John Blackwell pulled up and drilled a 25-footer as time ran out to lift Wisconsin to a 78-75 win over Minnesota in a Big Ten matchup Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Blackwell’s teammates chased him for a lap around the floor to celebrate the dramatic end to the Badgers’ rally.
Blackwell finished with 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, to lead Wisconsin (12-5, 4-2). Braeden Carrington, who began his career at Minnesota, finished with a career-high 21 points off the bench while Nolan Winter added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Minnesota (10-7, 3-3). Cade Tyson scored 14 points and Langston Reynolds notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists before fouling out.
Wisconsin led in the final minutes until the Golden Gophers evened the score, 75-75, when Tyson squared his feet at the top of the key and made a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds to go.
The Badgers quickly regrouped. Blackwell dribbled the ball across halfcourt as the seconds ticked down, rose for a shot over a Gopher and watched it drop through the net as the buzzer sounded.
The shot prevented overtime on the road for Wisconsin, which trailed 35-28 at halftime and fell behind 41-30 after Crocker-Johnson’s 3-point play with 18:23 to go.
A turnaround jump shot by Tyson gave Minnesota a 57-52 lead with 10:42 to go, but Wisconsin responded with a 14-0 run.
Blackwell made a 3-pointer on the Badgers’ next possession to start the spree. Carrington followed with a 3-pointer to give Wisconsin a 58-57 lead with 9:36 remaining.
After a pair of free throws by Blackwell, Carrington made two more 3-pointers to punctuate the run. His shot with 7:27 left increased Wisconsin’s lead to 66-57.
The Gophers kept closing the gap, only for the Badgers to widen it again. A Nick Boyd free throw with 24 seconds left pushed Wisconsin’s lead to 75-72, which set up Tyson’s short-lived heroics.
The Badgers finished 14 of 33 from 3-point range while the Gophers hit 5 of 18 beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
