The No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers blew out the Northern Illinois Huskies 97-72 in a dominant performance on Saturday, getting off to a strong start and never looking back.
Playing at the Kohl Center yet again,
the Badgers never trailed on Friday evening, putting together a complete game from start to finish behind a strong showing from transfer point guard Nick Boyd.
Boyd finished with a career-high 25 points, three assists, and three rebounds while shooting 8/16 from the field. In addition, John Blackwell added 15 points, while Nolan Winter had 12 in the victory.
With the win, Wisconsin improved to 2-0 following its 96-64 win over Campbell in the season opener, showing two quality performances to kick off the season.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers 97-72 win over Northern Illinois on Friday.
Fast start
Last year, the Badgers struggled with slower starts before settling in as the game went along, thanks to an experienced team with veteran leadership.
With a new-look team that features eight new faces, the Badgers were bound to deal with some chemistry issues early in the season as players figured out how to play with each other.
That was the case early against Campbell, as Wisconsin had a slow start on both sides of the ball, trailing 11-4 after the first few minutes before settling in with an onslaught of points to end the half.
Against Northern Illinois, however, the Badgers started fast and never trailed in the dominant win. Andrew Rohde started things off with an early three on Wisconsin’s first possession of the game. From there, the Badgers started the game on a 12-2 run, forcing a pair of turnovers (including a shot clock violation), while scoring on each of their first five possessions.
We’ve seen through two games that when Wisconsin’s clicking, they’re going to be a tough team to beat. They showed that from the beginning on Friday, setting the tone in the win.
Boyd shines
John Blackwell was the star of the show in the season opener, scoring 31 points on an efficient 10/19 from the field. But, Nick Boyd was right behind him, scoring 21 points on shots all at the rim or at the free-throw line, as he constantly looked to attack.
On Friday, it was Boyd who was the team’s leader, getting off to a hot start in the first half while jumpstarting Wisconsin’s tempo. That was seen on the first two possessions, as Boyd set up Andrew Rohde’s first triple, then got a steal and a fastbreak layup to put Wisconsin up 5-0 early.
After that, Boyd had his first three of the season to put Wisconsin up 10-2 and continued the scoring from there, putting up 20 first-half points on 6/11 from the field. He hit threes, got to the rim, and got to the free-throw line, showing off his speed in transition.
At one point, he had as many points as Northern Illinois, scoring 18 of Wisconsin’s first 39 as the Badgers got out to a 39-18 lead in the first half.
Boyd finished with 25 points, showing that he can handle the primary load if the game script calls for it. Just like that, Wisconsin has yet another strong 1-2 punch in the backcourt, just as it did last year with John Tonje and John Blackwell.
Balance
There’s a balance with this team, especially offensively at the moment, that has Wisconsin in a great spot with its new-look group early in the season.
The Badgers’ starting five may be one of the team’s best, talent-wise, in recent years, with all five players having the ability to create their own shot. While Boyd led the way on Friday, Blackwell still finished with 15 and Nolan Winter had another quality performance with 12 points.
Overall, the Badgers had an efficient offensive performance, shooting 49.2 percent from the field, while attempting 37 free throws. But, it’s not only the numbers that stand out. Against a smaller team, Wisconsin showed that it could dominate the paint once again and get to the free-throw line (21 first-half free throws!). But, it also showed the ability to hit threes in the first half, while pivoting when the triples aren’t falling in the second half
The Badgers got offensive rebounds once again and played quality enough defense, which will be an area that continues to grow as the team meshes more.
Right now, though, there is a good balance with this team offensively. Their ball movement is arguably the team’s biggest strength, while there’s good all-around talent in the starting five, where different players can carry the load. Then comes the depth of the bench, which plays to the team’s philosophy of efficiency with shots at the rim and beyond the arc.
There are some good signs from this Badgers team early, which we’ll continue to look for next week when they host Ball State on Tuesday night.
