The Badgers pulled off the improbable on Friday, setting the tone for an important weekend.
The Wisconsin Badgers got a major upset on Friday, defeating the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats 103-88 for their fourth victory of the year. It was a strong output from the Badgers on the offensive end, as they had their season-high midway through the final period, ultimately winning by a comfortable margin against a strong Big 12 team.
With the win, Wisconsin improved to 4-0 on the year, splitting the home-and-home against Arizona and showing out at the Kohl Center on Friday with their best offensive performance of the year. They found a way to not only match Arizona’s pace, but beat the Wildcats at their own game en route to a major victory.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 103-88 win over Arizona.
John Tonje’s big night
When it comes to creating a spark, nobody did that better on Friday than transfer guard John Tonje, who poured in 41 points on 8/14 shooting, including 4/6 from three.
Tonje was a crucial part of the offense throughout the game, as Wisconsin realized they would need to rely on their sixth-year guard to navigate the waters against one of the top offenses in the country.
While the Badgers played better defense than expected, Tonje’s offensive presence proved to be crucial in leading the pace for Wisconsin, as the forward was a force in the first half, drawing 13 free throw attempts and hitting every opportunity.
The dominance continued in the second half, as Tonje hit 4/6 of his threes, helping the Badgers maintain their lead against the Wildcats in a tightly contested game from start to finish.
Last year, when it came to needing a scoring spark, the Badgers relied on transfer AJ Storr, who was the team’s leading scorer after coming in from St. John’s. This year, that player is Tonje, who averaged 17.7 points coming into the game and proved that he could hang with top-level teams with his 41-point performance against the Arizona Wildcats.
If the Badgers are to make a run this year, Tonje would be a significant part of that, not only on the offensive end, but also with his overall offensive game, as he ultimately scored 41 points in Friday’s game.
Free Throws
When it comes to the Badgers offensive attack, Wisconsin has looked to be as efficient as possible, using dribble penetration and threes to supplant their approach on that side of the ball.
The aggressiveness of driving downhill offensively has led to a significant number of free-throw chances, as Wisconsin has averaged 17.6 attempts per game from the charity stripe, connecting on 92.5 percent of their attempts.
That continued on Friday, as Wisconsin shot 47 free throws in the game, hitting 41 of them, which proved to be a significant factor in the game.
When discussing the offensive approach this year, head coach Greg Gard has been open about wanting to increase the number of three-point attempts this year, as he looks to improve the overall efficiency of the offense with threes and drives to the paint.
Tonje was a big part of the free throw effort, hitting 21/22 of his opportunities en route to 41 points on the night. But, overall, Wisconsin has done well with their free throw opportunities this season, increasing the overall efficiency of their offense through the first four games.
Fast start
Through the first three games of the year, Wisconsin had started slow, struggling through the early minutes of games, forcing them to rely on strong bench minutes to come back into contests.
That wasn’t the case on Friday, as Wisconsin jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, thanks to aggressiveness on the offensive end and physicality on the defensive end, which was imperative against an attacking Arizona offense.
That 7-0 ended up proving to be a key for Wisconsin, as they ended up going on a mini-run in the first half to pull away with a double-digit lead as the period winded down, ultimately leading 55-44 at halftime.
Slow starts have been the theme for the Badgers thus far, and their offense was on one on Friday, leading to a 15-point victory against Arizona, aiding them to a win against a top-10 team.
Coming into the game, the biggest question was how quickly the Badgers would respond against a tough offensive opponent. Overall, they executed the little things well while also hitting enough shots, ultimately pulling out to a comfortable lead against a tough opponent, which was sustained throughout the rest of the game.
Fast starts will be a necessity for the Badgers as they continue their non-conference schedule, but Friday provided a good level of confidence that Wisconsin could operate with a high level of efficiency against a top opponent in college basketball.