Wisconsin Badgers keep enhancing their NCAA Tournament resume after beating Iowa

MADISON, Wis. - News and notes from No.24 Wisconsin's 84-71 win over Iowa at the Kohl Center Sunday, improving the Badgers (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) to 10-8 in Quad 1/2 games and keeping hold of their sixth-place position in the Big Ten standings.

Team Notes

The Badgers have won at least 19 games in 25 of the last 28 seasons dating back to 1998-99.

With their 11th Big Ten win, the Badger shave now clinched a winning conference record. Wisconsin has had a winning record in 23 of the last 26 seasons (dating back to 2000-01), three more than second-place Michigan State.

With Iowa slotted 25th in the NET rankings, Wisconsin tallied its fifth Quad-1 win of the season.

The Badgers are now 14-2 at home this season and are 29-4 at home games over the last two seasons.

Wisconsin owns an all-time record of 388-75 (.838) in the building - the 10th-best all-time home record in the country among active venues.

Quick Recap: Nick Boyd helped No.24 Wisconsin get its swagger back, as the senior's flirting with a triple-double helped the #Badgers pull away from Iowa in the second half in an 84-71 victory. https://t.co/qIfO1gLZlF
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 22, 2026

Wisconsin is 137-38 (.783) at home under head coach Greg Gard.

The Badgers have won seven of the last eight games against Iowa, leading the all-time series with Iowa, 92-86.

Wisconsin holds a 57-30 advantage in Madison, winning each of the last five and nine of the last 11 home meetings.

The Badgers are 18-5 all-time against the Hawkeyes at the Kohl Center, which opened in 1998.

Greg Gard improved his overall record to 232-125 (.650) with a mark of 128-82 (.610) in Big Ten play

Gard ranks 18th on the conference's all-time wins list and his 61.0 win percentage ranks eighth among Big Ten coaches of the last 40 years (since 1980).

Best Win Pct, B1G Coaches w/50+ Wins (since 1980)
Coach, School (Years) Record Pct.
1. Bo Ryan, WIS (2002-15) 172-68 .717
2. Bob Knight, IND (1972-2000) 353-151 .700
3. Tom Izzo, MSU (1995-) 371-176 .678
4. Thad Matta, OSU (2005-17) 150-78 .658
5. Matt Painter, PUR (2005-) 250-133 .653
6. Mark Turgeon, MD (2015-21) 82-50 .621
7. Gene Keady, PUR (1981-05) 265-169 .611
8. Greg Gard, WIS (2016-) 128-82 .610

Wisconsin scored 84 points, improving to 17-0 when scoring at least 80 this season.

Wisconsin trailed by as many as nine in the first half and by one at intermission, before rallying to win. The Badgers are now 5-7 when trailing at halftime this season.

After allowing 41 points and 56.0 percent shooting in the first half, UW limited the Hawkeyes to just 30 points and 41.2 percent shooting (2-15 3FGs).

The Badgers shot 53.8 percent from the field, marking the team's seventh game hitting at least 50 percent, going 7-0 in such games.

The Badgers turned the ball over just eight times in the win, improving to 16-2 on the season with 10 or fewer TOs.

Wisconsin hit 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range in the victory. The Badgers are now 10-1 when shooting 40.0 percent or better from 3-point range.

UW went 18-for-20 (90.0%) from the free throw line, the Badgers' fourth time over 90 percent in a game this season.

On the year, Wisconsin ranks fourth in the Big Ten shooting 77.4 percent (442-571) at the FT line.

Final #Badgers Scoring
Nick Boyd 27 (career-high 10 assists), Nolan Winter 18, Austin Rapp 14, John Blackwell 13, Andrew Rohde 6, Aleksas Bieliauskas 4, Hayden Jones 2.

Wisconsin shot 53.8 percent, including 10-for-24 from three and 18-for-20 from the free throw line.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 22, 2026

Individual notes

Graduate student Nick Boyd tallied 27 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, coming just one rebound short of the 4th triple-double in school history. (Ethan Happ 2x, Josh Gasser)

Boyd's 10 assists were a career high, surpassing his previous high of nine vs. Rutgers (1/17/26).

Boyd is the first Badger with 10+ assists in a game since Ethan Happ had 11 vs. Northwestern on 1/26/19.

Dating back to the 2004-05 season, only four other Badgers have posted at least 10 dimes in a game: Happ (2x), Nigel Hayes, Jordan Taylor and Josh Gasser.

Boyd notched his 17th game with at least 20 points, which ranks second in the Big Ten (Northwestern's Nick Martinelli - 19). He reached 25+ for the seventh time this season.

Boyd went 8-for-9 at the FT line and is now shooting 130-for-160 (81.3 percent) at the stripe this season.

Nolan Winter tallied 18 points, going 8-for-11 from the field while adding five rebounds. Winter has now scored in double figures in 22 games this season and 39 for his career.

Winter went 6-for-8 on 2-pt attempts. He's shooting 112-for-158 (70.9%) from inside the arc this season, which ranked third in the nation entering the game.

Junior John Blackwell finished with 13 points, backed by a perfect 8-for-8 clip from the line. Blackwell has now scored in double figures in 13 straight games, the longest such streak of his career. He reached double digit points for the 21st time this season and 65th time in his career.

Sophomore Austin Rapp scored 14 points, going 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Rapp scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and 34th time in his career. UW is 10-0 when Rapp tallies 10+.

Rapp has connected on 4+ triples five times this season.