That was more than just a tale of two halves. That was two completely different basketball games before and after halftime.
The Wisconsin Badgers, who found themselves down 20 points in the first half, completed a second-half comeback against the Minnesota Golden Gophers to win 67-63. The Badgers, down 35-17 (!) at halftime, tied the school record for the largest second-half comeback in program history. In doing so, they earned their 11th straight win over the Gophers, setting a new program record.
But let’s be honest, that 11th-straight win over Minnesota looked like a pipe dream in the first half. The Badgers were simply abysmal on both sides of the game against a motivated but shorthanded Gophers squad. Wisconsin did not make a two-point shot until Nick Boyd hit a layup right before the first half buzzer. On defense, the energy level was nonexistent as the Gophers attacked the paint, connecting on six three-pointers in the first half.
Whatever Greg Gard said at halftime, which probably peeled some paint off, worked, as the Badgers played with much more tenacity on defense and shot an amazing 70 percent from the floor in the second half to complete the comeback.
Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s comeback win over Minnesota.
John Blackwell
Blackwell solidified himself as a Gophers villain in the 2025-26 season. The junior guard finished with a team-high 23 points, including 18 in the second half, and tied Nolan Winter for a team-high seven rebounds on Wednesday night. Late in the game, with the Badgers holding a one-point lead, Blackwell hit this dagger three-pointer.
Blackwell hitting a clutch three-pointer against Minnesota? Where have we seen that before?
Nick Boyd’s second half
Boyd brought the energy and effort in the second half that Wisconsin sorely lacked. The transfer guard scored 21 points against Minnesota, but 19 of those points came in the second half.
Boyd got the comeback started early in the second half with two three-pointers to cut the Gophers’ lead to 10. He eventually gave the Badgers the lead in the second half with a floating jump shot to make it 51-50 with just over six minutes left in the game.
Niko Medved
Let’s give Medved some credit: he got his Minnesota squad, ravaged by injuries, to compete hard in Madison and outplay the Badgers in the first half.
The Gophers, without leading scorer Cade Tyson, frustrated the Badger offense by collapsing the defense in the paint whenever a Badger player drove into the lane. The Gophers might be in good hands with Medved at the helm.
