All Badgers

Tempo is the key tonight when the Wisconsin Badgers play at the Minnesota Gophers

Wisconsin and Minnesota sit at 3-2 in the Big Ten entering tonight's conference matchup at Williams Arena.
Benjamin Worgull|
Mar 5, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) celebrates his basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Williams Arena.
Mar 5, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) celebrates his basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Williams Arena. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

In this story:

Wisconsin Badgers

Looking for a sweep of its two-game road trip, and fresh off beating No.2 Michigan for its first true road victory over the season, Wisconsin heads across the St. Croix River to take on Minnesota at Williams Arena tonight.

Here is a look at both teams and a prediction for tonight's contest.

Wisconsin (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) vs. Minnesota (10-6, 3-2 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Tuesday, January 13, 6 p.m.
Arena – Williams Arena
TV – BTN (Dave Revsine and Shon Morris)
Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch)
Coaches - Greg Gard at Wisconsin (224-122 in his 11th season). Niko Medved (First season, 232-179 in his 12th overall season)
Series – Wisconsin leads 110-104; Minnesota leads 70-39 in Minneapolis.
Point Spread – Wisconsin -1.5

Wisconsin probable starters

2 Nick Boyd (6-3 Senior Guard, 19.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.4 apg)
7 Andrew Rohde (6-6 Senior Guard, 6.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg)
25 John Blackwell (6-4 Junior Guard, 18.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
31 Nolan Winter (6-11 Junior Forward, 14.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.7 apg)
32 Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10 Freshman Forward, 4.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.8 apg)
Off the bench
0 Braeden Carrington (6-5 Senior Guard, 5.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)
5 Jack Janicki (6-5 Sophomore Guard, 2.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg)
22 Austin Rapp (6-10 Sophomore Forward, 9.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
23 Will Garlock (7-0 Freshman Center, 1.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Player to watch
Bieliauskas scored a career high 17 points at No. 2 Michigan and was 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. He is only the fifth Badger freshman to hit 5 three-pointers in a single game since 2000 and the first since Connor Essegian did so on Feb. 5, 2023.

Minnesota probable starters

1 Isaac Asuma (6-3 Sophomore Guard, 10.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.3 apg)
3 Bobby Durkin (6-7 Junior Forward, 8.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.7 apg)
5 Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (6-8 Junior Forward, 12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 apg)
6 Langston Reynolds (6-9 Senior Guard, 10.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.8 apg)
10 Cade Tyson (6-9 Senior Guard/Forward, 21.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Off the bench
2 Grayson Grove (6-9 R-Freshman Forward/Center, 3.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 apg)
4 Nehemiah Turner (6-10 Sophomore Forward, 0.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.3 apg)
9 Kai Shinholster (6-5 Freshman Guard, 2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Player to watch
Tyson has reached double-figures in all 16 games this season and, against USC, added his ninth game with 20-plus points (two with 30-plus). He ranks second in the B1G in scoring with 21.7 points, ninth nationally, while his 325 points rank first in the B1G and 11th nationally.

Series notes

UW has won nine straight against Minnesota and 18 of the last 20 meetings. Wisconsin is 14-2 overall against Minnesota under head coach Greg Gard.

The Badgers have won four straight and eight of the last nine at Williams Arena since 2015.

UW has won 18 in a row when scoring at least 55 points vs. Minnesota. The Gophers have topped 70 points in just one of the last 20 meetings (78-76 UW overtime win in 2017).

The first 99 years of the rivalry may have belonged to Minnesota, but it has flipped dramatically since the turn of the century: 1900-1998: UW was 72-95 (43.1 percent). 1999-present: UW is 38-9 (80.9 percent).

UW's roster features four players from Minnesota: senior Braeden Carrington (Brooklyn Park), junior Nolan Winter (Lakeville), sophomores Jack Janicki (White Bear Lake) and Jack Robison (Lakeville).

Wisconsin notes

UW has collected 16 wins over AP top-10 opponents in 11 seasons under Gard. Of those 16 top-10 wins, nine have come away from home. Saturday was UW's sixth top-10 road win under Gard, tied for the most in the nation.

