Wisconsin Basketball Notes: Resilient Badgers Erase Double-Digit Deficit Again
Behind a blistering 57% shooting first half, Wisconsin storms back to beat Ohio State and improve to 12-2 at the Kohl Center.
It looked bleak early as the Buckeyes built an 11-point lead, but the Wisconsin basketball team once again proved resilient at home, rallying to secure a 92-82 victory and their fourth straight win over Ohio State.
Sophomore Austin Rapp kept the Badgers afloat with a stunning 19-point first-half explosion, it was the veteran backcourt that sealed the deal down the stretch. John Blackwell and Nick Boyd combined for 43 points, aggressively attacking the rim and going a combined 13-for-13 from the charity stripe.
Nolan Winter provided the stability inside, notching his 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards, helping Wisconsin improve to 12-2 at the Kohl Center this year.
Here are the postgame notes and notable team and individual statistics following Wisconsin’s victory over Ohio State, courtesy of UW Athletics.
Team Notes
Wisconsin has won 7 of the last 8 games and improved to 16-6 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten with a 92-82 win over Ohio State.
UW’s conference mark of 8-3 matches the 2nd-best 11-game start under head coach Greg Gard. This is the 5th time starting 8-3 or better in 11 seasons under Gard.
History vs. Ohio State
UW has won 4 straight and 6 of the last 7 against Ohio State. The Badgers moved to 81-95 all-time against the Buckeyes.
The Badgers’ 4 straight wins over OSU is the longest win streak by either team in the series since Wisconsin won 5 in a row in 2004-05.
UW has also won 4 straight home games against Ohio State and improved to 17-7 all-time against the Buckeyes at the Kohl Center.
Kohl Center
The Badgers are now 12-2 at home this season and are 27-4 at home games over the last 2 seasons.
Wisconsin owns an all-time record of 386-75 (.837) in the building - the 10th-best all-time home record in the country among active venues.
Wisconsin is 135-38 (.780) at home under head coach Greg Gard.
Head Coach Greg Gard
Greg Gard improved his overall record to 229-123 (.651) with a mark of 125-80 (.610) in Big Ten play, tying Tom Davis for 19th on the conference’s all-time wins list and just 1 win from 19th place.
Wisconsin’s .610 conference win percentage in the Gard era (since 2015-16) trails only Purdue (.714) and Michigan State (.667) for best in the Big Ten during that span.
Season Team Notes
Saturday marked the 4th time in the last 7 games in which Wisconsin has overcome a double-digit deficit to win the game.
Wisconsin trailed by 14 at Michigan, 11 at Minnesota, 20 vs. Minnesota, and 11 vs. Ohio State.
Wisconsin scored 92 points, reaching 90 points for the 9th time this season. That is the most 90-point games in a single season in school history, surpassing the previous high of 8 (1961-62 and 1993-94).
Wisconsin is 14-0 when scoring at least 80 this season.
A total of 5 Badgers scored in double figures for the 4th time this season.
Wisconsin shot 51.6% (32-for-62) from the field, the team’s 2nd-highest mark of the season (53.7% vs. Central Michigan). UW has shot 50% or better 6 times this season.
Wisconsin is 13-0 when shooting 45% or better.
Wisconsin turned the ball over just 5 times, the 2nd-lowest mark of the season (4 vs. SIUE).
Wisconsin is 13-1 on the season with 10 or fewer TOs.
UW converted 19-for-21 (90.5%) at the line in the win.
The Badgers rank 2nd in the Big Ten, shooting 188-for-233 (80.7%) from the line during Big Ten play.
Wisconsin dished out 16 assists and improved to 11-2 with 15+ assists this season.
Wisconsin scored 26 bench points, the team’s 2nd-highest total in Big Ten play this season (44 at Penn State).
Wisconsin scored 49 points and shot 57.1% (20-35) in the first half and improved to 9-0 when scoring at least 45 in the opening half.
Individual Game Notes
Junior John Blackwell finished with a game-high 22 points, adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Blackwell has now scored in double figures in 8 straight games, the longest such streak of his career.
He reached double-digit points for the 17th time this season and 61st time in his career.
Including a 5-for-5 effort on Saturday, Blackwell is 54-60 (90.0%) at the line in Big Ten play.
Graduate student Nick Boyd tallied 21 points, going 8-for-8 at the FT line.
Boyd registered his 13th 20-point game of the season, which ranks 2nd in the Big Ten.
Boyd is 1 of 4 Big Ten players to score in double figures in every game this season. He ranks 2nd in the Big Ten, averaging 20.0 ppg on the season.
With Blackwell and Boyd both scoring 20+ points, Wisconsin is now 8-0 this season when multiple players tally 20+ points. Boyd and Blackwell did so for the 6th time this season as a tandem.
Jordan Taylor and Jon Leuer (2010-11) are the only Badger duo with more such games dating back to 2000.
Sophomore Austin Rapp scored 19 points, all in the first half, marking his 2nd-highest output as a Badger (20 vs. Providence). He also pulled in 6 rebounds.
Rapp went 5-for-7 from 3-point range, matching his most 3FGs as a Badger (also had 5 vs. Providence).
Rapp posted his 32nd career game, and 7th this season, scoring in double figures.
Nolan Winter registered his 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He added 3 assists and 2 blocks.
Winter’s 10 double-doubles are tied for 2nd in the B1G and match UW’s 4th-highest single-season total since the 2004-05 season.
Winter scored in double figures for the 18th time this season. It was also his 11th game with double-digit rebounds.
Freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas tallied 10 points and 7 boards, his 2nd-highest scoring mark in a Big Ten game, trailing only his 17 at Michigan.
Bieliauskas has 3 career games with 10+ points.
Wisconsin will enjoy a nice break, not taking the floor again until Saturday, February 7th, at Indiana. The Badgers and Hoosiers will have an early game time, tipping off at 11:00 AM.
Continue Reading:
Wisconsin Basketball Notes: Inside the Historic Comeback vs. Minnesota
It wasn’t pretty for the first 20 minutes, but the Wisconsin basketball team stormed back from an 18-point deficit to extend its winning streak over the Minnesota Gophers to 11 games.
Border Battle Dominance: Badgers Erase 18-Point Deficit to Stun Minnesota in Historic Comeback
For the first 20 minutes on Wednesday night, it looked like the Border Battle was going to be a blowout in the wrong direction. For the final 20, something clicked for the Wisconsin basketball team. Maybe it was rising to adversity. Maybe it was pride.
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