(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team cruised past Northwestern 85-73 to open Big Ten play on Wednesday at the Kohl Center.
Four Badgers (6-2, 1-0- Big Ten) scored in double-figures as John Blackwell led the way with 26 points. Wisconsin has now won seven of their last eight Big Ten openers, and have won the last five meetings against Northwestern
The junior notched his first double-double of the season, and third of his career, adding 11 rebounds. He finished 8-of-18 from the field, nailing five three-pointers, to boot. Blackwell scored his 1,000-career point in the game, becoming the 51st Badger to hit that mark in their UW tenure. He had 23 points in the first half, aiding Bucky’s early 16-4 run that broke the contest open.
Badgers coach Greg Gard said that John Blackwell has improved on the defensive end in a variety of ways.
Gard said that Blackwell has turned himself into a really good player.
Gard added that he liked what John Blackwell did on the defensive end.
Blackwell talked about having scored 56 points in his last 2 games.
UW went into halftime up 55-32, the most points they’ve scored in a half this year. The high scoring was due in part to sufficient playmaking as the Badgers yielded zero first-half turnovers. It’s the first half without a giveaway since the Feb. 15 matchup with Purdue last season.
Senior Andrew Rohde also tallied his 1,000-career point on the day, stemming from his time at St. Thomas and Virginia. The Brookfield native finished with three points on the day, and dished out nine assists – the most during his Badger career.
Nick Boyd had 20 points, the fifth time this year he’s scored 20+ points in a game. The Badgers are 5-0 in those contests.
Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp rounded out UW’s double-digit scorers. Winter had 12 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting, while Rapp added 13 with three three-pointers. True freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas made his first career start, recording six points and three rebounds.
Up Next: The Badgers step out of Big Ten play to take on Marquette on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
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