Wisconsin
How Wisconsin’s small rotation showed encouraging depth in win over Iowa
Nick Boyd was ‘best player’ in Wisconsin Badgers’ win over Iowa
Nick Boyd was the ‘best player on the floor’ in Wisconsin’s win over Iowa, Greg Gard said in his postgame press conference.
MADISON – Wisconsin guard John Blackwell’s 3-pointer early in the second half against Iowa was somewhat routine, at least by Blackwell’s standards.
Teammate Nick Boyd found him with plenty of space against Iowa’s transition defense. Blackwell caught it and easily made the 3-pointer from the right side. It was his team-best 67th 3-pointer made so far in the 2025-26 season.
The more unique aspect was what happened in the 22 minutes of basketball preceding Blackwell’s 3-pointer – or more like what didn’t happen.
Blackwell, the Badgers’ second-leading scorer, had not scored before that. While that initially may sound like a negative, Wisconsin’s ability to remain competitive in a Quad 1 game against Iowa without contributions from its preseason all-Big Ten honoree was a sign of growth.
In Wisconsin’s previous games against Quad 1 opponents – the games with the most upside for an NCAA Tournament resume – the Badgers did not always show the ability to overcome a quiet night from Blackwell.
When the Badgers lost by 30 points to then-No. 22 Nebraska, Blackwell shot 1 of 11 (or 9.1%). When the Badgers lost by 28 to then-No. 10 BYU, Blackwell shot 3 of 13 (or 23.1%). On the other side of the equation, he shot 9 of 16 in the Badgers’ win over Michigan – the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY coaches poll at the time and still a top-three team.
In Quad 1 games where Blackwell makes at least six field goals, Wisconsin has gone 4-2. When Blackwell falls short of that mark against a Quad 1 foe, the Badgers are 1-5. The one exception was the Badgers’ recent victory over the rival Hawkeyes.
Those records could change, of course, as teams rise and fall in the NCAA’s NET rankings. (A Quad 1 win is against a top-30 team at home, top-50 team at a neutral site or top-75 team on the road.) But the proof of concept was there, nonetheless, for how the Badgers can win against top-tier competition, even when one of their best players are not playing at an elite level.
Wisconsin’s winning formula
It obviously lessens the burden when Boyd puts up 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds like he did against the Hawkeyes. He was one rebound short of the third triple-double in program history.
But Wisconsin’s winning formula when Blackwell is not hitting his shots extends beyond Boyd’s contributions.
“We’ve got some depth, and we’ve got some firepower,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the win over Iowa. “And I think we’ve got guys that have developed into the role.
“[Braeden] Carrington specifically. Obviously having [Austin] Rapp back in the lineup helps and gives us some more offensive punch.”
Carrington did not have much of an established role in December and early January, as the senior guard did not exceed 10 minutes in any game from Dec. 10-Jan. 6. But he has played more than 15 minutes in each of the 12 games since then.
Carrington’s perimeter shooting and defensive intensity have given the Badgers a major lift during those 12 games, which include when he hit seven 3-pointers in UW’s win at Minnesota that culminated with Blackwell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Rapp, a 6-foot-10 forward, came in with plenty of buzz as the reigning West Coast Conference freshman of the year. His early results did not necessarily match the early expectations, but he has shown significant improvement beyond just his perimeter shooting.
The Portland transfer now has a key role in the rotation, playing 20-plus minutes in the last four games where he was available. (He missed two games during that span with a pesky case of the flu.) He hit five 3-pointers in the Jan. 31 win over Ohio State, four 3-pointers in the Feb. 10 win at then-No. 7 Illinois and four 3-pointers in the Feb. 22 win over Iowa.
Even with improved contributions from players such as Carrington and Rapp, the Badgers do not necessarily have a deep rotation. Only seven UW players were on the floor for 10-plus minutes against Iowa, which was the first game after Jack Janicki’s wrist injury that required surgery.
