Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin Badgers' 92-90 upset at No.8 Illinois

John Blackwell wants to be known loud and clear that this edition of the University of Wisconsin isn't a group of quitters. That much has been known, as the Badgers have made it a habit of erasing double-digit deficits with relative ease and drama.

Now, the junior guard wants to put teams on notice that the Badgers are happy to play the villains.

UW threw a huge dent in Illinois' Big Ten title hopes and likely solidified its own postseason fate with a 92-90 overtime victory over the Fighting Illini at State Farm Center in Champaign on Tuesday.

"Everybody talks about the lulls of February, and I don't believe in that," said head coach Greg Gard, who picked up his 17th win over an AP top-10 opponent, the seventh in a true road game. "You've got to be healthy and fresh, but we've always had the mindset of get better and continue to improve.

"I don't care if it's February 9 or January 3 or anywhere in between; it's just continue to get better. That always keeps you hungry for more and not bored."

Final #Badgers Scoring
Nick Boyd 25, John Blackwell 24, Austin Rapp 18, Braeden Carrington 8, Aleksas Bieliauskas 7, Andrew Rohde 6, Nolan Winter 4.

UW shot 37.8 percent in the first half, 47.1 in the second, and 60 percent in overtime.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 11, 2026

UW's ability to not be bored with the fundamentals has allowed the Badgers (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) to erase another double-digit deficit, doing it in their fifth consecutive game, and this one giving them their largest second-half road comeback win since a 13-point comeback win at Minnesota nearly 14 years ago.

Most importantly, Wisconsin's got the taste out of its mouth from Saturday's bitter and controversial overtime ending to become only the third Badgers team to beat two AP Top-10 opponents on the road in a single season.

"Our response to that was exceptional in terms of what happened Saturday," Gard said. "We could have easily let that affect us, and we bounced back really well. That shows the maturity and toughness of this group is growing."

Here are my takeaways from Wisconsin's third Quad-1 Big Ten win of the year

It was 71-59 with just over 8️⃣ minutes left.

Here's how @BadgerMBB rallied to force OT en route to an eventual 92-90 upset at No. 8 Illinois 👇 pic.twitter.com/9rV2iBpwoX
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 11, 2026

UW's starting guards didn't quit

Things just weren't falling for veteran guards Blackwell and Nick Boyd.

Seeing layups roll gingerly off the rim, jumpers miss their mark, and open three pointers vary between so close and way off, Boyd and Blackwell - one of three high-major duos to average 18.5 ppg this season - weren't producing.

Boyd was 2-for-9 in the game's opening 29 minutes, while Blackwell was 6-for-17 after nearly 34 minutes, saved only by a layup with four seconds remaining in the first half and two quick threes that gave UW a 49-46 lead at the 18:17 mark.

Like clockwork, with the deficit growing to as many as 12 points, both of them started to come alive.

Boyd scored 10 straight UW points from the 10:03 mark to 7:37, the latter on a fast-break layup that cut the deficit to seven. He kept driving, finding gaps in Illinois' slightly patchwork defense without junior starter Andrej Stojakovic and converting layups and high shots off the glass.

He tallied 25 points, including 19 after halftime and nine in the final 7:56 of the game. He also added five assists with 0 turnovers in 39 minutes of action, becoming the only Badger since at least 2004-05 to tally at least 25 points, five assists, and turnovers against a top-10 team on the road.

"He's won everywhere he's been, and that's why he wanted to come to Wisconsin," Gard said. "He's as competitive an individual that I've been around in a while."

Blackwell missed a chance to clinch the win in regulation for the second game in a row, but he hesitated on his three-point shot from the top of the key, and it glanced off the side of the rim. He also dribbled the ball off his leg with 1:05 to go in overtime, missed a turnaround jumper in the paint with 17 seconds left that Nolan Winter rebounded, and missed a free throw that would have given UW a three-point lead before Illinois' desperation heave.

