After the game, Nolan Winter came up behind John Blackwell and gave him a big bear hug, and John Blackwell said, "I got you." As the final sequence was incredible. Nolan Winter missed a free-throw attempt to put the game up four over Minnesota. Then Golden Gopher Cade Tyson hustled down to make a three to tie it up at 75-75 with only four seconds on the clock. The game looked destined for overtime and then the ball was passed into to John Blackwell who buried a three to get the win.
That alone is the stuff of legends and something that will be etched into the lore of this rivalry for years to come. Then, after the game, Blackwell described those moments with a quote that reminds you that it all starts in those moments as a kid. Thinking you are capable of taking that final shot, and then being trained to do it.
"All I thought about was my previous playing days, always when a guy hits a shot to tie it up or to go up, the reaction for a player to do is to drop their head...it's a heartbreaker. When I was growing up, I was always taught to go get the ball and go get a shot up...So that's what I did...It looked good when it came off the hands. "John Blackwell
Wisconsin stunned Minnesota at the Barn with John Blackwell's 3-point buzzer beater
Related: 3 bracketologists agree Wisconsin is in after Michigan win but they can’t agree where
The stone-cold way of John Blackwell and the coaches he had as a kid helped seal the deal for Wisconsin. However, that doesn't happen without the mentality that Blackwell was taught as a child in peewee basketball. If you get punched, punch them right back until the clock runs out.
Blackwell ended the game with 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He went 8-14 from the field, 5-7 from three, and 6-6 from the free-throw line. He was on another level tonight, and he's now had back-to-back 25+ point games. Whatever slump he was in, he's out of now, and he's ready to lift the Badgers up and propel them to victory.
Blackwell is elite and has had some big Wisconsin moments, but this one may go down as one of the best, and it all started as a kid, ready to take a game-winner. Legends are made on the playground first.