What stood out from Wisconsin basketball's 104-83 win over Providence
Wisconsin men’s basketball faced Providence in round one of the Rady Children’s Invitational. Here’s what stood out from the Badgers’ win over the Friars.
The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team needed a strong response more than it needed another holiday tournament win.
After getting run out of the gym by BYU, the Badgers walked into the Jenny Craig Pavilion and looked like a completely different group. They played faster, tougher, and looked sharper in almost every area that got exposed in Salt Lake City, dominating Providence 104–83 in the semifinals of the Rady Children’s Invitational to move to 5–1 on the season.
If the BYU loss was a hard reset for the Badgers, this felt like a glimpse of what this version of Wisconsin looks like when it leans into its identity.
Wisconsin’s offense hung 104 points, its highest non-conference output since 1995, and tied a program record with 40 3-point attempts, knocking down 14 of them. The Badgers averaged 1.30 points per possession, turned it over only eight times, and finished plus-seven on the offensive glass. They also flipped the script in transition, piling up 32 fast-break points and holding Providence to 83 on 1.064 points per possession.
San Diego State transfer Nick Boyd went nuclear, Austin Rapp authored the bounce-back game he needed, and Nolan Winter quietly stacked another double-double on top of what has already been a strong start.
So what actually matters coming out of this one? Here’s what stood out from Wisconsin’s win over Providence.
Nick Boyd Was a Menace
If you were waiting to see what Nick Boyd is capable of, this was it.
The 6-foot-3 senior point guard completely controlled the game. He finished with 36 points on 15-of-25 shooting, hit 4-of-9 from deep, grabbed seven rebounds, and handed out seven assists without a turnover. Wisconsin outscored Providence 32–14 in transition, and a lot of that started with Boyd deciding he was done walking the ball up the floor.
Every time Providence tried to poke the bear, Boyd answered with a run. He made a concerted effort to get downhill and did his work in the paint, but kept them on their toes with his willingness to shoot from distance.
What jumps out is how clean the possession profile looks when he plays like this. As a team, Wisconsin attempted 40 threes, but they were largely generated out of drive-and-kick situations, not just standing around the perimeter. Boyd’s ability to turn a defensive rebound or a steal into an immediate advantage is something that this program simply hasn’t had.
He is now averaging 22.0 points per game and sits near the top of the Big Ten scoring charts, but it is the blend of tempo and decision-making that changes the ceiling of this group. If this is the version of Boyd that shows up against other high-major opponents, Wisconsin’s offense becomes a lot more difficult to scout and a lot harder to hold down for 40 minutes.
Boyd has now hit double figures in all six games for the Badgers this season and already has four performances with 20-plus points. Although the sample size is still small, it’s becoming clear that he was a major hit in the transfer portal and the latest in a growing line of one-year rentals who’ve stepped into this system and produced at a high level right away.
Austin Rapp Delivers Much-Needed Response
There was no getting around how rough the BYU game was for sophomore forward Austin Rapp. Rapp scored two points on zero made field goals, hauled in zero rebounds, and committed two turnovers, which is the type of line that sticks with you for all of the wrong reasons.
But Rapp showed Greg Gard the type of mental toughness he wants to see.
Against Providence, Rapp played with an edge from the opening tip. The hustle plays came first, and everything else followed. He finished with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, grabbed eight boards, and blocked three shots in 31 minutes, easily his best all-around performance as a Badger.
The sequence at the end of the first half helped show why Rapp can be a huge weapon in this offense when attention diverts elsewhere. With Wisconsin starting to create some separation late in the first half, Rapp rattled off three straight triples, all assisted by Boyd, to stretch the lead to 19 and allowed them to take a comfortable 51-32 lead into halftime.
When Rapp is rebounding, contesting at the rim, and shooting with confidence, he gives them a forward who can stretch the floor in ways that open everything up for Boyd, Winter, and John Blackwell. When he’s passive, that element disappears, and they become much easier to guard.
On the season, the Australian native is averaging 11.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, and he has now scored in double figures in four of six games. The efficiency is starting to tick upward. And that matters, because this staff already knows exactly what it has in Winter. He’s a reliable, ascending big man who hasn’t come close to his ceiling yet.
What they need is for Rapp to be the complementary piece that fills in the gaps. With his shooting, his passing, and the way he can stretch defenses, he unlocks parts of the offense that nobody else in the frontcourt can. But he also has to impact the game in other phases, so Wisconsin doesn’t have to lean so heavily on Aleksas Bieliauskas or Will Garlock to fill those minutes. After the most forgettable performance of his young Wisconsin career, this outing was a step in the right direction.
