John Blackwell is the key to Wisconsin’s success in March

The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Washington Huskies 85-82 on Thursday, advancing to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, where they’ll face the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday, with tip-off slated for 1:30 p.m.

In the win, the Badgers got out to strong starts in both halves and even led by 18 with 13:23 remaining, but struggled down the stretch defensively, allowing Washington to bring it all the way down to one before Wisconsin got the job done at the end.

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Star guard John Blackwell was the one who came up clutch, hitting a needed jumper in the paint to put Wisconsin up three late in the game, which was good enough for the Badgers to secure the win. It was a vintage performance from Blackwell, who broke Wisconsin’s program record for the most points in a Big Ten Tournament game with 34.

In fact, Blackwell’s 34 points are tied for the third-most ever by a player, regardless of school, in the Big Ten Tournament.

All year long, we’ve heard and seen how dynamic Wisconsin’s star duo of Blackwell and Nick Boyd can be, with one being able to pick up the other when needed. They’re the key reason why Wisconsin has been able to beat teams like Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan State, proving to be one of the most dangerous teams in the country.

But it hasn’t been all sunshine for Blackwell, who went through a couple of cold spells this season, struggling to score efficiently at times. That tanked his field goal percentage down to 42.2 percent, as he’s shooting 46.6 percent only on twos.

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Through a 10-game stretch from late January to the end of February, Blackwell dealt with those inconsistencies, shooting just 38.4 percent from the field in that set of games. The Badgers guard cleared 46 percent from the field or higher just once in that period, and Wisconsin lost four games: USC, Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon.

When he’s struggling, you still see the good things. Blackwell continues to attack relentlessly, no matter the case, and he…

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Publish date : 2026-03-13 16:54:00

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