Wisconsin Badgers
Nebraska
Five Things to Know: Badgers battle undefeated Nebraska
December 08, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Bucky takes first roadtrip of Big Ten play
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team steps back into Big Ten Conference action as UW takes on Nebraska on Wednesday night. Tip in Lincoln is set for 8 p.m.
Fans can watch the action on BTN or listen to the Badger Radio Network as Matt Lepay and Brian Butch have the call.
LAST TIME OUT
The Badgers made a statement against Marquette on Saturday, defeating their in-state rivals 96-76 at the Kohl Center. John Blackwell had 30 points to lead all scorers while Andrew Rohde enjoyed his best game as a Badger with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
A pair of Badgers collected double-doubles as Nolan Winter had 13 points and 13 rebounds while Aleksas Bieliauskas posted 11 points and 10 boards to record his first career double-double. Nick Boyd also added 15 points to help UW to its biggest win over Marquette since 1952.
THE NATION'S BEST DUO
The Badger backcourt partnership of John Blackwell and Nick Boyd have combined for 41.2 points per game this season, accounting for 43.1-percent of the team’s scoring. They are one-two duos in the nation to each be averaging 20-plus points per game, accompanied by USC’s Rodney Rice and Chad Baker-Mazara, though Rice has only played six games.
Blackwell is one-of-three players in the country with three 30-plus point performances in the, and is the highest scoring high-major player in the month of December with 56 points.
Boyd has scored in double-figures in all nine games this season, and ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, overall. His five 20-plus point games are tied for second-most in the Big Ten, accompanied by Blackwell. No other team in the country has two players who each have five 20-plus point games.
COULDN’T YOU FEEL THE COLD?
Junior big man Nolan Winter has become Wisconsin’s anchor after running in tandem with Steven Crowl last season. Winter is up to a near double-double on the season, averaging 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds on 56.6-percent shooting. His five double-doubles on the season – including in Sunday’s win over Marquette – are tied for the most in the Big Ten, and fourth-most in the country.
The 7-footer’s athleticism has quietly grown over his last three years in Madison, highlighted by a significant increase in dunks. Winter is up to 15 slams on the 2025-26 campaign, creeping up on his total of 22 in 2024-25. The jolt comes on an identical usage-rating from last season at 19.2.
SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
UW has taken two of their last three meetings with Nebraska, including a 83-55 blow out in Madison on Jan. 26 last season. John Tonje dropped a game-high 27 points in that matchup.
The Cornhuskers come into the contest at a perfect 9-0 following a 71-50 rout of in-state rival Creighton on Sunday. Wisconsin will be Nebraska's first Quad I matchup, with their best win so far coming against Quad II foe Oklahoma. Nebraska has also pulled off notable wins over Kansas State and New Mexico.
Rienk Mast, who averages 17.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season. The 6-10 Dutch forward likes to stretch the floor, shooting a 43.1-percent clip from deep. He’s mainly supported by Pryce Sandfort (16.1 PPG) and Braden Frager.
CONVERTING FROM THE STRIPE
The Badgers continued their scalding hot form at the free throw line on Saturday, hitting on a 24-29 clip from the stripe (82.8%). The Badgers enter the new week at an 80.1-percent mark on the season, which leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the nation.
John Blackwell has led the way going 58-71 from the line, taking 30 more free throws than Wisconsin’s second-most player in Nick Boyd (41).
The success shouldn’t come as a surprise with Wisconsin shooting a Big Ten record 82.6-percent from the line last season. That mark was second all-time across Division I.
