Zach Kinziger Makes Surprise Debut for Wisconsin in Win Over Central Michigan
MADISON, Wis. — Ahead of Monday’s 81-66 win over Central Michigan (4-9), Wisconsin (8-4) was uncertain about a pair of key guards — senior Braeden Carrington and junior John Blackwell. Carrington missed Friday’s overtime loss to Villanova, while Blackwell was dealing with an undisclosed injury and opted to sit out. Even if both were 100 percent, Zach Kinziger was going to see action on Monday.
While he had not appeared in any of UW’s prior 11 games, and appeared on track to redshirt, Kinziger checked against the Chippewas with 13:37 remaining in the first half. With the Badgers coming off back-to-back losses, head coach Greg Gard said he wasn’t necessarily looking for a spark — Kinziger has just improved that much since the start of the season.
“It’s not because of a deficiency from somebody else, per se, as much as Zach has earned (minutes),” Gard told reporters. “He’s a good player, and he’s gonna be a really good player here.”
Part of a big offensive night for the Badgers, Kinziger scored six points (2-4) and dished out two assists. His first career field goal came on a corner 3-pointer on a feed from sophomore guard Jack Janicki, who posted a career-high nine assists against CMU, with 10:03 remaining, and gave UW a 66-34 lead, prompting the Chippewas to use a timeout.
According to Kinziger’s teammates, they’ve been seeing this for the past few weeks.
“He’s cooking us,” said sophomore forward Austin Rapp, who had a game-high 18 points.
Kinziger, a former Rivals Industry four-star prospect, didn’t need much convincing to stay home and play for Wisconsin. The De Pere standout was the first player committed to Gard and the Badgers in the 2025 recruiting class, a pledge that took place just prior to Kinziger’s junior season.
A Mr. Basketball finalist and first-team All-State selection as a senior, Kinziger (6-3) has drawn comparisons to a number of former UW guards, including some of the toughest to ever do it in Madison — Josh Gasser, Zak Showalter, and Brad Davison, whose now on UW’s coaching staff.
“That competitive toughness. We’ve had so many guys who have helped over the years, when they’re young, have helped bring some of that too,” said Gard. “I think it’s really important you have some of those guys in your program, specifically guys who are homegrown.
“He bleeds Badger red through and through. He competes every single day, and he doesn’t have bad days.”
Kinziger played 13 minutes in his debut. Wisconsin was +16 with him on the floor.
“The kid’s a tough sucker,” Gard said. “Love how he plays. He brings some toughness, energy, and he’s a fierce competitor.”
“Just keeps getting better and better.”
Kinziger’s six points were part of a huge effort from the Wisconsin bench on Monday. The Badgers racked up 44 points from their reserves, the most for the program since at least 2006-07. UW also knocked down 13 3-pointers, the second-highest output of the season.
Although Blackwell’s injury isn’t expected to be serious and the Badgers already established the likes of Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Jack Janicki, and Hayden Jones as part of the guard rotation, it doesn’t appear Kinziger is going anywhere.
“In practice, he’s competing hard,” said Carrington, who added nine points off the bench. “He proved he can hold his own against us. Honestly, you see what he’s doing in there, he should be a starter. He’s putting up 20 points in scout. He’s really doing his thing.
“I’m definitely excited to see what he can continue to do and how he moves forward.”
