Wisconsin
Takeaways from Wisconsin's 116-85 win over Iowa
Takeaways from Wisconsin’s 116-85 win over Iowa
MADISON, Wis. – Admitting to having a case of tunnel vision during games, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard had no idea that the Badgers had set a new program record of 20 made three-pointers until the announcement appeared on the Kohl Center video board. No sooner did it appear than reserve point guard Camren Hunter hit three-pointer number 21, the final punctuation point to Wisconsin’s 116-85 victory over Iowa.
Not only were the 21 three-pointers a new Big Ten record, but the 116 points were a program record in a Big Ten game for Wisconsin (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten), not to mention the second-most points the program has scored in a game in its 126 seasons of basketball.
That kind of point total at Wisconsin would have been unthinkable as little as five years ago. Not this year to Gard considering the Badgers have built an offense with an analytical approach that has yielded dividends.
“When you’re following the plan of how we’ve tried to build this team and play, as we’ve made this offensive evolution, this is a byproduct of it,” said Gard, as UW shot 64.5 percent from the field and averaged 1.611 points per possession. “It’s part spacing. It’s part the talent of the players. You have five guys who can all shoot the three and they share the ball. They are really unselfish.
“All those things added together give you an opportunity to do something like this.”
In the last 25 seasons of Division 1 men’s and women’s basketball, only one team has scored at least 115 points by shooting better than 60 percent from the field, 65 percent from three, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Take a bow, Wisconsin.
Here are my takeaways from a record night at the Kohl Center.
Blackwell’s Confidence Is Growing
Sophomore guard John Blackwell doesn’t care what you label him – point guard, shooting guard, center, or whatever. In his words, he can do it.
Blackwell hinted that his game was turning a corner in the final weeks of 2024. After two rough Big Ten outings, resulting in too many turnovers and not enough high-quality shots, Blackwell had 10 assists and no turnovers against Butler and Detroit Mercy, all the while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.
He elevated himself against Iowa with a career-high 32 points, knocking down a career-best six 3FGs (6-for-10). He was effective in putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim (3-for-5 in the paint), pulling up for paint jumpers (2-for-3), or drilling shots from the perimeter. For the third straight game, Blackwell had five assists.
On UW’s decisive 19-2 run in the first half, Blackwell scored or assisted on 10 consecutive points to turn a close game into the beginning of a rout.
“He’s becoming more and more comfortable with the ball in his hands,” Gard said of Blackwell. “The last three games he has 15 assists to two turnovers, so he is seeing things faster and quicker earlier. I think he’s getting more comfortable in that role … He’s evolving as a player and when you surround him with really good players, we become much more difficult to cover and to guard because we got guys who can score at other positions.”
That balance was on full display against the Hawkeyes. Nolan Winter (18) and Steven Crowl (14) reached double figures in the frontcourt for the third straight game, while John Tonje quietly had 12 points, three steals, three rebounds, and two assists. Even the slumping Max Klesmit got going early with eight points, hitting two threes on passes from Blackwell.
“He wasn’t used to playing the point guard for us, specifically (last season) … but each game he’s gotten better,” said senior point guard Kamari McGee, who had 12 points (4-for-5 3FGs off the bench). “People may say he’s not a point guard. Honestly, in today’s game, there aren’t really any point guards. He’s just a good playmaker and a great scorer for us.”
Having scored in double figures in 12 of 14 games this season, Blackwell added eight rebounds and had a plus/minus ratio of +28.
“Whether it’s Jordan Taylor or Chucky (Hepburn), they’ve had good players at that position,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He’s maybe a little bit different or a combination of all of them, but he can score. He’s playing with pace. He’s got really good feel, and he’s powerful. He’s a tough cover.”
Gard said Blackwell has a quiet confidence about him. It’s evident that it’s growing by the game.
Defense Locks In After A Slow Start
Defense was optional for both teams through the first 10 minutes. Iowa started 6-for-9 from the floor and was 10-for-17 entering the under-12 media timeout. UW wasn’t far behind at 5-for-7 and 9-for-16, respectively, but were giving up open threes and easy looks in the paint.
The final 30 minutes were drastically different, as UW adjusted some ball screen coverages, were better in limiting its live-ball turnovers, and slowed transition opportunities by taking some better shots. The result was the second-highest scoring offense in the country at 89.7 points per game was 22-for-49 (44.9 percent) from that point on.
