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Blackwell's buzzer-beater lifts UW over Minnesota
January 13, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Junior guard finishes with 27 points, alongside 21 from Carrington
MINNEAPOLIS — Wisconsin men's basketball junior John Blackwell hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift UW over Minnesota, 78-75, on Tuesday night at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
The 6-foot-4 guard finished with 27 points on the day, going 8-of-14 from the field and 5-for-7 from the perimeter. Blackwell's dagger was the first buzzer-beater to win a game since Bronson Koenig hit a three-ball to send Wisconsin to the Sweet 16 over Xavier on March 20, 2016. For Blackwell, it's his seventh 20-point outing this season, and second such career performance against Minnesota.
Anyone else still shaking!?!? pic.twitter.com/LNoyHLP8v8
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 14, 2026
Former Gopher Braeden Carrington hit a UW season-high seven three-pointers, posting a career-best 21 points. He added five rebounds, two blocks and a steal off the bench. His seven treys were the most for a Badger in a game this season, and the second-most in program history.
Overall, four Badgers finished in double figures, including Nolan Winter and Nick Boyd. Winter notched his eighth double-double of the season, tallying 12 points and 11 rebounds. Boyd finished with 11 points, four assists and three boards. The grad student's prolific scoring season continued as he's gotten into double digits in every contest this year.
The Badgers started the game slowly, falling into a 35-28 deficit at the half. After falling behind as much as 11 points in the second period, Bucky regained the lead late thanks to a 16-2 run right before the four-minute media timeout. Braeden Carrington came alive during the stretch, hitting three-straight threes. The two sides battled down the stretch, before Minnesota hit a game-tying three-pointer with five seconds to go. Blackwell raced up the floor and fired from over 25-feet, lacing the winner as time expired. The 11-point deficit is the largest road comeback since a Feb. 16, 2002, trip to Minnesota, where UW dug out of a 13-point hole to win 67-62 in Minneapolis.
📁 Things you love to hear pic.twitter.com/rxmGGo1PID
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 14, 2026
Up Next: The Badgers return to the Kohl Center for a Saturday matinee with Rutgers. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network. Tickets are available here. The Scarlet Knights (9-8, 2-4 B1G) are coming off a thrilling 77-75 overtime win against Northwestern on Sunday. Leading scorer Tariq Francis dropped a season-high 30 points in the victory, improving to 15.3 points per game this year.
From the Court
UW Men's Basketball Head Coach Greg Gard
On the team's growth
"The one thing I've noticed with this group over the last bit -- it shows in the final ledger of games over the last three -- but really in the last 30 days is how they're growing together. I think our chemistry, not that it was bad, but we hadn't had time together. We hadn't had time in adversity together, and I think that's where you find out how much you have to grow. Credit to this group — we haven't been perfect by any stretch, but we have grown in our connectivenesses and our collective fight."
Junior John Blackwell
On his buzzer-beater
"All I thought about was my previous playing days, always when a guy has a shot to tie it up or to go up. The instant reaction, sometimes, for a player to do, is just drop your head and be like, 'dang, that's a heartbreaker,' when he hits that. When I swatted growing up, I was taught to go get the ball, keep your head up and get a shot up. So, that's what I did. I went to my go-to move, hesi[tation] three, and honestly, it looked good when it came off the hands."
Head Coach Greg Gard
On Carrington's career-night
"He's getting better, getting more comfortable in what we do. His competitive edge has risen and become more consistent. Another reason we really targeted him in the portal is that we felt we needed an experienced guard as a back up. I think our intuition has been proved so far to be right that we wanted some experience there. He's been around the block, he's played in this league, he's been to the other buildings in this league. He wants to win. I think that's all he asks about. 'I want to play, but most importantly, I want to win.' You have to have guys with that mindset in your locker room, regardless of where they come from or when they come."