Nolan Winter Keeps Stacking Double-Doubles
Lost a little in the Boyd-and-Rapp show was the fact that Winter quietly put together another really impressive performance.
The junior big man finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, pulled down 10 rebounds, and notched his fourth double-double in six games. Wisconsin scored on all four possessions where he created second-chance opportunities, turning his four offensive boards into nine points. The Badgers are now 18-4 in games where Winter reaches double figures in scoring. He is also one of a handful of players in the Big Ten averaging double-digit rebounds, and when Winter plays with this kind of physicality and effort, everything else on the floor clicks into place.
Winter entered the offseason knowing he’d need to be a more physical presence in the paint, and he backed that up by putting on weight and adding strength under Jim Schneider in the weight room. Providence offered a matchup where you could see that hard work translate in real time.
The 7-footer hasn’t found his rhythm from deep yet this season, shooting just 17.6% from three (3-for-17), but that piece isn’t something I’d sound the alarms over. He’s been a reliable shooter in the past, and history suggests those numbers will stabilize. Zoom out, and you can see a very clear blueprint emerging for how Wisconsin wants to beat good teams.
They finished with a 43–36 rebounding edge and doubled up Providence on the offensive boards (14–7). They turned defense into offense with 10 steals and 18 points off turnovers. They took care of the ball and maintained their identity as a high-volume 3-point team, but those 40 attempts came inside a structure that also produced 32 points in the paint and 32 on the break. That type of balance is what Gard wants to see.
On a night where Winter and Rapp combined for 39 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, and four blocks, while Bieliauskas and Garlock contributed more modestly with five combined rebounds, one block, one steal, and one point, it underscored that Wisconsin has two frontcourt anchors they both want and need to lean on. And in this matchup, those two delivered.
Emptying the Clip
A few more things worth noting coming out of the win over Providence:
• It was another uneven outing for Blackwell. He finished with 11 points on 2-for-10 shooting and went just 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.
If you’re looking for something encouraging, he did go 6-of-8 at the free-throw line, added four rebounds and two assists, and didn’t turn it over. Still, with Boyd emerging as the primary offensive weapon, things have looked a little off-kilter for Blackwell. I’m not remotely concerned about what he’ll be long-term, but Blackwell’s still figuring out how he fits into this new offensive equation. Even with double figures in five of six games, he hasn’t quite delivered in the exact way many expected early on.
• Tip of the cap to Jack Janicki. The redshirt sophomore snapped out of his offensive slump in a big way, scoring nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting, all of which came from beyond the arc. He also chipped in an offensive rebound, an assist, and a steal in 20 minutes. Wisconsin desperately needs its bench to supply some scoring punch, and seeing Janicki shoot with confidence again is a meaningful development.
• Another fun moment for Isaac Gard. He knocked down another 3-pointer in the closing minutes and continues to be a fan favorite every time he checks into the game. The team rallies behind him, the fanbase loves him, and Isaac keeps cashing in those garbage-time opportunities.
He’s now up to eight points in just six total minutes this season, with two rebounds, an assist, and the second-best offensive rating on the team at 155.2. Just a genuinely fun story all the way around.
• It was a quiet but impactful game from Andrew Rohde. Rohde scored four points, handed out four assists to just one turnover, and added two rebounds and three steals across 25 minutes. Offensively, Wisconsin would love to see some growth as a spot-up shooter. He’s sitting at 29.2% from three to start the year, but the low-usage glue-guy stuff is still there. Rohde’s feel, his positioning, and his ability to stabilize possessions make him an important piece even when the scoring isn’t doing the talking.
What’s Next:
Next up for Wisconsin men’s basketball is TCU (4–2) in the Rady Children’s Invitational championship game, and it’s going to provide a very different type of test for Gard and his coaching staff.
Jamie Dixon coaches the Horned Frogs, and while their offense has some limitations: they don’t take great care of the ball, and they’re not a strong perimeter shooting team, their defense is their backbone. TCU enters the matchup ranked No. 34 nationally in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, and they’re built to make teams work for clean offensive looks.
For Wisconsin, that means the No. 17-ranked offense will have to continue valuing the ball, handling pressure, and manufacturing good looks in the half-court. It’s another data point against a contrasting style, and another chance to see how sustainable this team’s offensive identity really is.
For now, though, Wisconsin did precisely what it needed to do in San Diego: respond, bring the fight to their opponent, and remind everyone that one ugly night in Salt Lake City does not have to define them.
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