“Once we realized they were just coming in here to try and outscore us and they really didn’t care much about the defensive end, we took advantage of that,” McGee said. “We didn’t know we were going to shoot this great tonight, but we trust our teammates and trust our players. We know we can score the ball in bunches. All we had to play a little more defense than them and the game is ours.”
UW managed to curtail many of Iowa’s power scores. While the Badgers let Drew Thelwell score a season-high 25 points, the Badgers held Payton Sandfort (16.5 ppg) to 1-for-9 shooting. UW got Josh Dix under control after he went 6-for-8 in the first half, holding him to 1-for-4 after halftime.
Most importantly, the Badgers made Owen Freeman work. Freeman leads the Hawkeyes in points (17.1) and rebounds (6.5) and had two double-doubles against UW last year. The Badgers made Freeman work Friday, as he needed 11 shots to get 14 points and finished with just three rebounds.
“I thought we did a decent job of keeping the ball out of his hands,” Gard said of UW’s defense on Freeman. “We were able to stop dribble penetration for the most part. At times you got to pick your poison with them because they have so many shooters around him. There was a shift at times between do we need to squeeze and play him more with help or do we need stay attached to more shooters. We did a combination of both.
“The other end was make good offensive players work on the defensive end. I think our movement and our unselfishness, especially with our bigs putting pressure on the rim … could have an effect.”
Carter Gilmore Was An Unsung Hero
Every great team needs a player like Carter Gilmore. That was Gard’s message when asked about Gilmore’s impact on Wisconsin improving its defense in the first half.
With Wisconsin wanting to be more mobile at the four, the Badgers played Gilmore over 12 minutes in the first half and 22:41 for the game, using him as a spy in the paint and on the perimeter at times in certain matchups.
The results speak for themselves. When Gilmore wasn’t on the floor in the first half, Iowa was 8-for-11 from the field. The Hawkeyes were 11-for-21 when Gilmore was on the court. The numbers could have been a lot better. Thelwell made an acrobatic layup high off the backboard on a play where Gilmore played textbook defense. He also took a lowered shoulder from Freeman in the chest as he stood outside the restrictive circle, a play that likely would have drawn a charge call two years ago (and perhaps should have still) but was whistled for a block.
In the second half, Gilmore helped hold Iowa to 6-for-17 when he was on the floor.
“He can really quarterback a defense in terms of what he can talk about, how he plugs holes, how he covers up mistakes for others,” Gard said of Gilmore. “The really good teams have a guy like that who understands their role and thrive in their role and make their team better when they’re on the floor.”
By The Numbers
26 – Wisconsin had a season-high 26 assists on 40 baskets. The Badgers have had at least 15 assists in 10 games.
17.8 – Scoring in double figures for the ninth time this season, Winter has now scored 15+ points in four straight games and is averaging 17.8 ppg and 8.5 rebounds over that stretch.
64.5 – Wisconsin shot 40-for-62 from the field. That’s UW’s best clip in a Big Ten game since shooting 64.9 percent against Minnesota on 1/3/87. The last time UW shot better than 64.5 percent from the field was a 105-76 win over Arkansas State on 11/6/2023.
67.7 – The Badgers poured in 21-of-31 attempts from deep, their best mark when attempting 10+ threes since an 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) output in a win over Indiana on 2/25/2010.
1993 – Wisconsin scored 100+ points in a Big Ten for the first time since a 101-87 win over Northwestern on 2/3/1993. It’s the most points scored by a Big Ten since Iowa scored 116 versus Northwestern on 2/8/1995.
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MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – The Wisconsin DNR is reminding ATV and UTV drivers that more conservation wardens and county recreation deputies will be out this weekend.
The increase comes after new laws and regulations were put in place earlier this week.
Wardens and safety patrols will be monitoring risky behaviors, including speeding and operating while intoxicated.
Wisconsin has already seen 15 ATV related deaths this year.
Click here to download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2026 WMTV. All rights reserved.
Just east of the Capital City Trail crossing at the Yahara River, a nondescript warehouse rises on Madison’s west side. Its blank exterior offers no hint of what’s inside, and even the interior is not set up for glass cases and museum spotlights.
But its more than 180,000-square-feet of climate-controlled space contains the largest collection of North American history outside of the Library of Congress.
In all, the Wisconsin Historical Society holds 3.8 million print publications, 25,000 maps, 3 million images, 125,000 cubic feet of archival material and 750,000 historic and archaeological objects. Most are stored in the State Archive Preservation Facility, including the original Milwaukee Brewers Racing Sausages, one of the country’s first weather maps, traditional Ho‑Chunk baskets and comedian Chris Farley’s football jersey from Edgewood High School.