Jones gets more time on the court
Gard has expressed optimism about freshman guard Hayden Jones, who earned more minutes in the Badgers’ loss at Ohio State in the immediate aftermath of Janicki’s injury. The New Zealand native was on the floor for seven minutes against the Hawkeyes.
“I was confident Hayden Jones would come in and not miss a beat,” Gard said after the Iowa win. “He brings a lot of size to the wing, and he played a little bit of four today in our small-ball group. He rebounds well. He’s got a great demeanor. He’s got some toughness to him.”
Jones’ opportunities were limited in the second half because of Blackwell getting “so much rest” amid foul trouble.
“John was so fresh,” Gard said.
The whole idea of Blackwell having a quiet night is becoming less common. The 6-foot-4 guard has shot 40% or better in five of his last six games, and he has scored 10-plus points in 13 consecutive games.
That coincides with Wisconsin’s five wins in its last seven games, lifting the Badgers from the NCAA tournament bubble to a comfortable at-large bid in seemingly every postseason prognostication.
“When he’s at his best, we’re at our best,” Boyd said of Blackwell earlier this season.
A 9-year-old child died Tuesday evening after drowning in a western Wisconsin water park.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says first responders were called to the Campfire Cove Aqua Park in Rural Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, around 8:15 p.m.
Though they attempted lifesaving measures, the child died at the scene.
The incident is under investigation, the sheriff’s office says.
A missing Wisconsin teen was found safe after mysteriously vanishing from home four years ago as her family had believed she was “lured away.”
Joniah Walker, 19, was safely discovered on May 25, the Milwaukee Police Department told WISN on Tuesday.
Police officials didn’t disclose where Walker was found or provide any further information on the case, including whether the teen was with someone else.
Walker, then 15, had disappeared from her Milwaukee home on June 23, 2022.
Walker’s mother, Tanesha Howard, said she last saw her daughter lying in bed when she left for work the morning of her disappearance, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“Joniah was lying in bed because she had just finished school. I went in to give her a hug before leaving for work,” Howard told the organization.
The mother and daughter duo had talked on the phone several times throughout the day before Walker “suddenly stopped responding.”
Walker was supposed to meet her father to apply for a summer work permit but failed to arrive at the designated time.
“He called me and said that Joniah wasn’t picking up her phone,” Howard said. “That is when I immediately knew something was wrong. I left work right away.”
A nearby ring camera captured Walker leaving the apartment complex at around 2:30 p.m. in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, a mile-and-a-half north of Downtown Milwaukee.
Video footage showed the teen carrying a large green backpack.
It was the last known sighting of Walker until she was reportedly found last month.
Howard believed her daughter had met someone online after she deleted her digital footprint and never returned.
“Somebody stole her…that was my first instinct,” Howard said. “But when I saw that she left with a big backpack that I had never seen, that’s when I knew. I was like, someone lured her away.”
The protective mother issued multiple pleas for her daughter to come home, begging Walker to “call me,” WISN reported in July 2022.
“She is my youngest daughter, so I always call her by ‘baby girl’ because that is exactly who she is, my baby girl,” she said. “She is what I would describe as a perfect daughter. She is angelic, soft spoken and very intelligent.”
Walker was one of the faces of a legislative push by Wisconsin State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) seeking to pass a bill to create a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force, according to Fox6 Now.
Stubbs says she believed Walker was still alive, telling Howard to hold out hope for her daughter’s return.
“I believed Joniah was still living, and I said that to her – I don’t believe Joniah is dead, it’s only a matter of time,” Stubbs told the outlet.
“I think right now, the family needs their privacy,” Stubbs added. “I know there are so many questions, but I think as time goes by when they are ready to tell their story, they will tell it.”
Wisconsin’s sports teams will have a fitting jersey patch on their uniforms this year.
The Badgers unveiled a Culver’s uniform patch in a new video on Tuesday.
The fast food restaurant, known for its ButterBurgers and Frozen Custard, was founded in Wisconsin and is beloved by those in the state. Now, Culver’s has partnered up with the state’s flagship university.
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