Wisconsin basketball has done it again.
Up against a top-10 opponent on the road, the Badgers showed incredible poise under pressure and determination to win, as they battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half of their Tuesday night game against the No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, to score a 92-90 overtime triumph.
The Badgers were down by 12 points with over eight minutes left in the second half, but successfully staged a comeback behind the huge performances of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who scored 25 and 24 points, respectively.
They also combined for 33 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest, as Wisconsin chipped away at Illinois’ lead before taking over the lead for good.
Wisconsin basketball sends strong message after a win against the Fighting Illini
Following the game, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of Wisconsin basketball posted a message to celebrate the team’s memorable comeback.
“What a team, what a comeback,” the post read.
What a team, what a comeback pic.twitter.com/UvY4eaHbIh
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 11, 2026
That post got Badgers fans even more pumped up.
“Gard really getting rotation down. Having Rapp/Carrington off bench is nice,” said a fan on X.
Another one said: “This team never quits! This group of players is slowly becoming my favorite team in a long time and I loved the John Tonje lead team last year!”
From a commenter: “Someone forgot to tell Illinois that in Garduary we celebrate Blackwell History Month.”
“Didn’t quit. Great win. Don’t like the play at the end of regulation though…,” a social media user posted.
Via a different commenter: “Best two wins in college basketball, @michigan and @illinois. HUGE we are so much better than 9-4. Rapp stepped up when we needed him most. I LOVE THIS TEAM!”
Said another: “I apologize for everything I might have said the first 30 minutes of the game.”The Badgers, who bounced back from a loss to the Indiana Hoosiers over the weekend, will look to keep it going this coming Friday, when they share the floor at Kohl Center in Madison with the No. 10 Michigan State Spartans.
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