Overtime: Wisconsin Handles Central Michigan For 88-61 Victory

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin (8-4) collected its 18th consecutive home non-conference victory with a convincing 88-61 win over Central Michigan (4-9) on Monday. Following back-to-back losses, the Badgers got back in the win column by outscoring the Chippewas 48-33 in the second half, getting offensive production across the board, even with a key starter out.

“The old saying is, you never accept in victory what you wouldn’t accept in defeat,” UW head coach Greg Gard told reporters. “I’ll be just as critical with this tape as I was with Friday night’s tape. That’s my job to help them get better and continue to set expectations high.”

Hayden Jones Made His First Career Start

Wisconsin was without junior guard and second-leading scorer John Blackwell, who participated in shootaround but did not come out of the tunnel dressed with the team. Senior Braeden Carrington, who missed Friday’s loss to Villanova, was back in action.

Gard went with an interesting lineup change, going with true freshman guard Hayden Jones to start. After an early turnover, Jones settled in, going for six points (2-4) and four rebounds in 24 minutes. His first bucket came on a two-hand slam off a feed from Aleksas Bieliauskas.

“Hayden was a guy I wanted to continue to get more minutes, based on what I’d seen in practice,” Gard explained. “I think he has a really good feel for the game. He was gonna play a lot tonight regardless of where JB is at.”

Zach Kinziger Will Not Redshirt

In another surprising move, true freshman guard Zach Kinziger checked into the game with 13:37 remaining in the first half, thus ending any chance of a redshirt this season. In the first action of his career, Kinziger added six points (2-4) on a pair of triples.

“Earlier in the year, much like Hayden, he wasn’t quite ready,” Gard stated. “As practices have unfolded — how competitive he is. He’s gotten better at the speed of the game, how to play off two feet, how to read angles. He’s a little bulldog defensively. There was just a lot of positives.

“He earned his way in, regardless of where anybody else was.”

Wisconsin Got Contributions From Everywhere

Central Michigan was one of the worst defensive ballclubs in the country. What happened on Monday was not a surprise. However, Wisconsin needed to get its swagger back on the offensive end of the floor.

The Badgers did just that.

After a slow first half, the Badgers took care of business after the break. UW shot above 50 percent in both halves and had 11 players enter the scoring column, nine of which took place in the first half. The Badgers had three players reach double figures — Nolan Winter (18 points), Austin Rapp (18 points), and Nick Boyd (13 points).

Wisconsin averaged 1.38 points per possession without its second-leading scorer, scored on 59 percent of its offensive possessions, dished out a season-high 25 assists, and scored a season-high 44 bench points. Monday marked the first time since at least 2004-05 where UW had 25 assists and fewer than 10 turnovers.

“When we move the ball, we’re hard to guard,” Gard said. “When we don’t, we become much easier. “

Game Ball

A lot of different ways you could go on Monday, but I thought Winter was a tone setter early and got Wisconsin off on the right foot, though the Badgers couldn’t fully separate from Central Michigan in the opening 20 minutes.

Winter went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury with just under six minutes to play. Before then, the junior forward posted 18 points (6-9), eight rebounds, two assists, and one block. Winter also made some fantastic defensive plays to change and alter Chippewa shots that surely wiped away easy buckets.

Loved Winter’s cutting off the ball as well. With CMU bringing full-court pressure and trying to hound the UW guards, Winter made the Chippewas pay a few times with backdoor cuts off dribble penetration. Winter’s energy was evident from the opening tip for a group that desperately needs some.

“He was walking around,” Gard said of Winter’s status after the game. “He didn’t even know what happened. He said he’d be fine. We’ve got some time off here where he can get himself feeling good again.

“He was about ready to be done anyway. I was ready to pull him…He’ll be fine.”

Big Picture

It appears there might be a youth movement coming in Madison.

Gard didn’t need to start Jones over experienced players, Carrington, and Janicki. He also didn’t need to burn Kinziger’s redshirt on Monday — although Gard said he’s been considering playing Kinziger all season and really since the team returned from San Diego over the Thanksgiving break.

Jones played a career-high 24 minutes, and according to Gard, he was going to pretty much get that whether Blackwell was available or not. Now that Kinziger will not retain freshman eligibility in 2026-27, it makes little to no sense to keep him on the sidelines.

Beyond the Box Score

1.38: Wisconsin averaged 1.38 points per possession.

4: Four different players for Wisconsin had two assists in the first half.

4: Bieliauskas had a career-high four assists.

4:04: The Badgers didn’t miss three consecutive field goal attempts until the 4:04 mark of the second half.

5: Will Garlock collected a career-high five rebounds.

5:07: Central Michigan went scoreless for a period of 5:07 in the second half, the longest stretch for the Badgers since the season-opener.

9: UW used a 9-0 run to take a 19-11 lead in the first half.

9: Jack Janicki had a career-high nine assists.

9: Nine different Badgers scored in the first half as UW shot 59.1 percent as a team.

12: UW used a 12-0 run to blow open the game at 58-33 with 11:32 remaining. That spurt would extend to 25-3.

12:20: UW reached the bonus with 12:20 remaining in the game.

19: The Badgers were +19 on the glass despite CMU missing just seven more shots.

20: Carrington had a +/- of 20 to pace the Badgers.

25: The Badgers dished out a season-high 25 assists.

44: UW scored a season-high 44 points off the bench. The previous high was 29 against Northern Illinois.