Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard called John Blackwell and Nick Boyd “two of the best guards in the country” after his squad escaped Illinois in overtime, 91-88.
One day prior, Blackwell set a program record with 34 points against Washington in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. Now, Boyd topped that.
Boyd and Blackwell combined for 69 of the Badgers’ 91 points in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Now, they have a date with Michigan to determine who advances to the Big Ten Championship game on Selection Sunday. Of those 69 points, Boyd had 38 of them. The junior guard posted a career high with the dynamic effort.
A career-high for Nick Boyd!
No. 2 has 38 points today pic.twitter.com/82WHRvKz17
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 13, 2026
Boyd’s emotions were off the charts as he drilled all but one of his 13 free throws and was an astonishing 12-20 from the field.
Illinois’ two leading scorers combined to equal what Boyd did against a team Wisconsin has now beaten twice in overtime this season.
For what it’s worth, Blackwell’s 31 points are good enough to put him fourth when it comes to scoring for a single game in the B1G Tournament. The top four now exclusively consist of Blackwell, John Tonje, and Boyd, with all four of these performances coming in the last two years.
Boyd and Blackwell seem to be unstoppable, and they’re peaking at the right time. This marks Boyd’s third straight 20+ point game, but it’s only the third time he’s dropped 30+ this season. Now, he sits alone in the Badgers’ record book, as his 38 points are the most in a single Big Ten Tournament game in program history.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball Big Ten Tournament record Nick Boyd Illinois
