John Blackwell scored 31 points and Nick Boyd added 21 as No. 24 Wisconsin pulled away for a 96-64 victory over Campbell on Monday night in the season opener for both teams in Madison, Wis.
Campbell, which trailed by 15 early in the second half, rallied within 67-62 on two free throws by Chris Fields Jr. with 8:39 remaining.
Blackwell then scored eight of Wisconsin’s next 11 points to trigger a 15-0 run. Nolan Winter’s dunk put the Badgers in front 82-62 with 3:48 left.
Wisconsin has eight newcomers from the team that went 27-10 last season and lost to BYU 91-89 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Blackwell, the Badgers’ top-returning scorer at 15.8 points per game, hit 10 of 19 shots, including 6 of 11 beyond the arc. Boyd, a senior transfer from San Diego State after three seasons at Florida Atlantic, hit 7 of 15 shots.
Winter, a 7-foot junior forward and Wisconsin’s other returning starter, had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Rapp, a sophomore transfer from Portland, added 13 points.
Wisconsin, which led the nation in free throw shooting last season with 82.6 percent, hit 17 of 19 free throws. The Badgers scored 31 points off 19 turnovers and had a 46-32 advantage on points in the paint.
DJ Smith, a graduate transfer from Robert Morris, led the Fighiing Camels with 23 points.
Campbell, 15-17 last season, hit just five of 19 3-pointers, including four by Smith. Fields added 13 points.
Smith’s 3-pointer put Campbell up 16-11, but the Camels went more than six minutes without a field goal as the Badgers went on a 14-1 run. Jack Janicki’s 3-pointer from the right corner put Wisconsin up 27-15.
Smith was fouled when he hit a deep 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer and added the free throw to pull the Camels within 48-38 at the half.
–Field Level Media
