As Nick Boyd weighed which school to play for last spring after entering the transfer portal, he kept coming back to Wisconsin for multiple reasons. Business decision aside, the more he studied the Badgers, the more he saw a fit that could allow him to take his game to another level.

Wisconsin was in the Big Ten, where some of the best basketball in the country was played. Wisconsin’s offense was open for scorers and needed a point guard to match that style. And Wisconsin had quality pieces that could surround Boyd.

“What Wisconsin had no other team in the country had in terms of guys who were starters and were high-level players and were coming back,” Boyd said. “And that’s what I wanted. I was like, ‘Man, if I get to play with Nolan Winter and John Blackwell and insert myself in there, there’s no way we could be a bad team or have a losing season. There’s no way. We’re going to be a great team.’”

Boyd has proven to be exactly what Wisconsin needed this season. He was named a consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection and is averaging 20.1 points per game. No Wisconsin player has averaged at least 20 points a game in a season since Michael Finley 31 years ago. Now, Boyd hopes to raise the bar again with the arrival of postseason play.

Wisconsin (22-9) opens the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday afternoon as a No. 6 seed against No. 13 seed Washington (16-16). Boyd sat down with Mike Heller for the Badger Connect Podcast to discuss his journey as a player, his season at Wisconsin and more. You can view the full episode here: