Postgame notes after Wisconsin’s 98-71 victory over Penn State
Notes and notable statistics from the Badgers' victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Wisconsin men’s basketball team dominated the Penn State Nittany Lions last night to win its fifth-straight game. The Badgers are now 14-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
It was a balanced scoring effort by the Badgers. Five players scored in double figures, with John Blackwell and Braeden Carrington leading the team with 17 points each.
Blackwell went 5-10 from the floor, including 3-7 from three, while adding five assists.
Carrington continues to play very well off the bench. He shot 5-7 from the field and 4-6 from three while grabbing four rebounds.
Nolan Winter tallied yet another double-double, scoring 13 points and adding 10 rebounds. He also added three assists and two blocks.
Nick Boyd scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in the Badgers’ victory.
Here are the postgame notes and notable team and individual statistics following Wisconsin’s victory over Penn State via the Wisconsin athletic department.
Team Notes
General Records & Streaks
Wisconsin has won 5 straight games, improving to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten.
UW has opened conference play 6-2 or better for the 11th time in the last 23 seasons (5 times under Greg Gard).
This is the first 5-game Big Ten win streak since last season ($2/1/25$ to $2/18/25$).
It is the 3rd-straight season Wisconsin has had a conference win streak of 5+ games.
The Badgers have achieved this in 8 of 11 seasons under Greg Gard.
Road Performance & Margin of Victory
The 27-point victory is the team’s largest Big Ten road win under Greg Gard and matches the 6th largest in the NCAA tournament era (since 1938-39).
The Badgers are 3-1 in road games this season and have won 6 of their last 8 road games dating back to last season.
Under Greg Gard, UW is 53-47 in Big Ten road games, matching Michigan State for the 2nd-most road wins and 2nd-best percentage in the conference during that span. Only Purdue is higher.
Series History vs. Penn State
UW improved to 45-13 all-time against Penn State, winning 19 of the last 22 meetings.
The Badgers are 20-9 against PSU in University Park, claiming their first win at Rec Hall since Jan. 6, 1994.
UW is 12-3 against PSU under Greg Gard.
Coach Greg Gard
Gard improved his overall record to 227-122 (.650) and 123-79 (.609) in Big Ten play, ranking 20th on the conference’s all-time wins list.
Gard’s .609 conference win percentage trails only Purdue (.724) and Michigan State (.663) in the Big Ten since 2015-16.
Game Statistics
Offense
Scoring: 98 points is the most in a Big Ten road game since 1971. It is only the 6th time ever UW scored 98+ in a Big Ten road game.
Shooting: The Badgers shot 50.7% (36-71). They are 12-0 this season when shooting 45% or better.
3-Pointers: UW matched a season high with 15 3-pointers (15-for-35, 42.9%).
UW has hit double-digit triples in 15 games this season (12-1 record).
During the 5-game win streak, the team is shooting 41.0% from long range.
On the season, UW averages 10.8 3FGs per game (2nd in Big Ten).
Assists: UW matched its season high with 25 assists.
Paint Points: Outscored PSU 42-18 in the paint; 42 points is the most in a Big Ten game this season.
Fast Break: Tallied 19 fast break points, matching the highest total in Big Ten play since at least 2015-16.
Defense & Ball Control
Rebounding: Out-rebounded PSU 44-35. Grabbed 14 offensive boards (most in Big Ten play).
Turnovers: Had just 7 turnovers. Averaging 8.2 giveaways during the 5-game win streak. UW is 12-0 when turning the ball over 10 or fewer times.
First Half Defense: Held PSU to 22 first-half points (fewest by an opponent in Big Ten play this season) on 23.1% shooting.
Runs: Had separate scoring runs of 14-0 and 13-0 in the first half.
Individual Notes
John Blackwell: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists (tied career high). Reached double figures for the 14th time this season. He is 34-37 (91.9%) at the line in Big Ten play.
Braeden Carrington: 17 points (all in first half), going 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Has scored in double figures in the last 3 road games. Shooting 51.2% (21-for-41) from 3 over the last 8 games.
Nick Boyd: 11 points and 5 rebounds. One of 4 Big Ten players to score in double figures in every game this season. Ranks 5th in the Big Ten with 19.4 ppg.
Nolan Winter: Notched 9th double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and matched career high with 3 assists.
His 9 double-doubles rank 3rd in the Big Ten this season.
Shooting 60.5% from the field this season (9th in Big Ten).
Last Badger to shoot above 60% for a season (min 100 FGA) was Louis Ely (1992-93).
Austin Rapp: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists. Most points since Dec. 22.
The Badgers will host USC on Sunday. The Trojans are also 14-5 overall, but just 3-5 in conference play. They are coming off back-to-back losses to Purdue and Northwestern. The loss to Northwestern gave the Wildcats their first conference win of the season.
Tipoff for the USC-Wisconsin basketball game will be at 3:00 pm on Peacock.
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