Nick Boyd had 29 points and John Blackwell added 24 to pace Wisconsin to a dominant 92-71 victory over No. 10 Michigan State in a Big Ten Conference matchup Friday night in Madison, Wis.
It was the second consecutive top-10 victory for Wisconsin (18-7, 10-4 Big Ten), which won at No. 8 Illinois 92-90 in overtime Tuesday. The Badgers are also the only team to have beaten Michigan, currently No. 2 in the country.
Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. The Badgers had 38 rebounds to match the Spartans, who entered second in the nation with a 13.1 rebound margin.
Wisconsin went in front 67-45 with 13:10 left on consecutive 3-pointers by Blackwell and Boyd. The Spartans (20-5, 10-4) got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way for their third loss in four games.
Coen Carr had 19 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 14 points, along with 12 assists on Michigan State’s 24 field goals. Fears entered No. 1 in the country with 9.1 assists per game.
Wisconsin, 13-2 at home, improved to 16-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points. The Badgers hit 15 of 35 shots from deep, improving to 15-2 when making at least 10 3-pointers.
Wisconsin had a 28-14 edge in points in the paint and 19-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Wisconsin hit 7 of its first 10 3-pointers to open a double-digit lead midway through the first half.
Austin Rapp drained a 3-pointer from the top left to cap a 15-0 run that put the Badgers up 32-14 as Michigan State went scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes.
Michigan State pulled within 36-27 by hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, the latter two by Jordan Scott (11 points).
Boyd capped a 20-point first half with his fourth 3-pointer to give Wisconsin a 51-34 lead at the break. The Badgers shot 57.6% in the first half, including 10 of 17 beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
