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Wisconsin has 3 wins over AP Top 10 teams since Jan. 10.
The latest came Friday night at home, when guard Nick Boyd poured in a game-high 29 points to lead the Badgers (18-7, 10-4 Big Ten) to a 92-71 win over the 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans (20-5, 10-4).
Boyd drilled 5 of his 7 shots from beyond the arc and hit 58.8% of his overall attempts, carrying over the deft shooting touch he displayed last Tuesday when Wisconsin upended Illinois in overtime. The New York native scored 25 that day, and following Friday night’s effort, he now has at least 20 in 10 of his last 12 games.
In a 91-88 win over then-No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 10, Boyd scored 22 points on 50% shooting from the field. He’s been on another level since the start of the new year, helping the Badgers to a 9-3 record since the calendar changed over.
But he got help Friday night. John Blackwell scored 24 points with 4 makes from 3-point range and 8 makes from the charity stripe. Nolan Winter also double-doubled for the third time in 4 games, finishing with 10 points and 11 boards.
Wisconsin held MSU to 36% shooting from the field and converted 9 turnovers into 21 points at the other end. UW also dominated the paint, outscoring MSU 28-14.
Michigan State shot just 10-for-32 in the opening half. That, combined with a scorching-hot start from Wisconsin from beyond the arc (5 straight makes), put the Spartans in an early hole they were never able to climb out of.
A 15-0 run from Wisconsin over the course of 4-plus minutes in the first half blew a 3-point game into an 18-point rout. The Spartans trailed by 17 at the break.
Wisconsin led by at least 15 points throughout the second half.
The Badgers, now just 1 game back of second-place Illinois in the Big Ten standings, visit Ohio State on Tuesday.
Michigan State hosts UCLA that same night.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.