Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin Badgers' 85-82 win over Washington in the Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO - The University of Wisconsin became known as the comeback kids as they stockpiled Big Ten conference wins over the last three months.

Over a third of its 14 Big Ten wins was Wisconsin erasing a deficit of at least 10 points, including a pair of marquee victories at No.2 Michigan and No.8 Illinois. They nearly got a taste of their own medicine in what would have been an unceremonious start to their postseason.

Fifth-seed Wisconsin led by 18 points with 13:23 left. But in the final minutes, they found themselves barely holding on, able to exhale only when Zoom Diallo's tying shot missed just wide.

"Games are not going to be won easily," said guard John Blackwell, who scored a school Big Ten Tournament record 34 points in Wisconsin's 85-82 victory over 12th-seeded Washington Thursday afternoon. "Guys are not going to quit. We've got to learn to finish games. I think we've done a great job all season of finishing games, close games, but we've been coming back on teams a lot and finishing games.

"Credit to them. They kept fighting, but ultimately, we finished the game out and got the job done."

Wisconsin (23-9) advances to face fourth-seed Illinois tomorrow. The Badgers survived without their best offense. Still, they overcame a lot with Blackwell and senior Nick Boyd playing off each other well.

"Most importantly, Wisconsin 85, Washington 82."

Greg Gard runs through the stat sheet after @BadgerMBB's win over Washington 👇#B1GMBBT x The Journey pic.twitter.com/PBcJKbCVZi
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 12, 2026

Blackwell looked in a scoring zone in the second half, making his first six shots and setting a new school Big Ten Tournament record for made field goals (14) and attempts (24) to go along with his 10 rebounds.

"I'm not trying to do too much," Blackwell said, "just get to my spot and create for the offense."

Boyd finished with 23 points (8-for-15 FG, 5-for-6 from 3s), nine assists and two turnovers. It was his 20th game this season with at least 20 points and the seventh game with at least seven assists.

"In the beginning (of the year), we were just figuring it out as a team when we want to get to certain things," Boyd said. "Coach has done a great job of just calling different plays and having a feel of who's not and who's not. It's two unselfish guys who just want what's best for the team and want to win."

Mission accomplished, as Wisconsin will play in the quarterfinals for the 26th time in 28 Big Ten Tournaments.

Here are my takeaways from the United Center.

Built different. pic.twitter.com/a5BntLTx78
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 12, 2026

The Badgers need to play desperately and not lose their edge

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard couldn't say for certain if his players started turning their attention to tomorrow's game against fourth-seed Illinois after Braeden Carrington splashed a three-pointer, giving them a 66-48 lead and looking in firm control after a Washington team playing with only seven players.

One of the hardest things to do is end a team's season, and Wisconsin found out that Washington wasn't willing to go quietly.

Still in a comfortable spot, up 16 with 8:17 remaining, things quickly became uncomfortable with Washington going on a 21-6 run to make it an 81-80 Wisconsin lead with 1:07 remaining.

That run was executed with the benefit of only two three-point makes, as Washington took advantage of the Badgers not having Nolan Winter (ankle on the floor) to score 10 points in the paint, five from the line, and the rim and generate five second-chance points.

Not having Winter in the first half wasn't a problem, as the Badgers were only minus-2 in rebounds and points in the paint. However, the absence was glaring in the second half when Washington outrebounded Wisconsin and outscored them in the paint by 14. The Huskies finished with 20 offensive rebounds, besting the 16 Purdue had last Saturday as a season-high for an opponent.

A lot of that had to do with Washington freshman Hannes Steinbach, who looked every bit like a projected NBA first-round pick with his 25 points and 16 rebounds, but also something to do with UW not having Winter, getting too loose at times, and not being strong with its transition defense.

Washington also made life difficult for Wisconsin's offense when the Huskies started pressing full court, muddying the flow just enough to bog down UW's pace and fray their offense. It turned the Badgers from efficient to sloppy and lazy.

