The Wisconsin Badgers are now 4-0 on the season with a 94-69 win over the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars on Monday night. It was another fantastic showing on offense for Wisconsin, as the Badgers posted their
third 90+ point game of the 2025-26 season.
Despite Wisconsin holding a 48-41 halftime lead, the Cougars created issues for the Badgers’ defense. SIUE ended the first half shooting 56.7 percent from the field, thanks mainly to the Cougars’ scoring 22 points in the paint.
While many of SIUE’s first-half shots were well-contested by Badger defenders, Wisconsin had to make defensive adjustments to take control of the game and avoid a big upset in Madison.
Here are three Badgers standouts from Wisconsin’s win over the SIUE Cougars.
2nd half defense
After the game, Greg Gard admitted to Brian Butch on the Big Ten Network that he was not thrilled with the Badgers’ first-half defense, and it’s easy to see why he was frustrated. SIUE averaged 1.242 points per possession and never allowed the Badgers to pull away.
That all changed after halftime.
The second half saw a much better defensive effort by Wisconsin, including a 1-3-1 zone look! The Badgers used a 16-0 run at the beginning of the half to make a five-point game into a rout. The Cougars never cut the lead into single digits for the last 17:25 of the game, as Wisconsin controlled the game the rest of the way, holding the Cougars to a mere 32.1 percent from the field.
John Blackwell
In the Badgers’ last game against Ball State, Blackwell scored only eight points. For the Badgers to avoid the upset, they needed Blackwell to be more aggressive on offense. He did just that, posting a game-high 24 points on 6-of-11 shots from the floor. Additionally, he was incredibly efficient from behind the three-point line, hitting 5 of 6 three-point attempts.
Nick Boyd
Tonight might have been Boyd’s best all-around game in a Badger uniform. The transfer from San Diego State finished with 22 points on 6-of-13 shots, with 12 of them coming in the second half. In addition, Boyd had a game-high five assists, three rebounds, two steals, and zero turnovers.
With the Badgers in control of the game in the second half, Boyd used his elite speed to race downcourt and finish this pretty layup off a Cougar turnover.
Tonight was the first time this season that both Boyd and Blackwell eclipsed 20 points each. It’s an excellent sight for Badger fans, and one of concern for Big Ten opponents.
