Four Badger seniors — Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Braeden Carrington and Issac Gard — were sent off into the Kohl Center sunset with a dominant 78-45 win over Maryland in their final home game.
No senior performed better than Braeden Carrington, who led all scorers with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. The guard exploded for 13 points in the first half, most coming towards the final minutes.
Shooting came at a premium for both sides early. Throughout the first six and a half minutes, the teams shot just 4-for-23 (17%) from the field combined. The Badgers specifically struggled from deep, missing their first nine 3-pointers.
After a plethora of wild shots, Maryland found themselves up 10-8 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half. Then the Terrapins’ wheels fell off. John Blackwell and Carrington led a brief 8-0 run to make the score 16-10, and Maryland never led again.
Carrington continued his flurry, igniting another Badger burst with two 3s to end the half. He capped it off with a ridiculous buzzer-beating bank shot, which ended up being waved off. Still, Wisconsin entered the locker room up 34-21.
While the Badgers shot better as the game progressed, Maryland’s issues persisted.
After the break, Maryland’s Guillermo Del Pino drained a much needed 3 to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 10, but the Terrapins were unable to get any closer. Any momentum they had was cut by an immediate 11-0 response from Wisconsin. Austin Rapp joined the fun, hitting three straight deep balls to extend the lead to 23 with 10:53 to go. He finished with 11 points off the bench.
The dominance continued the rest of the way as Wisconsin outscored Maryland 24-14 to finish the game. Freshman Zach Kinziger provided some valuable minutes down the stretch as well. His pass deflection leading to a fast break — where he found Garlock underneath for two — forecasts his future role.
The night, however, did not end smoothly. After Nolan Winter leaped for a put-back with seven minutes remaining, he hit the floor hard, bringing the Kohl Center to silence.
Winter stayed down for significant time, slapping the floor in anguish before being helped up by his teammates. He could not put pressure on his left leg/ankle on the way to the locker room.
Postgame, Gard said early indications were that Winter “avoided the worst.”
“He hasn't rolled that ankle before, that is the other one,” Gard said. “When you do that the first time, there is always an extra amount of pain. We'll see, he was in pretty decent spirits in the locker room.”
Winter was ruled day-to-day with a lower body injury on Thursday.
Still, the seniors refused to let the injury dim their spirits. The energy returned as the Badger lead surpassed 30 and in cinematic fashion, Issac Gard drained a deep 3 from the left wing, sending the Kohl Center into a frenzy. Gard and his father embraced as he subbed out in the final seconds, ending a much-loved four year career in Madison.
“You couldn’t have scripted the end there with him making the 3,” Greg Gard said. “Tonight was a special, special night.”
Wisconsin’s 34-point domination was their largest margin of victory this season. It was also just their third win when scoring less than 80 points in a contest (3-9). The Badgers also shot above 40% from three (42%) for the 13th time this season, going 12-1 in those games.
The win moves Wisconsin to 21-9 overall and 13-6 in conference play. They now stand alone in sixth place in the Big Ten. Before the season concludes, the Badgers travel to Mackey for one final game against No. 15 Purdue (23-7, 13-6 Big Ten) Saturday afternoon. The Boilermakers edged out a 70-66 win against Northwestern on Wednesday night. A Wisconsin victory Saturday would propel the Badgers past Purdue for the five seed in the Big Ten.
