The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten) honored its four seniors as it drubbed Maryland (11-19, 4-15 Big Ten), 78-45, March 4 in Madison.
Junior guard John Blackwell has struggled as of late, and it was clear he was looking to break out of his slump. He scored Wisconsin’s first four points on two baskets at the rim but both teams struggled offensively early on.
At the first media timeout, Wisconsin led 6-2 and the two teams were shooting a combined 3-for-17.
Maryland was first to find an offensive rhythm as back-to-back Elijah Saunders 3-pointers and a layup from David Coit to take a 10-8 lead.
Blackwell provided the response for the Badgers and broke the seal, knocking down Wisconsin’s first 3-pointer of the night after it missed its first nine attempts.
A season ago, the Badgers suffered a disappointing loss on Senior Day to Penn State, which finished 17th in the Big Ten. Once again, facing the conference’s 17th-ranked team, Blackwell wanted to make sure Wisconsin started strong to send its seniors out the right way.
“I just thought, ‘come out being aggressive, being myself,’ and I know these guys are going to feed off it,” Blackwell said. “That [loss to Penn State] obviously affected how I was thinking about the game because that was a sour taste in my mouth.”
Feed off of Blackwell’s energy is exactly what the Badgers did. Shortly after his 3-pointer, senior guard Braeden Carrington knocked down a 3-pointer, then scored a layup to bring him to seven early points and the Wisconsin lead to 18-12.
Following the third media timeout of the half, Maryland came out in a zone defense, which was quickly dissected by the Badgers’ senior guards. Nick Boyd immediately hit a 3-pointer, then Carrington hit another to extend the lead to 25-16.
After starting extremely cold from a distance, despite heating up, it took Wisconsin a while to create significant separation. It wasn’t until there was just over two minutes to play in the half when the Badgers’ lead reached double figures.
Senior guard Andrew Rohde dropped a pass off behind him in transition to a trailing Carrington who knocked down another 3-pointer, bringing the lead to 30-18 and forcing Terrapins’ head coach Buzz Williams to call a timeout.
Wisconsin led 34-21 at the half, which was surprisingly disappointing to fans as a buzzer-beater 3-pointer from Carrington was waved off after review.
To begin the second half, Maryland drew first blood on a Guill Del Pino 3-pointer, but Wisconsin responded quickly with a 9-0 run capped by a Blackwell 3-pointer.
With the game out of reach for most of the half, the Badgers continued to knock down 3-pointers, highlighted by Carrington’s fourth of the night. The sharpshooter, fresh off a record-setting performance over the weekend, finished with 16 points in his final game at the Kohl Center.
Following a missed shot with about seven minutes remaining, junior forward Nolan Winter soared in for a putback to extend the lead to 63-34, but came down funny on his ankle and was helped off the floor.
Head coach Greg Gard was optimistic postgame that Wisconsin “avoided the worst” with the injury, but is awaiting testing to make any definitive statement.
Minutes after the injury-scare, the Kohl Center was brought back to life when the Badgers’ final senior, Isaac Gard, checked into the game. The senior guard joined the program as a walk-on and has become a fan favorite over his four years in Madison.
Students pleaded for Greg Gard to put his son in the game all night with “We want Isaac” chants, and when Isaac got his chance, he came through for the fanbase that raised him.
With one minute to play, after missing his first shot, Isaac, standing right in front of his dad Greg, launched a deep 3-pointer and drilled it. He then checked out of the game to a standing ovation, capping a special Senior Night in Madison.
“You couldn’t have scripted the end there, with him making the three,” Greg Gard said.
Now, awaiting word on Winter’s injury, Wisconsin turns its attention to a showdown with No. 15 Purdue on the final day of the regular season, Saturday March 7. The Badgers will look to spoil Purdue’s senior day in its final opportunity before the Big Ten Tournament commences next week.
