We are just one day away from the start of March Madness, as the No. 5 seed Wisconsin Badgers will take on the No. 12 seed High Point Panthers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, with tip-off slated for 12:50 p.m. CT.
The Badgers are riding hot heading into the tournament, thanks to strong final six games, where they went 5-1 with wins over the Washington Huskies (2x), Purdue Boilermakers, and Illinois Fighting Illini. The lone loss came against the Michigan Wolverines, a top-three team in the country and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, by three points on a buzzer beater.
A big part of the success has been the dominance of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who have fueled the Badgers this season en route to being one of the best backcourts in college basketball.
Boyd, who was a second-team All-Big Ten selection, averaged 20.6 points and 4.2 assists this season for the Badgers, while Blackwell, a third-team All-Big Ten selection, averaged 19.0 points and 4.9 rebounds a game.
Both players set career highs in points during the Big Ten Tournament, and will be the keys for the Badgers if they make a run in the NCAA Tournament over the next few weeks.
Heading into March Madness, where do Boyd and Blackwell rank amongst the top players still playing?
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf ranked the Top 50 players in March Madness, slotting Boyd in at No. 20.
“Boyd has surged up this list in recent weeks, as the San Diego State transfer is operating at an incredibly high level on the offensive end down the stretch of the season,” Borzello wrote. “He had a fantastic performance against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament, scoring 38 points and dishing out six assists, and has scored at least 20 points in 15 of 21 games since the calendar turned to 2026. In Big Ten play, Boyd ranks fourth in scoring and 10th in assists, averaging 20.6 points for the season.”
Boyd ranks only behind Jeremy Fears Jr., Keaton Wagler, Braden Smith, and Yaxel Lendeborg among Big Ten players on the list.
John Blackwell, on the other hand, was not among the Top 50 of ESPN’s list, instead being named as an Honorable Mention.
But, if Wisconsin is going to make a run in March, they’re going to need both Boyd and Blackwell to continue performing at a high level, just as they did in the Big Ten Tournament.