It’s a largely unknown, certainly underappreciated, Wisconsin treasure.
The archives are managed by the Wisconsin Department of Administration and operate in partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Typically, history is presented in a carefully curated way – edited in a textbook, displayed behind a rope, maybe protected under glass. But the archives are an uncurated mix, and in many ways a more accurate reflection of the jumble that is human life than the single storyline we try to make it out to be.
Here, history feels human and unfinished. Every box, aisle and rack holds items that come to life when someone pulls them out and shares their story.
“Without the stories, the passion behind them, the experiences of individuals, it’s just a desk or a chair, but it’s the stories that are there,” said Nick Hoffman, chief creative officer with the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Preserving film history at 40°F
As the heavy doors to the “cold room” on the second floor swing open, chilled air spills out. The room’s temperature holds at 40 degrees Fahrenheit with 35% relative humidity – the ideal balance to protect film and videotape.
More than 44,000 film cans sit packed inside, and despite Madison’s distance from entertainment hubs like Los Angeles and New York, this is one of the world’s leading collections of film and television history.
More than 300 manuscript collections include materials from figures such as Michael and Kirk Douglas, Agnes Moorehead, Rod Serling and Edith Head. The shelves hold Mary Tyler Moore’s full archive, materials from early talk show host Faye Emerson, and footage of the McCarthy hearings later used in a documentary by Emile de Antonio.
The oldest film in the archives − “The Lumberjack,” a 16-minute silent film shot in Wausau − dates back to 1914.
Many donors have no ties to Wisconsin. What binds the archive isn’t geography so much as the pull to preserve a legacy.
“It’s often about an individual,” said Jill Sterrett, chief collections officer.
History written in ink on paper
One of the country’s oldest newspaper collections resides on the third floor, including a July 10, 1776, edition of The Pennsylvania Gazette, with one of the earliest printings of the Declaration of Independence, as well as Frederick Douglass’ 1850s newspaper, and the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper published in a Native language.
The archives has the ability to bring people down to the individual level, then zoom out to show how an individual connects to a huge moment in U.S. history, Hoffman said. “That’s the scale that we have here,” he said.
In the early 1960s, for example, the Historical Society began collecting material from civil rights groups and activists, becoming a leading center for studying the American civil rights movement. Today, the archives hold hundreds of thousands of documents and recordings from the Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee. Highlander trained activists like Rosa Parks to organize and educate people, especially on voting rights.
That training partly shaped Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, which sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, said senior archivist Lee Grady.
One of the earliest weather maps by Milwaukee scientist Increase Lapham is also in the collections. Lapham made the map in 1868, reconstructing a storm from a decade earlier to show how weather patterns could be tracked. The map served as a proof-of-concept, Grady said, which helped prompt Congress to establish the National Weather Service in 1870.
The archives also have an ongoing, little-known interaction with the public. Grady said the Historical Society fields about 16,000 questions a year, mostly by email, on topics like land records, divorce filings, even whether a house is haunted. Family history requests are the most common, he said.
Racing Sausages, Freedom Desks, tribal baskets share space
About 100,000 objects share space in a cavernous room on the fourth floor.
The original, 7-foot-tall Milwaukee Brewers Racing Sausages tower around the first corner. Made with foam and rubber cement, they are being restored by the Historical Society before they go on display in the new Wisconsin History Center, which is scheduled to open in 2028.
Directly above the Racing Sausages sit “Freedom Day” school desks from Milwaukee. During Milwaukee’s 1964 “Freedom Day” boycotts, thousands of students left segregated public schools to attend alternative Freedom Schools in local churches.
Also on display are materials from the March on Milwaukee – the 200 consecutive nights of marching to protest segregated housing, led by the NAACP Youth Council and advised by the Rev. James Groppi.
Wedged in the middle of a nearby clothing rack is a bowling shirt from Earlene Fuller, a legendary Milwaukee bowler who became known for designing custom shirts, many featuring kente cloth and other African-inspired patterns. She broke down racial barriers in the sport, and was the first Black woman to bowl a perfect 300 game.
There’s also Rosie the Riveter coveralls made in Beloit and Jane Kaczmarek’s “Lucky Aide” smock from Malcolm in the Middle.
“These are telling the stories of everyday efforts to win World War II, to the stories that make us laugh,” said Leo Landis, director of curatorial services.