"They have two really good players in Diallo and Steinbach," Gard said. "With March, it's about confidence and having momentum. You can turn the game quick."

Reading between the lines of Gard's comments made it sound like Winter will be doubtful against the Illini tomorrow, leaving a gaping hole in UW's defense to try and slow an offense that ranks No.1 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency.

But the Badgers are 2-0 without Winter on the floor.

"Every team slips up a little bit when you get a big lead," Boyd said. "You get a little loose. You feel like you have room for error. The good thing is the next couple of games we probably won't have a big lead, so we'll be locked in for 40 minutes."

Rohde delivers for the front of the jersey

Andrew Rohde was recruited to Wisconsin for an offensive output that has struggled to appear. Rohde's field goal percentage (37.8) and three-point percentage (32.5) are the lowest of all the UW players currently in the rotation. Considering he wasn't known as an ace defender coming out of the portal, Rohde's season could be viewed as a bust.

It hasn't been in the eyes of his teammates.

"He gives 100 percent, whether he's scoring zero or scoring 20," said Blackwell, who is Rohde’s roommate on the road. "The way he passes the ball, I wish I had his vision sometimes with the offensive end. On the defensive end, he disrupts things. I think he's done a great job mentally of being locked in. He's all about the team. Everything he's about is about the team. He doesn't complain about anything."

Rohde was steady without being flashy, finishing with four assists, one steal, one rebound, and no turnovers. He picked up two fouls in his first five-plus minutes on the court and wasn't whistled for another one in his final 20 minutes.

He didn't make a basket, but he collected two of the more high-pressure points of the game when he calmly made two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to extend the lead to three. They were just his 26th and 27th attempted free throws on the season.

"I've been in games where I haven't scored, and things aren't going my way, but you can't ever let that dictate any of my emotions," Rohde said. "I'm here for them (my teammates)."

One thing can't be tracked in the box score is voice in the huddles, something Boyd pointed to with Rohde quarterbacking some changes that Wisconsin needed to make with defensive switches. Those free throws and that leadership are where Gard sees Rohde’s leadership emerge.

"He understands to be able to play at a high, high level, you have to be able to do that (play defense)," Gard said. "He's got really good hand-eye coordination. He gets deflections. He had one or two today, and his knowledge. He's grown as a defensive player. The time at Virginia (the previous two seasons) instills a lot of that, and then we try to build off of that."

🦡 @BadgerMBB’s Will Garlock got 🆙 on this B1G and-one slam 😤#B1GMBBT pic.twitter.com/MAJL5rVeiR
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 12, 2026

Unexpected early bench lift

The takeaways from the Maryland game were Winter's injury, Isaac Gard's late heroics, and a solid defensive effort, but an under-the-radar subplot was that the lopsided score allowed Gard to get some seldom-used reserves important minutes for their development. The staff got to see some of that payoff in the opening 20 minutes.

Freshman Will Garlock did a rim run with Boyd for a three-point play in the first half, setting the screen, catching the lob, and finishing through contact. He also delivered a block on Wesley Yates' layup that resulted in a shot-clock violation.

He might have had a second block when he walled up Steinbach in the lane, until he unnecessarily brought his hands down and was whistled for the foul. He was whistled for another foul three possessions later when he fouled Yates III at the rim to stop a 2-on-1 fast break. Yates went 2-for-2 from the line.

"(Playing against Maryland) helped a lot, just being able to get in that flow and get in that rhythm," Garlock said. "It's staying ready every chance I get. You never know if you're going to get two minutes or 10 minutes, so it's staying focused on the bench and knowing what the game plan is. Being able to play that good stretch of minutes helped me get into a flow."

Freshman Hayden Jones' 10 minutes on the floor were the most since he logged 15 minutes against Ohio State. He worked for his shot in the lane and converted for a three-point play at the 11:47 mark, a theme of his over his 10 minutes on the floor.

"(His scoring) shakes the game up a little bit, gives us a jolt offensively," Boyd said of Jones. "(The bench) just gives us that extra energy and boost, and we need that."