As the long-standing college basketball maxim goes, you need great guards to win in March. So with one of the best backcourts in the country, the Wisconsin Badgers are feeling good about their chances for a deep run in this season’s Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
Nick Boyd and John Blackwell comprise that Badgers backcourt — the former a sixth-year senior in his first year in Madison; the latter a junior who has only ever played for Wisconsin. The former is a fiery lefty described as the heartbeat of the team; the latter a consistent defender and scorer described as the team’s best leader.
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Together, Boyd and Blackwell average 38.4 points a game and have helped the Badgers to a 22-9 record, capped by a 97-93 win at No. 15 Purdue on Saturday in the team’s final regular-season game. Wisconsin drained a record-breaking 18 of its 34 3-point attempts, the most made threes in a road game in school history. Twelve of those triples came in the first half, another record.
Roll the tape from yesterday's top-15 win at Mackey 📽️ pic.twitter.com/5GH6A5GEFS
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 8, 2026
The talented-yet-complementary backcourt pair combined for 48 of Wisconsin’s 97 total points (23 for Boyd, 25 for Blackwell) in Saturday’s win. It marked the Badgers’ third consecutive road victory over a ranked opponent, another program first, and pushed them into the final AP top-25 poll before Selection Sunday at No. 23.
After the game, Boyd took to social media to tweet out a prayer to God, thanking Him for an enjoyable season in his final year of eligibility.
Dear God, Thank you for every opportunity in this regular season. Thank you for great health, thank you for my teammates and staff. We’ve been through the good and bad times together and never wavered but pulled even tighter together because of YOU Lord. In Jesus name, Amen! pic.twitter.com/9iYd7b4O77
— Nick Boyd (@NicholaswBoyd) March 8, 2026
Boyd is Wisconsin’s leading scorer, pouring in 20.1 points per game to go along with 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds. The Garnerville, New York, native began his college career with Florida Atlantic in the COVID-riddled 2020-21 season. After redshirting the following season, Boyd was a starter on the Cinderella FAU team that advanced all the way to the Final Four in 2023.
He spent one more year with the Owls before transferring to San Diego State last year, where he made his third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. He will be dancing once again this March with Wisconsin, a program where his game — and his faith — has truly blossomed.
“My consistency this year has been due to the fact of just reassuring myself and constantly remembering what I can do in a game, and obviously just leaning on God more and just being confident,” Boyd, whose points-per-game average has improved by nearly seven this season, told WMTV in Madison last week.
His faith in Christ has long been part of how he’s approached the game. FAU’s dream run to the Final Four almost didn’t happen, until Boyd hit a game-winning layup in the Owls’ opening-round game. Afterward, Boyd was quick to give the glory to God.
“I’m feeling blessed. I thank God for this moment,” he said in his postgame press conference. “I don’t even know how to really describe the moment, what I was feeling. I don’t know. A lot of emotions.”
Boyd writes that “[Jesus] made the way!” in his Instagram bio, and many of his posts are about God. “Growth is a gift from God, even when it’s uncomfortable,” he posted in December.
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Meanwhile, Boyd’s backcourt mate is also unashamed to share his faith publicly. When he was asked about a recent slump in a press conference Wednesday following a 78-45 demolition of Maryland, Blackwell (Wisconsin’s second-leading scorer at 18.3 ppg) said he clung to his trust in God.
“Just stay prayed up,” he said. “I know through any situation, God’s got me. And it’s God’s timing through everything. Everything happens for a reason, so I’m just trusting Him through all this process.”
Two years ago, Blackwell told His Huddle about his foundation of faith that can’t be shaken.
“My faith encourages me to live for Him on the court,” he said, “and give Him all the glory for the ups and even the downs.”
A native of Bloomfield Township, Michigan, and the son of a former Illinois captain in the mid-to-late 1980s, Blackwell was raised in a family that prioritized his relationship with Jesus over basketball.
“When I became a junior and senior in high school, I began to listen to His Word on my own without my parents and walk my own journey with God,” he told His Huddle. “… I just pray I can touch people’s lives through basketball and faith. I want to be the ultimate athlete for Christ.”
Blackwell is known for posting faith-based inspirational messages on both Instagram and X.
Glory To God https://t.co/In2FFIK5NV
— John Blackwell (@_Johnblackwell1) December 4, 2025
Brothers in Christ and in the Wisconsin backcourt, Boyd and Blackwell will seek to help the Badgers (22-9, 14-6 in the Big Ten) reach the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 2016-17. They have won three straight games overall and six of eight.
Up next is the Big Ten Tournament, where Wisconsin is the No. 5 seed. The Badgers have a double-bye and will begin tournament play against No. 12 Washington or No. 13 USC on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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