Recap: John Blackwell and Nick Boyd spark No.23 Wisconsin Badgers to a 94-69 win over SIUE

MADISON, Wis. - Senior guard Nick Boyd and sophomore guard John Blackwell are lightning rods of offense, able to individually create scoring in a multitude of ways from all three levels of defense.
Put them together and turn them loose, as Wisconsin so often does, and the Badgers' starting frontcourt are a handful to stop.

Blackwell's game-high 24 points and Boyd's 22 were the catalyst for No.23 Wisconsin in a 94-69 victory over SIUE Monday night.

Sophomore Austin Rapp added 15 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and an assist. Wisconsin finished its season-opening homestand 4-0, hoping to take that momentum into a neutral-site matchup against No.9 BYU on Friday afternoon in Salt Lake City.

It took a while for the Badgers to pull away, as SIUE cut the lead to five on the first possession of the second half, but a 16-0 run snuffed out any hopes of an upset.

Boyd helped the Badgers generate the separation. In a span of 80 seconds, the senior hit a corner three-pointer, throwing up an alley-oop pass to Rapp for the easy lay-in, and picking off a pass in the low post when UW unleashed a 1-3-1 zone out of a timeout.

Blackwell took the baton later in the half with a personal 8-0 run to extend the lead to 25.

Jordan Pickett had 12 points to lead the Cougars (3-2), which didn't get much offense from leading-scorer Ring Malith. The senior came in averaging 17.8 points and leading the team in scoring in SIUE's first four games but was held to six points that all came in the first 5:52 of game time.

UW's starting guards had 26 points at halftime, helping the offense go 8-for-21 from three-point range and average 1.5 points per possession, but the Badgers led 48-41 because the Cougars hit a bounty of tough shots, shooting 56.7 percent and going 3-for-5 from three in the closing five minutes. The shooting level out, as UW's defense held SIUE to 32.1 percent in the second half.

What it means: With the Badgers potentially facing two top-10 opponents in the next three games, SIUE gave them a stern defensive test. The Cougars entered the night in the top-20 nationally in scoring defense (13th, 58.3 ppg) and field goal percent defense (16th, 34.6 percent). Wisconsin responded by averaging 1.424 points per possession while holding SIUE to 32.1 percent shooting in the second half.

Star of the game: One can't go wrong picking either Blackwell or Boyd, but the latter was the big catalyst to Wisconsin gaining separation at the start of the second half. Boyd also finished with five assists, three rebounds, two steals, no turnovers, and drew the two biggest reactions from the crowd. His finish on coast-to-coast layup between two defenders was a thing of beauty, drawing oohs from the crowd as Boyd loudly slapped his hands together once getting back on defense. He later set up Nolan Winter for a thunderous alley-oop dunk.

Stat of the game: SIUE cut the lead to five on its first possession of the half. The Cougars have come up without a point on their next eight trips.

Reason to be Concerned: Greg Gard evidently needs a better spotter. He fell to 0-1 in coach's challenges in his career (a new perk for teams this season) unsuccessfully challenging an out-of-bounds call off Jack Janicki with 6:13 remaining.

Don’t overlook: Leading 52-43 early in the second half, Wisconsin extended a possession by Blackwell and Winter crashing the glass to secure offensive rebounds. Boyd halted the possession by drawing a foul and then drilled a three-pointer in the corner off a feed from Rapp to push the lead further.

What’s next: Wisconsin will play its first game away from home this season when it leaves Wednesday for the start of an 11-day trip out west, starting Friday against No.9 BYU in a neutral site in Salt Lake City. The Cougars (2-1) are coming off an 86-84 loss to No.3 UConn in Boston, in which starter Kennard Davis Jr. did not play following his arrest on suspicion of DUI and starting center Keba Keita left in the game in the first half with a concussion. Their status for Friday is unknown. Freshman AJ Dybantsa leads BYU in scoring at 20.3 ppg, following closely behind by senior Richie Saunders (19.5) and Baylor sophomore transfer Robert Wright III (17.8).

Saunders scored 25 points and seven rebounds in BYU's 91-89 win over Wisconsin in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin All-American John Tonje scored 37 points (a UW tournament record) but couldn't get a good look for the game-tying shot in the final seconds.

The tip is schedule for 3 p.m. central time and will be streamed on Peacock.

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