(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON — Behind prolific scoring performances from Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team led wire-to-wire, blowing out No. 10 Michigan State, 92-71, on Friday night at the Kohl Center.
It’s the largest margin of victory over a top-10 team in school history, and UW’s second-consecutive win over a top-10 opponent for the first time since the 1951-52 season. Overall, Wisconsin now has three top-10 wins this season, the most in the country.
Boyd finished with 29 points, matching a UW-high five threes, adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Blackwell had 24, going 6-of-14 from the field, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. It’s the eighth time Boyd and Blackwell have gone over 20 points together in a game, being 8-0 in such contests. They now top the UW record book for duos with 20-point performances in the same game (2025-26). For Boyd, it’s his sixth-straight contest over 20 points, becoming the first Badger to do so since Alando Tucker (7 games) in the 2006-07 season.
Nolan Winter tallied his 12th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards. He’s now second in the Big Ten in double-doubles.
The Badgers exploded out the jump, nailing their first five triples of the contest. They traded buckets until the 12-minute media timeout, when UW went on a 15-0 run to force a Spartan timeout. Nick Boyd powered the spurt with eight-straight points thanks to two triples. The Badger defense held MSU without a point for over 5-minute, augmenting the advantage to 18 points by the 8-minute mark.
Michigan State responded with a 9-0 streak of their own, setting up a wire-to-wire battle the rest of the way. Jack Janicki answered back with a three as the Badgers went on a mini 12-4 surge to close the period. Boyd added another seven points during the spree, bringing his first half total to 20.
Boyd picked up right where he left off out of the locker room, attacking the rim for an and-one layup. He posted eight more points by the 12-minute media timeout, getting Bucky back to an 18-point lead at the stoppage. They didn’t look back from there.
UW kept their foot on the gas, getting the lead as high as 24 points, before ultimately winning by 21. The Badgers hit 90 points for the 11th time this season, being undefeated in those games. Wisconsin hit 15 threes on Friday, marking the third time UW has hit 15 triples against a top-10 team this season. Entering tonight, since 2004-05, only three schools had a total of three games with 15-plus triples against top-10 opponents.
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