Notes: John Blackwell's scoring puts him in elite Wisconsin Badgers company

MADISON, Wis. - Team and individual notes from Wisconsin's 85-73 win over Northwestern, improving the Badgers to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play.

Team notes

The Badgers have now won their Big Ten opener in seven of the last eight seasons dating back to the 2018-19 season.

UW is now 8-3 in conference openers under Greg Gard.

Wisconsin has won five straight over Northwestern and improved to 127-67 alltime against the Wildcats, including 13-5 under Gard.

Wednesday's 12-point win marked the Badgers largest victory over NU since a 68-51 (+17) win on 2/21/21.

The start of Big Ten play was evidently the spark that Wisconsin needed. The #Badgers delivered a dominant offensive performance in the first half to set the tone for an 85-73 victory over Northwestern https://t.co/xCgDguBXkU
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) December 4, 2025

Gard is now 218-119 (.647) at Wisconsin, including a mark of 118-77 (.605) in Big Ten play.

Gard celebrated his birthday on Wednesday and is now 4-1 in games played on his birthday as head coach of the Badgers: W, 90-70 vs. Oklahoma 12/3/16, W, 69-64 vs. Rutgers 12/3/18, W, 80-77 (ot) at Marquette 12/3/22, L, 64-67 vs. Michigan 12/3/24, and W, 85-73 vs. Northwestern 12/3/25.

Wisconsin's .605 conference win percentage in the Gard era (since 2015-16) trails only Purdue (.704) and Michigan State (.659) for best in the best Big Ten during that span.

Gard's 60.5 Big Ten win percentage matches Purdue's Gene Keady for the 11th-best alltime (min. 100 wins).

The Badgers are averaging 86.9 ppg, which ranks sixth in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin went 11-for-31 from 3-point range on Wednesday. The Badgers are averaging 11.0 3FGs per game, which ranks second in the Big Ten behind only Nebraska (11.3) and 22nd nationally.

The Badgers have made double-digit triples in five games this season, going 5-0 in such games.

Wisconsin scored 18 fast break points, marking the fifth-straight game in double figures. The Badgers are averaging 15.9 fast break points per game, which ranks third in the B1G behind Michigan (16.9) and Michigan State (16.0).

UW turned it over just seven times and is now averaging just 10.1 turnovers per game on the season, which ranks sixth in the Big Ten.

The Badgers had 0 turnovers in the first half, marking the sixth time in school history UW has played a half without a giveaway. UW's first turnover didn't come until the 13:45 mark of the second half.

Wisconsin went 18-for-21 (85.7 percent) at the FT line to bump its season clip up to 141-for-177 (79.7 percent), which ranks second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.

The Badgers' 55 first-half points are the team's most since scoring 55 in opening half vs. Arizona last season (11/15/24). UW has scored at least 50 in the first half three times this season (52 vs. NIU, 51 vs. Providence.

JB, you can't be serious 😱

Blackwell's up to 26 points after the crafty and-one

UW 72
NW 49

12-minute media TO

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/yJaK3Ww9bu
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 4, 2025

Individual notes

Junior John Blackwell finished with his first double-double of the season (third of his career), totaling 26 points and 11 rebounds.

Blackwell surpassed the 1,000-point threshold with a 3-point FG midway through the first half and now owns 1,014 career points.

Blackwell reached 1,000 points in 79 games, making him the ninth-fastest Badger to reach that mark over the last 40 years.

Fastest to 1,000 Points (since 1985)
Games Player (Seasons) Total Points
1. 59 Michael Finley (1992-93) 2147 (2nd)
2. 64 Tracy Webster (1992-94) 1264 (25th)
3. 71 Trent Jackson (1986-89) 1545 (9th)
4. 72 Alando Tucker (2003-05) 2217 (1st)
5. 73 Danny Jones (1987-89) 1854 (5th)
6. 75 Ethan Happ (2016-17) 2130 (3rd)
7. 76 Rick Olson (1983-86) 1736 (8th)
8. 76 Devin Harris (2002-04) 1425 (17th)
9. 79 John Blackwell (2024-26) 1,014 (51st)
10. 88 Sam Dekker (2013-15) 1363 (21st)
11. 91 Nigel Hayes (2014-17) 1857 (4th)

Blackwell scored at least 20 first-half points for the second consecutive game, totaling 21 in the opening half against TCU and 23 vs. Northwestern.

Blackwell tallied 20+ points for the fouth time this season and the 13th time in his career.

Blackwell converted 5-of-10 attempts from distance, posting his third game with at least five threes this season. Entering this season, Blackwell had only one 5+ three performance in his career (6 vs. Iowa, 1/3/25). Blackwell is now 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) this season.

Graduate student Nick Boyd scored 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting and a 5-for-6 clip at the stripe. He also dished four assists.

Boyd has scored in double figures in all eight games this season, including five games with 20+.

Boyd still ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring this season, averaging 20.9 ppg.

Junior Nolan Winter registered 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and logged a 4-for-4 clip at the line. Winter reeled in 4 rebounds. He scored in double figures for the sixth time this season and the 23rd time in his career. UW is 18-4 in such games.

Sophomore Austin Rapp tallied 13 points, aided by a 3-for-6 clip from deep. Rapp has scored in double figures in 5 of 8 games as a Badger, averaging 10.5 ppg on the season.

Senior Andrew Rohde tied a career high, dishing out 9 assists, his most as a Badger. It marked the fourth game of his career he achieved the feat.

Freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas made his first career start, becoming the first freshman to start a regular-season Big Ten game for Wisconsin since Connor Essegian during the 2022-23 season. He finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds across a career-high 20 minutes of action.

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