Wisconsin blows out Penn State, 98-71, to push win streak to five

It's not often that the University of Wisconsin feels this good flying home from central Pennsylvania.

Figuring they would encounter a young, eager squad, the Badgers overwhelmed Penn State on both ends of the floor to register a 98-71 blowout over the Nittany Lions in State College Thursday night.

Five players reached double figures for the Badgers (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten), which pushed their overall winning streak to six games and their conference road winning streak to three.

FINAL: Wisconsin 98, Penn State 71

The most points the #Badgers have ever scored against PSU and the biggest margin of victory for UW at State College.

Five UW players hit double figures to give UW five in a row.

Easily one of the most dominant performances of the season.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) January 23, 2026

Delivering a blowout in this series has been rare. Only 10 of Wisconsin's 28 games on Penn State's campus had been decided by 10 points or more, and five of the last six meetings had been decided by no more than five points.

The 27-point victory is UW's biggest margin of victory at Penn State. The game was over quickly.

After needing six minute to settle in, Wisconsin's offense took all the energy out of Penn State's yearly return to Rec Hall. The Badgers made 15 of their final 24 shots, getting a boost from a locked-in Braeden Carrington off the bench.

The senior scored all 17 of his points (4-for-5 3FG) in 11 first-half minutes off the bench, doing the damage in the final 9:30 of the half when the Badgers were going on a 38-9 run.

John Blackwell also had 17 while Nolan Winter - listed as questionable before the game - registered his ninth double-double of the season (13 points, 10 rebounds) in just 24 minutes.

The only remaining winless Big Ten team, Penn State (9-10, 0-8) scored only six points and one field goal in the final 8:30 of the first half. Guard Josh Reed led all scorers with 18 points.

UW saw a 26-point led to Rutgers on Saturday getting cut to seven, as the Badgers sagged and lost their aggressive on defense. That wasn't the case Thursday. UW averaged 1.333 points on its first 15 second-half possessions and held Penn State to 2-for-9.

After just eight second-half minutes, head coach Greg Gard began to substitute out his starters. That group was efficient, too, building the Wisconsin's lead to as high as 37 points.

What it means: Penn State is typically not an easy place to play. After all, the Nittany Lions have already faced four of the league's top teams and had an average margin of defeat of 5.5 points. UW came ready to play, delivered some haymakers early that took the crowd out of it, and allowed the Badgers to cruise to the finish line with all their reserves on the floor.

Star of the game: Carrington looked as assertive with his shot as he had all season, shooting in rhythm and confidently stepping into and hitting deep three-point shots in the first half that build Wisconsin's huge lead and took Penn State and its crowd out of the game.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin outscored Penn State, 42-18, in the paint, as the Badgers went 16-for-25 at shots around the rim.

Reason to be Concerned: None.

Don’t overlook: The Badgers went to a 1-3-1 zone late in the first half, and Andrew Rohde almost took advantage by getting his right hand on a pass that sent the ball into the backcourt. He tried to save it but ended up gashing his chin on the floor and creating a bleeder. He returned in the second half with his chin bandaged and kept competing.

What’s next: Wisconsin will play three home games in seven days against bubble NCAA Tournament teams, starting on Sunday afternoon against USC. Starting the season winning 14 of 15 games, the Trojans (14-5, 3-5) have lost four of six. USC was dealt a blow when second-leading scorer Rodney Rice was lost for the year after six games, but guard Chad Baker-Mazara has been dynamic at 18.6 points per game while forward Ezra Ausar (16.2 ppg on 60.4 percent). USC hopes highly-touted guard Alijah Arenas, who made his debut Wednesday, can help fill in some of production lost with Rice's injury.

Wisconsin won the first meeting between the two as conference opponents last season in Los Angeles, as this will be the Trojans first visit to Madison since 1946. The tip is scheduled for 3 p.m. and can be streamed on Peacock.

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