MADISON – John Blackwell is taller and bulkier than Wisconsin men's basketball teammate Kamari McGee.

McGee is older and more experienced than Blackwell.

Yet the key reserve guards, both back from injury, are essential members of the Badgers rotation for one reason:

Their tenacity, particularly on the defensive end, is critical and contagious.

“We just play our roles,” said Blackwell, who has played in 29 games as a freshman. “I call him my twin.”

John Blackwell, Kamari McGee hope to spark Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament

The contributions of Blackwell and McGee have left UW coach Greg Gard encouraged heading into the Big Ten Tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

UW is seeded No. 5 and opens at approximately 1:30 p.m. Thursday against No. 12 Maryland (16-16). The Terrapins advanced with a 65-51 first-round victory over No. 13 Rutgers on Wednesday.

UW and Maryland met once this season. Forward Tyler Wahl scored 18 points to lead four players in double figure for UW, which hit 28 of 31 free throws in a 78-74 victory at the Kohl Center.

Blackwell missed two games and was ineffective in several others after suffering a hip injury Feb. 4 against Purdue.

McGee missed 11 games after suffering a toe injury Jan. 19 against Indiana. The Badgers were 1-1 in the two games Blackwell missed. They were 4-7 in the games McGee missed.

They missed the on-ball defense of both players, their overall tenacity and scoring punch as well.

“Just the aggressive personality that they bring to the floor,” Gard said. “And that doesn’t necessarily have to result in numbers on a stat sheet. They tip the tables in terms of our toughness and feistiness on the perimeter.

“They definitely make us better. You saw the difference when they’ve been with us and when they haven’t.”

Blackwell is a capable scorer for the Badgers; McGee has shown he can do more than defend

Blackwell and McGee combined for 28 points in McGee’s return from injury, a 78-66 victory over Rutgers last week.

Blackwell hit 9 of 10 free throws and finished with 17 points. McGee hit all five shots he took and contributed 11 points in 10 minutes.

Blackwell contributed a team-best 18 points in UW’s 78-70 loss Sunday at Purdue. McGee contributed four points and one assist in 11 minutes.

McGee enters the tournament averaging just 2.1 points and 7.2 minutes per game. But he is shooting 58.3% (14 of 24) and has shown he can beat defenders off the dribble to score or collapse the defense and find an open shooter. He is averaging 7.0 points in the last two games.

Blackwell is averaging 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He is shooting 48.1% from three-point range (25 of 52) and 82.8% from the free-throw line (72 of 87).

“I would say the energy is what is really comparable,” Wahl said when asked about Blackwell and McGee. “If something (bad) happens they’re not going to bat an eye. They’re going to try to make a difference, whether it is the defensive or the offensive end.”

UW does have issues to address in the league tournament.

The Badgers shot just 28.8% from three-point range in eight games in February (49 of 170). They shot 42.9% in splitting two games against Illinois and Rutgers (15 of 35) but made just 5 of 24 attempts (20.8%) in the regular-season finale at Purdue.

Badgers forward Steven Crowl has to avoid getting into early foul trouble and guard Max Klesmit was slowed by a lower-body injury at Purdue. Whether those issues can be fixed, the return of Blackwell and McGee should bolster UW’s victory chances in the Big Ten Tournament and then in the NCAAs.

“I think he understands his role,” Blackwell said of McGee. “I think it comes with maturity. He knows what he can do. He is a great on-ball defender. He knows that. So, he gets up into guys and that really helps us.”

The same could be said of Blackwell.

“Him being a freshman,” McGee said, “we ask a lot of him and he responds well.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: John Blackwell, Kamari McGee critical to Wisconsin men's basketball