3 things that stood out from Wisconsin’s Senior Day win: Is the defense turning around?

Now, that’s how you end Senior Day at the Kohl Center.

The Wisconsin Badgers put forth their best defensive effort of the season and trounced the Maryland Terrapins 78-45. The Badgers held the Terrapins to a 30 percent field goal shooting percentage for the entire game, including allowing a mere nine three-pointers on 31 attempts. In addition, the Badgers forced 10 Terrapin turnovers and outscored Maryland 16-3 on points after turnovers.

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Unfortunately, Nolan Winter’s injury in the second half of the game cast a dark cloud over the game. The junior forward fell to the floor after hitting an impressive tip-in layup in the second half, writhing in pain with an ankle injury. Winter was assisted to the locker room without putting much, if any, weight on his left ankle. Thankfully, a Wisconsin spokesman announced that Winter is “day-to-day” with a lower-body injury.  With or without Winter, the Badgers will be in for a tough contest against Purdue on Saturday.

Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s win over Maryland:

Braeden Carrington

Once again, the Badgers’ super-sub does it again in his last home game. Carringotn led all Badgers’ scorers with 18 points off the bench, hitting 6-of-10 shots from the floor and 4-of-8 three pointers. I’ve been adamant that Carringotn belongs in the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year race, but now I think we need to put his name among the top transfers of the Greg Gard era.

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John Blackwell

After coming off a mere seven-point game out in Seattle against Washington, Blackwell had a much better performance against Maryland. The junior guard scored 14 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shots on Wednesday night. Blackwell admitted after the game that last year’s loss to Penn State at home left a horrible taste in his mouth and was determined to send the Badgers out as winners on Senior Day in 2026.

Isaac Gard

What a phenomenal way to end the home season in Madison. Gard, a seldom-used walk-on from Oregon and son of Greg Gard, hit one of the coldest three-point shots in the history of the Kohl Center right in front of his father.