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Home > The Swing > No. 24 Wisconsin routs Ball State 86-55, moves to 3-0
Podcast: The Swing
Episode:

No. 24 Wisconsin routs Ball State 86-55, moves to 3-0
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2025-11-12 05:24:43
Description:

MADISON — Five players scored in double figures for No. 24 Wisconsin in an 86-55 rout of Ball State on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers were led by Nolan Winter’s 19 points and 10 rebounds. The junior collected the fifth double-double of his career in style with a put-back dunk to give Wisconsin a 29-point lead with 10:24 remaining. It was also his second in three games this season.

“It’s huge for me, personally,” Winter said. “I’m trying to get as many rebounds as I can for this team. You know, me as a seven-footer, I know that’s kind of my job. So having that mentality of every ball is mine when it’s shot, it’s kind of my thing this year. It’s what I’m going to carry out for the whole season. But, yeah, whatever this team needs, honestly, to win. And through three games, we’ve done a pretty good job of winning.”

Wisconsin got out to a great start, scoring 30 points in the first 9:13 of action and led by as many as 22. But some unforced errors and going cold allowed the Cardinals to get within 13 at the break. The Badgers reestablished their dominance early in the second half with balanced scoring from their starting unit and some solid minutes from Will Garlock, Aleksas Bieliauskas and Braeden Carrington. The game quickly turned into a blowout after that with Wisconsin’s lead ballooning to 35.

“The first 10 minutes, ball is moving, people are shooting with confidence, making that extra pass, (passing up a) good shot for a great shot. I think that’s when our offense is at its best, when we’re playing unselfish, playing confident, and moving the ball,” Winter said of the quick start. “Now it’s on us to have that carry over for the whole game. But, yeah, there’s a lot of firepower there. I think just carrying that over for the full 40 minutes, we got something special there.”

Nick Boyd finished with 12 points, while Carrington had 12 points and four rebounds off the bench. Austin Rapp (11) and Andrew Rohde (10) were also in double figures for the Badgers.

Greg Gard’s team did much of its damage from beyond the arc, going 14-for-38 on the day. The 38 attempts were the fourth-most in school history, with 23 of them coming in the first half when Wisconsin made just six. But the Badgers got some better looks after halftime and shot 53.8-percent from deep.

Turnovers were an issue for the Badgers, coughing it up 15 times. Seven of them came in the final 10 minutes of the first half when the Cardinals made their run to keep the game close at the break. Every starter had at least one, with Boyd and Blackwell posting three each.

“Honestly, just make better decisions, just don’t turn it over,” Boyd said. “It was kind of simple turnovers. Whether it was just them jumping in the passing lane, it was just kind of plays where I feel like we just got lackadaisical and they just took the ball.”

Ball State was paced by Elmore James’ 17 points, while Devon Barnes had 12.

The Badgers improved to 3-0 for a second-straight season. They will face SIUE on Monday.

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