Wisconsin basketball (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten) stretched its win streak to seven games with an 84-69 victory against the USC Trojans (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten) on Saturday.

After leading by as many as 19 points a few minutes after the intermission, the Badgers survived a 20-4 scoring burst from the Trojans in the first portion of the second half. Wisconsin regained composure after the extended USC run thanks to strong play from star sophomore guard John Blackwell and senior leader Max Klesmit. It then maintained a double-digit edge throughout the latter portion of the closing frame.

Blackwell, who has orchestrated several high-scoring outputs this season, erupted for a game-best 28 points off a blistering 10-of-16 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe in 34 minutes. Klesmit, who suffered an ankle injury on Jan. 6 vs. Rutgers, reminded fans of his offensive capabilities with 18 points and four assists in 27 minutes. Nolan Winter also chipped in 13 tallies, five boards and three dimes on efficient shooting.

Won our fight today in SoCal pic.twitter.com/J6jxHDYiUg

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 18, 2025

Blackwell set the tone for Gard’s crew early with 11 points in the first six minutes of action. Winter, Steven Crowl and Xavier Amos also pitched in to extend the edge to 15 points at the 9:14-minute mark of the first half. Blackwell would add five more points to propel UW all the way to a 15-point advantage (42-27) at the halftime break. USC appeared out of sorts, especially offensively.

The Trojans battled back with an efficient offensive showing in the second half. Blackwell’s second-half play was complimented by Klesmit, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the second frame. The Badgers finally glided to a 15-point victory in their first leg of a two-game West Coast road trip.

Wisconsin will now bring a seven-game winning streak into its matchup against the UCLA Bruins on Tuesday.