3 things that stood out from Wisconsin’s win over Providence: Badgers splash in transfer portal again

That was a much-needed bounce back. The Wisconsin Badgers responded to their first loss of the season with a resounding 104-83 win over the Providence Friars in the first round of the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. With the win, Wisconsin advanced to the championship game, where they take on the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday.

Coming into this game, the Badgers had to take advantage of Providence’s weaknesses in their defense, and they did so in a big way. The Badgers scored over 50 points in both halves and shot 47% from the field. In particular, Wisconsin finished the game with a commanding 32-14 edge in fast-break points against the Friars’ poor transition defense.

Here are three standouts in Wisconsin’s win over Providence.

Nick Boyd

Greg Gard has hit home runs in the transfer portal with former guards AJ Storr and John Tonje. Nick Boyd appears to be next in line, and he showed out on Thanksgiving Day in a big way. Boyd scored a career-high 36 points on 15-of-25 shots from the field, including nailing 4-of-9 three-point field goal attempts. Not only was Boyd a scoring machine, but he also collected seven assists, seven rebounds, and finished with zero turnovers.

One of the reasons the Badgers finished the game with a lopsided edge in fast-break points was because of how well Boyd got downhill and attacked the paint.

Austin Rapp

Against BYU, Rapp had his worst game as a Wisconsin Badger, finishing 0-for-7 from the field and scoring a mere two points.

Against Providence, Rapp had a much better outing. The transfer forward from Portland finished with his first 20-point outing as a Wisconsin Badger. Rapp improved his three-point shooting from the BYU game, hitting 5-of-11 three-point shots, including hitting three straight attempts before the end of the first half.

In addition to his scoring, Rapp was more active and physical in this game by collecting eight rebounds and three blocks.

Nolan Winter

Winter continues to be a double-double machine in November 2025. The junior forward finished with his fourth double-double on the season with 19 points on 7-of-9 shots from the floor and collected 10 rebounds.

The more Winter remains aggressive in games, the better Wisconsin performs and the higher chance we see Winter on the all-conference list at the end of the season.