint, Rapp fed Winter some nice passes in the post, who had his defender sealed, leading to a few easy buckets.
Andrew Rohde’s stats don’t pop off the stat sheet, but he did exactly what he was brought in to do: the little things. He was good defensively, especially in the final eight minutes of the game. Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was very complimentary of Rohde and his defensive skills during his post-game press conference.
The Badgers will look to improve upon their performance tonight before they take on Northern Illinois at home on Friday night.
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