Wisconsin blasts Maryland, keeps pace in Big Ten

Braeden Carrington came off the bench for 18 points and John Blackwell added 14 as Wisconsin bolstered its postseason seeding hopes with a 78-45 victory over Maryland in a Big Ten matchup Wednesday in Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin's leading rebounder, Nolan Winter, was helped from the floor with an apparent left leg injury with 7:01 remaining after scoring on a putback and did not return. Winter was averaging 8.7 rebounds and 13.5 points with 12 double-doubles.

Nick Boyd added 13 points and Austin Rapp 11 for Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), which finished 15-2 at home. Carrington was coming off a career-high 32 points with a school-record nine 3-pointers in the Badgers previous game, a 90-73 win at Washington on Saturday.

Andre Mills had 14 points and Elijah Saunders 11 for Maryland (11-19, 4-15), which lost for the fifth time in six games.

Guillermo Del Pino opened the second half with a 3-pointer to pull Maryland within 34-24, but the Badgers responded with an 11-0 run. Boyd's breakaway layup put Wisconsin in front 45-24.

Rapp drained three consecutive 3-pointers to put the Badgers in front 54-31 with just under 11 minutes remaining.

Wisconsin entered tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 15th-ranked Purdue, and a game-and-a-half behind No. 11 Illinois. The Badgers close the regular season Saturday at Purdue, which handed Wisconsin one of its two home losses in early January.

The top four teams receive a triple bye directly into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. Wisconsin is guaranteed a double bye, but still has a chance at the top four.

Wisconsin committed just three turnovers and had 16-3 edge in points off turnovers. Led by Carrington, the Badgers also had a 39-10 advantage in bench points.

Carrington had 13 first-half points to pace Wisconsin to a 34-21 lead at the break, hitting 5 of 8 shots, including 3 of 6 from deep. The Badgers missed their first nine 3-point attempts, but hit six of their final nine in the half.

--Field Level Media