Postgame notes after Wisconsin’s 85-73 win over Northwestern
Notes and notable statistics from the Badgers' victory over the Northwestern Wildcats.
The Wisconsin men’s basketball (6-2, 1-0) team opened up conference play this year with a win over the visiting Northwestern Wildcats (5-3, 0-1).
The Badgers and junior guard John Blackwell came out of the gates scorching hot, jumping to a 55-32 lead at halftime. At the half, Blackwell led all scorers with 23 points on 7-11 from the field and 5-8 from 3-point range. Blackwell finished the night with 26 points, going 5-10 from deep and going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. He finished with a double-double after adding 11 rebounds.
Freshman forward Aleksas Beliauskas got his first start last night in place of Austin Rapp, who came off the bench. Rapp still played 27 minutes off the bench and scored 13 points, going 3-6 from three.
Nick Boyd scored 20 points for the Badgers, going 7-16 from the field. Andrew Rodhe had a team and career-high nine assists to go with his three points.
Here are the postgame notes and notable team and individual statistics following Wisconsin’s victory over Northwestern via the Wisconsin athletic department.
Team Notes
Wisconsin improved to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play with an 85-73 win over Northwestern on Wednesday.
The Badgers have now won their Big Ten opener in 7 of the last 8 seasons, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
UW is now 8-3 in conference openers under Greg Gard.
Wisconsin has won 5 straight over Northwestern and improved to 127-67 all-time against the Wildcats, including 13-5 under Greg Gard.
Wednesday’s 12-point win marked the Badgers’ largest victory over NU since a 68-51 (+17) win on 2/21/21.
Head coach Greg Gard is now 219-119 (.648) at Wisconsin, including a mark of 118-77 (.605) in Big Ten play.
Gard celebrated his birthday on Wednesday and is now 4-1 in games played on his birthday as head coach of the Badgers.
Wisconsin’s .605 conference win percentage in the Gard era (since 2015-16) trails only Purdue (.704) and Michigan State (.659) for best in the best Big Ten during that span.
Gard’s 60.5% Big Ten win percentage matches Purdue’s Gene Keady for the 11th-best all-time (min. 100 wins).
The Badgers are averaging 86.9 ppg, which ranks 6th in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin went 11-for-31 from 3-point range on Wednesday. The Badgers are averaging 11.0 3FGs per game, which ranks 2nd in the Big Ten is behind only Nebraska (11.3) and 22nd nationally.
The Badgers have made double-digit triples in 5 games this season, going 5-0 in such games.
Wisconsin scored 18 fast break points, marking the 5th-straight game in double figures. The Badgers are averaging 15.9 fast break points per game, which ranks 3rd in the B1G.
UW turned it over just 7 times and is now averaging just 10.1 turnovers per game on the season, which ranks 6th in the Big Ten.
The Badgers had 0 turnovers in the first half, marking the 6th time in school history that UW has played a half without a giveaway.
UW’s first turnover didn’t come until the 13:45 mark of the second half.
Wisconsin went 18-for-21 (85.7%) at the FT line to bump its season clip up to 141-for-177 (79.7%), which ranks 2nd in the Big Ten behind Ohio St.
The Badgers’ 55 first-half points are the team’s most since scoring 55 in the opening half vs. Arizona last season (11/15/24).
UW has scored 50+ in the first half for the 3rd time this season (52 vs. NIU, 51 vs. Providence).
Individual Notes
Junior John Blackwell finished with his first double-double of the season (3rd of his career), totaling 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Blackwell surpassed the 1,000-point threshold with a 3-point FG midway through the first half and now owns 1,014 career points.
Blackwell reached 1,000 points in 79 games, making him the 9th-fastest Badger to reach that mark over the last 40 years.
Blackwell scored at least 20 first-half points for the second consecutive game, totaling 21 in the opening half against TCU and 23 vs. Northwestern.
Blackwell tallied 20+ points for the 4th time this season and the 13th time in his career.
Blackwell converted 5-of-10 attempts from distance, posting his 3rd game with at least 5 threes this season. Entering this season,
Blackwell had only one 5+ three performance in his career (6 vs. Iowa, 1/3/25).
Blackwell is now 23-for-55 (41.8%) this season.
Graduate student Nick Boyd scored 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting and a 5-for-6 clip at the stripe. He also dished out 4 assists.
Boyd has scored in double figures in all 8 games this season, including 5 games with 20+.
Boyd still ranks 2nd in the Big Ten in scoring this season, averaging 20.9 ppg.
Junior Nolan Winter registered 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and logged a 4-for-4 clip at the line. Winter reeled in 4 rebounds.
He scored in double figures for the 6th time this season and the 23rd time in his career. UW is 18-4 in such games.
Sophomore Austin Rapp tallied 13 points, aided by a 3-for-6 clip from deep.
Rapp has scored in double figures in 5 of 8 games as a Badger, averaging 10.5 ppg on the season.
Senior Andrew Rohde tied a career high, dishing out 9 assists, his most as a Badger. It marked the 4th game of his career he achieved the feat.
Freshman Alexis Bieliauskas made his first career start, becoming the first freshman to start a regular-season Big Ten game for Wisconsin since Connor Essegian during the 2022-23 season.
He finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds across a career-high 20 minutes of action.
Wisconsin will host in-state rival Marquette on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles are just 5-4 on the season and are coming off a close 75-72 overtime victory over Valparaiso. Marquette has also played Indiana (100-77 loss) and Maryland (89-82 loss), both of which Wisconsin will face this season.
Wisconsin and Marquette will tip off at 1:00 PM CT on FS1.
It means a lot to have you here at The Badger Backer. I’m passionate about digging deep into Wisconsin football and basketball, and your readership makes it all worthwhile. Catch up on previous posts or ensure you don’t miss anything by subscribing below! Let’s keep the Badger conversation going!
Follow me on ‘X’ @christianborman and @thebadgerbacker!
The Badger Backer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.