More aisles open up at the push of a button. Each aisle is arranged by when its contents were donated, a densely packed uncurated cross-section of memorabilia.
One aisle holds West Allis–born speed skater Dan Jansen’s Levi’s velour Olympic warm-up jacket from 1984.
A couple of aisles down are Ho-Chunk baskets, some that date back to the 1800s, weaving together more than a century of tradition.
Ancient canoes sit alongside the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
Downstairs, in one of the unassuming basement rooms, it’s hard to know where to look first.
The tightly packed space holds the original Oscar Mayer Wienermobile as well as a Culver’s sign from one of the first franchises, made from a repurposed Ford dealership sign.
There’s also a Packers helmet-shaped ice shanty built by Bill Casper of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, a nonprofit that promotes sturgeon conservation and celebrates Lake Winnebago’s ice-fishing culture.
But one of the most striking displays underscores how history is still being written.
Two dugout canoes raised from Lake Mendota sit soaking in a chemical bath. Discovered in 2018 and 2022, they have been dated to roughly 1,200 and 3,000 years old.
For the past year and a half, the canoes have been treated with polyethylene glycol, a resin that slowly fills the cells of the waterlogged wood. In about six months, Sterrett said, the canoes will be shipped to Texas A&M to be freeze-dried in a giant chamber, drawing out the water while letting the resin holding its shape.
Sterrett said the canoes, along with others found in Wisconsin lakes, are reshaping what people know about the region’s past climate and how people lived on and with the water.
Authority, access, audience engagement
The Historical Society is no longer just collecting items. It is rethinking ownership, renegotiating who defines history, and in some cases returning pieces and material.
That shift is visible in the “repatriation room,” where desks and shelves made from Menominee Forest wood help ground the consultations between the Historical Society and tribal nations on returning cultural items. Repatriation has expanded in recent decades, moving beyond compliance toward collaboration.
More broadly, archivists are rethinking access and engaging different audiences.
The state archives already operates an inter-archival loan system across University of Wisconsin schools. The Historical Society now is working to move records, such as family and land documents, closer to the communities they are tied to.
Anyone can access materials at the Wisconsin Historical Society headquarters on Library Mall on the UW-Madison campus. But the State Archive Preservation Facility is generally closed to the public, with tours offered just twice a year and some items coming out only for special events. When the Wisconsin History Center opens in early 2028, many items from the archives will be on rotating display.
As the leaders of this repository look to the future, they are convinced interest in history hasn’t waned. The key is letting people know what Wisconsin has, and making it available in a way that makes the most of it.
And as always, sharing all those great stories behind the archives.
As Sterrett said, “The risks of not sharing are far greater.”
New history center will increase access to archives
The new history center, slated to open in early 2028, will provide unprecedented access to the objects, entertainment and print products housed within the archives.
The Wisconsin Historical Society broke ground on its new $160.5 million center in 2025. The five-story, 100,000-square-foot building on Capitol Square in Madison will more than double the exhibition space of the previous history center.
When it opens, the center is expected to welcome 260,000 visitors each year. It will feature three core galleries, a rotating community gallery, rooftop terrace, café as well as educational spaces.
Caitlin Looby covers the Great Lakes and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact: clooby@gannett.com. Follow her on social media @caitlooby.
Caitlin is an Outrider Fellow whose reporting also receives support from the Brico Fund, Fund for Lake Michigan, Barbara K. Frank, and individual contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
This fundraising effort is made possible through our partnership with Local Media Foundation, a verified 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax ID #36-4427750) and EnMotive Company, LLC, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc. USA TODAY Co., Inc. is the parent company of this publication.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is made possible through our partnership with Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association, and EnMotive, LLC, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc. USA TODAY Co., Inc. is the parent company of this publication.
Manuel Franco claims his $768 million Powerball jackpot
Manuel Franco, 24, of West Allis was revealed Tuesday as the winner of the $768.4 million Powerball jackpot.
Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from June 2 drawing
15-26-43-48-60, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 2 drawing
Midday: 0-7-8
Evening: 8-5-8
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 2 drawing
Midday: 7-9-8-3
Evening: 4-4-7-5
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from June 2 drawing
Midday: 01-02-03-05-06-10-11-13-16-21-22
Evening: 02-05-06-09-10-14-16-18-19-20-21
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from June 2 drawing
06-13-26-28-30
Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from June 2 drawing
10-14-15-18-34-38, Doubler: N
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
- Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
- Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.
Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?
No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.
When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
- Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **
WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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