The star backcourt of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell combined for 46 points as the No. 23 University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s basketball team defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) 94-69 Nov. 17 at the Kohl Center.
In what was Wisconsin’s fourth-straight victory against a mid-major opponent, the Badgers cleaned up some of the turnover issues that allowed opponents to hang around in the first three games.
Finishing the game with just four turnovers, Wisconsin dished out 19 assists on 29 made field goals as a team, generating good shots and making it difficult for SIUE to keep up offensively.
“It starts with the guards. Myself, JB [John Blackwell], Andrew Rohde, if we take care of it, everybody else follows,” Boyd said. “As long as we keep our turnovers down, stay focused throughout the whole game and not get loose with it, we’re a team that won’t turn it over much.”
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While the Badgers didn’t give SIUE many extra possessions, hot shooting allowed the Cougars to remain competitive for the entire first half and into the second half.
SIUE took an early 11-10 lead after an and-one from Myles Thompson, and Ring Malith made it 13-10 with a basket.
Shortly after, Austin Rapp lost the ball on a drive, surrendering the lone first-half turnover for Wisconsin, but Blackwell picked up the slack, tying the game at 13 with a 3-pointer. He finished the game with 24 points.
The 13-13 score held until the second media timeout of the half, but coming out of the timeout, Rapp and Rohde each knocked down triples, giving the Badgers a 19-13 lead.
Wisconsin was able to create some separation as SIUE failed to connect on 3-pointers for most of the half, making it a tall task to hold pace with the Badgers, who made eight 3-pointers in the half.
Eventually, Jordan Pickett hit two threes and Jo Valrie added another, helping the Cougars cut the lead to 40-37.
Shooting 57% from the field and 43% on 3-pointers allowed SIUE to keep the game tight, trailing by just seven at halftime, despite just one turnover and near-50% shooting from Wisconsin.
A basket from the Cougars’ Arnas Sakenis to open the second half cut the Wisconsin lead to 48-43, but Wisconsin responded well.
Boyd hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double digits at 55-43, then knocked down two free throws a few minutes later to cap a 16-0 scoring run, making the score 64-43. He finished with 24 points, leading the Badgers.
The lead remained less than 20 points for a decent part of the second half, but after an 11-4 run that featured an alley-oop dunk from junior forward Nolan Winter and 3-pointers from Boyd and Rapp, the lead had grown to 85-59, essentially putting the game away.
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For Wisconsin, the focus now shifts to a different group of Cougars, this time being the team which eliminated the Badgers from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, No. 9 BYU.
Richie Saunders is among the key returners from last season’s team that Wisconsin faced. He’s averaging 19.5 points through the first four games of the season. The Cougars are led in scoring by potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, AJ Dybansta. In his first four collegiate games, he has averaged 20.3 points.
The Cougars are loaded with offensive talent and will be looking to bounce back from a close loss to No. 3 Uconn Saturday, Nov. 15 in Boston.
“We’ll have our hands full, but it’s great for us, we need it,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said. “It’s a great opportunity this time of year to play a game like that against an exceptionally talented team, a quasi road game. But that’s why you do this, it’s what these guys want, these types of games, and so do I.”
As part of The Bad Boy Mowers Series, the rematch between the Badgers and the Cougars will be played at the Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, less than an hour drive from BYU’s campus. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 21, with streaming available on Peacock.