Boyd's career-day pushes UW past Rutgers

Saturday, January 17

Madison, WI

1 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

13-5,5-2Big Ten

Rutgers

9-9,2-5Big Ten

Rutgers

Wisconsin

Photo by: Ryan Dean

Boyd's career-day pushes UW past Rutgers

January 17, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score WATCH: Game Highlights Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)

Nick Boyd posts 32 points and 9 assists in win

By: Charlie Parent

MADISON, Wis. — Behind 32 points from grad student Nick Boyd, the Wisconsin men's basketball team raced past Rutgers, 96-87, on Saturday at the Kohl Center.

The 6-foot-3 point guard dished out a career-high 9 assists, while going 14-for-15 from the free throw line.

Junior Nolan Winter finished with 18 points, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. John Blackwell added 19 points, collecting 5 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists.

The two sides traded baskets early before the Badgers (13-5, 5-2 B1G) sparked an 11-0 run into the 16-minute media timeout, capped by two Blackwell three-pointers. Rutgers (9-9, 2-5 B1G) clawed back until Boyd went on a personal 8-2 run to extend the lead to double digits.

The Badgers expanded the lead to over 20 with an 8-0 run with 1-minute to play in the first. UW took a 51-29 advantage into the break thanks to a last-second Winter trey. Boyd finished the period with 15 points and 6 assists, while Winter had 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting.

The Scarlet Knights made a strong push to cut the lead under 10 with five minutes to play, before Boyd took over with six straight points. The Badgers didn't look back from there, using efficient free throw shooting late to secure their fourth-straight victory. UW finished 26-of-29 from the charity stripe on the day.

Up Next: Wisconsin will head east to take on Penn State on Thursday at Rec Hall. Tip is set for 6 p.m. on FS1 and the Badger Radio Network.

From the Court
Men's Basketball Head Coach Greg Gard
"We had a really good first 20 minutes, the second-half I need to look through the tape. Rutgers was more aggressive, so credit to them for not laying over and folding up. Nick Boyd was really good with his ability to attack, specifically against that defense: we were going to have to have people break them down, and he did that. Like I said, it was a really good first 20 minutes, and we'll get the the second 20 figured out."

Grad Student Nick Boyd
On his career-high assists
"Last game, I didn't feel like I got in the paint enough, I didn't create for my team enough. When I get into the paint, the defense will collapse, and these guys are always telling me 'when you get to the paint, play off 2 [feet], and find us. As we keep growing and growing together, I'm finding everything. Shout out to them just hitting the shots, and making me look good."

Junior Nolan Winter On the team's improvement "It's a lot of internal things that we've really improved on. Obviously, we're making shots and that's making us look a lot better, and we're getting wins, but internally our mindset has flipped ever since that game [loss to Purdue] to a more aggressive team, a more at-you team, rather than taking the first blow and getting on our heels early. On the flip-side, we're delivering that and we're getting teams on their heels first. Moving forward, if we continue to do that, we'll be in a good spot."