CHICAGO – Heroic scoring efforts from both John Blackwell and Nick Boyd helped the 5-seed Wisconsin Badgers stave off a late comeback from 12-seed Washington, beating the Huskies 85-82 on Thursday. With the win, Wisconsin secured a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 4 Illinois Fighting Illini Friday afternoon.
Blackwell commanded the Badger offense, scoring a season-high 34 points and securing 10 rebounds in his second double-double of the year. After being named to the All-Big Ten Third Team on Tuesday, Blackwell shot 6-for-12 from 3 in an outing that showcased his scoring ability from all three levels of the court. His 34 points are the most by a Badger in Big Ten Tournament history and tied for third-most by any player in tournament history.
Boyd had an efficient outing for Badger head coach Greg Gard, dropping 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 from 3-point range. Together, Blackwell and Boyd combined for 11 of Wisconsin’s 15 3-point makes, staying true to the 3-point philosophy that’s garnered them success all season long.
Guard Braedon Carrington and forward Aleksas Bieliauskas were the next highest scorers for the Badgers with nine and eight points, respectively.
Wisconsin held a steady lead throughout the first half, but rebounding struggles and foul trouble plagued the Badgers late in the contest. Washington shot 15-for-20 from the charity stripe, limiting Wisconsin to just eight free throw attempts. The Huskies outrebounded the Badgers 45 to 29, with Washington capitalizing on 18 second-chance points off 20 offensive boards.
The dynamic backcourt of Blackwell and Boyd opened the scoring for Wisconsin, with both guards connecting from beyond the arc in the opening minutes. Boyd continued to facilitate the Badger offense early on, feeding freshman Will Garlock inside for an and-one dunk. Following some tenacious defense from the Badgers and five straight points from Boyd, Wisconsin held an early 14-5 lead with 13:37 remaining.
After a strong and-one layup from freshman Hayden Jones to push the lead to 13, Washington was able to control the game's pace and find momentum on the offensive end.
Capitalizing off the offensive rebounding from freshman forward Hannes Steinbach, Washington rattled off a 6-0 run with 8:47 left in the first half. The 19-year-old from Germany tallied 16 rebounds in his 38 minutes, leading all players and providing the Huskies with vital second and third chance scoring opportunities that helped them stay within reach of Wisconsin.
As Washington cut the lead to 27-23, Blackwell created separation for the Badgers by scoring eight points within the final five minutes of the period. A last-second tip-in layup from Bieliauskas gave Wisconsin a 43-33 lead heading into the break. Boyd had 16 first-half points, followed by 13 from Blackwell.
Coming out of the locker room, both teams started to find their offensive rhythm, trading points for the first four possessions of the period.
From there, the Badgers soon realized it was Blackwell’s night. All in the first five minutes of second half play, Blackwell finessed his way into the paint for an acrobatic finish, hit a one-legged fadeaway jumpshot and blew by a Huskie defender for a routine layup. This display of high-level scoring ability propelled Wisconsin to a 58-45 lead heading into the 15:22 media timeout.
Washington continued to hound the offensive boards, but Blackwell proceeded to burn the Huskies from deep. Hitting three 3-pointers in a two and a half minute span, Blackwell made his first six shot attempts in the second period.
Sensing the game was getting out of reach, Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle implemented an aggressive in-bound press against Wisconsin, hoping to force quick turnovers and chip away at Wisconsin’s double-digit lead. Almost immediately, Wisconsin started to feel the heat. Two consecutive turnovers from Boyd and Blackwell allowed Washington to cut the lead to 77-70 with 5:04 remaining.
A mid-range jumpshot from Blackwell stretched Wisconsin’s advantage to nine, but Washington would respond with their most crucial run of the game.
The Badger offense went cold as the game tightened. Wisconsin endured a three minute scoring drought that, coupled with seven straight points from Washington, suddenly created a 81-80 thriller inside the United Center with under a minute to play.
Just as he had all game long, Blackwell stepped up for Wisconsin and ended the drought with a stepback jumper that gave the Badgers a three point cushion. On the following possession, Washington guard Diallo Zoom forced his way into the paint, creating enough contact with Blackwell to draw the foul.
Converting on both free throws and once within a points reach, Washington fouled Andrew Rohde off the in-bound pass and sent him to the line for the most important free throws of his Badger career. Rohde sinked both free throws, his sole points of the game, once again making it a three point game. Zoom missed the game-tying 3, sealing the contest and punching Wisconsin’s ticket to the next round.
In the face of Washington’s late-game flurry, the Badgers relied on past experiences to come away with the victory.
“I think with our leadership, we've been in moments like this. Just take care of it down late and then sealing the game,” Blackwell told The Daily Cardinal in the postgame press conference. “Good defense by them to pressure us, but I think we did a good job of just sealing it and just finding the open man.”
The Badgers now turn their focus toward Illinois, who clinched the triple-bye in their win over Maryland on March 8. Wisconsin came out victorious in the pair’s only regular season matchup, a dramatic overtime win in Champaign on Feb. 10. Tip-off for the quarterfinal rematch is set for 1:30 p.m.