But Blackwell kept grinding and finished with 24 points, going 5-for-11 from 3-point range, to score in double figures for the 10th straight game.

He attempted three layups from 5:23 to 4:24 remaining, making two of them, and forcing Illinois to respect his dribble penetration. That allowed him to twice pass out after driving into the lane to a wide-open Austin Rapp (18 points), who buried both shots to either tie the game or put UW ahead in the closing seconds of regulation.

Of UW's 25 points scored in the final 8:34, Boyd and Blackwell had a hand in 22 of them.

"When it was time to close the gap and time to close the game," Gard said, "that combo together is a heck of a backcourt."

Offensive glass changed the game

Illinois is the tallest team in the nation, with an average height of 79.5 inches (Kenpom). It's not a surprise that the Illini are tied for first nationally with six players averaging at least four rebounds, outrebounding 20 of 24 opponents, and ranking sixth nationally in rebounding margin (+10.6).

Statistically, Illinois won the rebounding battle with a 38-35 edge. Those who watched the game know differently, considering UW's critical edge on the offensive glass.

Wisconsin secured 14 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points. It was the most offensive rebounds against Illinois in more than nine years. Just as important, UW limited Illinois to eight offensive rebounds.

Illinois shot 53.3 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three, and averaged 1.286 points per possession, but lost because UW was able to extend possessions and get 16 more shots.

UW had nine offensive rebounds in the first half, allowing them to stay within six of Illinois in a half where it shot 37.8 percent. The Badgers' four offensive rebounds in the second half yielded three points, but Winter's overtime rebound was the biggest of all, one that bounced off several players before winding up in Winter's hand and him using UW's last timeout.

The possession ended with Braeden Carrington's two made free throws and a four-point lead that would hold up.

"We kept fighting," Blackwell said. "Things like that happen when you keep fighting. The basketball gods are going to reward you when you keep fighting."

In this moment… calling a timeout is such a veteran move by Winter

Allowed Carrington to make both free throws at the line to make it a two possession game.

Wisconsin gets a MASSIVE W. It’s the little plays that help you win games pic.twitter.com/2U2oBCSTVy
— Brandon Meeks (@MeeksKnowsBall) February 11, 2026

UW did enough to disrupt

With an elite scoring freshman, size on the interior, and bigs who can shoot threes, Illinois has plenty of offensive weapons that can make a head spin. It's why the Illini are first nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, averaging more points per 100 possessions (130.6) than Wisconsin's national runner-up team 11 years ago (129.0).

That doesn't bode well when Wisconsin missed 11 consecutive shots in a row early in the second half, allowing Illinois to build a 12-point lead and build momentum.

Shooting 60 percent for the game at the eight-minute mark, Wisconsin started to switch some things it was doing to defend ball screens and tweaked personnel to do a better job of keeping rollers to the post.

The result was the Illini going 2-for-5 in the final eight minutes of regulation with only one layup attempt and 3-for-9 in overtime.

"I thought we did a good job fighting the catches," Gard said. "We deflected a couple. We got some backside deflections on lobs. We just were able to disrupt them and keep them out of rhythm."

Like many Big Ten teams are finding out, Keaton Wagler is a handful. Taking advantage of a number of switches to get favorable matchups, Wagler had a game-high 34. The next highest scorer was Tomislav Ivisic with 19, who had 17 in the first half and went 4-for-5 in the paint.

The UW staff laid down the challenge to the forwards to closer faster on the 7-1 center. The response was more physical and limited him to 1-for-4 in his final 18 minutes on the floor.

As a result, Illinois' points in the paint dropped from 18 in the first 20 minutes to 14 in the final 25.

"We have another gear on their closeout," Gard said. "We can get there faster. I thought we were better, for the most part, more physical on our drives. We only used three team fouls in the first half. I didn't think we were quite physical enough on drives. If you can keep the ball out of the paint, it minimizes how much you can come off of him."

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