UW has a 118.8 offensive rating per KenPom, which would be the sixth-best mark in school history since 1997.

UW have made double-digit three-pointers in nine contests, going 8-1 in such games.

Wisconsin is shooting 76.5 percent from the foul line, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten Conference and 36th nationally. That mark is the fourth-best clip in school history.

Minnesota notes

Minnesota had two players remain with the team from the 2024-25 team in Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove. Asuma saw significant time as a freshman last year when he averaged 24.7 minutes and averaged 5.6 points as a rookie. Grove redshirted the 2024-25 season.

Minnesota holds the league’s third-best scoring defense, allowing 66.1 points. The Gophers also rank third in steals per game (7.4).

Minnesota continues to share the ball as it ranks first nationally in assist rate at 75.6. The Gophers had 19 assists in 24 field goals vs. USC. Over the past five games, Minnesota has had all five starters average double-digit points and has recorded 105 assists on 126 makes.

In the loss to USC, it marked the seventh time this season in which four or more Gophers have scored double-digit points in a game and the fifth time in the last six games. Minnesota is 6-1 when four or more Gophers score in double digits.

Prediction

Braeden Carrington sat from the bench at Fiserv Forum are realized the Badgers' reserves needed to do more. Sitting in street clothes nursing a hip injury didn't help, but Carrington saw the four players off the bench scored a combined two points in over 38 minutes. The lack of production, or trust from the coaching staff, cause Gard to role with a starting five where four players were on the floor for at least 36 of the 45 minutes.

"For winning, we can't have that happen," said Carrington, referencing the overtime Villanova loss. "We took it upon ourselves that we had to be more valuable to the team. Whether it's creating for open people or hitting open shots when it's there for us, we need to find a way to help out the starting five because it can't just be put on them every game."

Things have changed for the better int he five games since. The bench has averaged 23.4 points per game. Part of that was Wisconsin giving 75 points from its reserves in a two-game stretch against Central Michigan and Milwaukee, but a lot has to do with freshmen Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, and Will Garlock becoming more comfortable on the floor.

That's allowed Wisconsin to continue sustain its free-flowing offense, where multiple guards can run sets and push tempo rather than rely on one point guard to start the action. Wisconsin's much talked about offensive makeover has seen the Badgers steadily ramp up the pace for the last three years.

After ranking 337th in adjusted tempo in Wisconsin's 2023 NIT season, averaging 63.6 possessions per 40 minutes, the Badgers averaged 65.5 (304th) in 2024 and 68.0 (148th) last season. Currently, UW is averaging 71.0 possessions per game to rank 61st nationally, its highest ranking in the KenPom era (2002).

UW scored on 38 of its 71 possessions against Michigan and averaged 1.282 points per possession in its three-point upset.

It's the exact opposite with the Gophers. When Niko Medved was at Colorado State, the Rams averaged between 65.4 and 66.1 possessions over his last four season. His move to the Big Ten has slowed him down even more, as the Gophers' 63.7 possessions per game rank them 348th nationally.

Keeping the game at or below 70 possessions has worked for Minnesota at home in conference play. Indiana (63 possessions) couldn't get into an offensive rhythm and lost by nine, and USC (29 in the second half) watched a 14-point lead get slowly whittled away.

Iowa (70) is fine playing at a slower pace, but the Gophers smothered Bennett Stirtz in the first half (0 points) and held the Hawkeyes to .957 points per possession.

The fact that Wisconsin went on the road and beat one of the toughest teams in their arena is a huge shot of confidence in the arm. It feels like UW is rolling with some newfound momentum. It's doubtful they are going to hit 10 threes in a half like they did at Michigan, but the Badgers have enough veterans on their team to grind through a likely ugly game at The Barn.

Prediction: Wisconsin by 7
Worgull's Prediction: 13-3 (8-8 ATS)
Points off Prediction: 163 (10.2 ppg)

More Wisconsin Badgers News:

Published
Benjamin Worgull
BENJAMIN WORGULL

Benjamin Worgull has covered Wisconsin men's basketball since 2004, having previously written for Rivals, USA Today, 247sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, the Janesville Gazette, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

Share on XFollow TheBadgerNation
Home/Basketball