The Wisconsin Badgers won their 11th straight game over the Minnesota Gophers on Wednesday in a 67-63 nail-biter that saw them sweep the season series.
It was an ugly start for the Badgers, who were trailing by 20 late in the first half and went into halftime down 35-17. But a strong defensive start to the second half sparked a comeback led by Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who combined to score 44 of Wisconsin’s 67 points in the win.
The 18-point second-half comeback tied the largest in program history,
which was matched only three times before: vs. Indiana (12/8/21), vs. Ohio State (1/5/76), and vs. Marquette (12/4/48).
To do so, Wisconsin had to shoot a stellar 70 percent in the second half, while hitting nine threes in the period alone to outscore Minnesota 50-28.
The Badgers have made a habit of getting some comeback wins this year, including the past matchup against Minnesota, where they trailed 35-28 at halftime before coming back to win on a John Blackwell game-winning three. There was also the Michigan game, where Wisconsin had an amazing second half to steal one on the road.
More importantly, the win on Wednesday saved a huge blow on the Badgers’ resume, as they would’ve had a Quad 3 loss and likely been out of the tournament picture with a defeat. The Badgers did drop a few spots in the NET rankings to No. 43, but still are a part of the tournament picture heading into the weekend with a perfect 9-0 record against Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams.
Next up for the Badgers is a matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, which caps a three-game home stand before another week on the road.
