The Badgers had a solid offensive outing to pull off the victory on Thursday.
The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Montana State Bobcats 79-67 to improve to 2-0 on the season, benefitting from an efficient offensive attack and a second-half run to remain undefeated early in the year.
It was a tough contest for much of the first half, but the Badgers pulled away near the end, similar to their outing against Holy Cross, going into halftime with a 39-33 lead. Then, a few second-half runs created a double-digit deficit for Montana State that ended up sticking for much of the final period.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 79-67 win over Montana State on Thursday.
Attacking the rim
One of the more underrated aspects of Wisconsin’s season opener was the fact that they shot a perfect 16/16 from the free throw line, with John Tonje getting a good number of those chances and going 100 percent with his shots.
Well, the Badgers made a bigger effort to attack the rim against Montana State, as only 10 of their 26 first-half shots came from deep. While Wisconsin wasn’t as efficient inside the arc (6/16), they did secure four offensive rebounds and get to the free throw line at a high rate, shooting 13 shots from the foul line in the first half alone.
Wisconsin’s streak of made free throws stopped at 25, but the Badgers were still 12/13 from the line in the first half, with John Tonje being the catalyst again, shooting 8/9 from the line.
It was a different type of game for Tonje, who didn’t hunt the three as much, instead looking to attack, for which he was rewarded with free throws consistently in the first half.
In the second half, it was a similar mentality for the Badgers as they looked to separate from Montana State, with 55.6 percent of their shots coming inside the arc. Wisconsin also continued to see success attacking and making free throws, hitting 100 percent of their chances in the second half.
In the second half, McGee shined, scoring seven points on 3/4 shooting while getting to the rack on two separate occasions. His game has continued to grow, as he’s been a strong leader coming off the bench in setting the tone for Wisconsin as their primary facilitator.
Overall, it wasn’t the best night for the Badgers in terms of efficiency at the rim, as they were just 8/18 on layups throughout the game. But, the opportunities were there, and Wisconsin was looking to get to the rim more often on Thursday.
In their first two outings, the exhibition against UW-River Falls and the season opener, Wisconsin got three-happy at times. And, to their credit, they shot better from deep on Thursday to begin.
But, it was a good sign to see them also place a bigger emphasis on attacking the rim with dribble penetration, leading to good results and getting them past some of their inefficiencies inside the arc early.
Threes again?
As we’ve shared, it’s clear Wisconsin is going to be a three-point shooting team this year with the roster they have.
While they didn’t see much early success in the exhibition game against UW-River Falls and shot just 1/10 from deep to begin against Holy Cross, it was a different story for the Badgers on Thursday.
Wisconsin started the game 4/7 from deep in a shooting battle between both sides, as Max Klesmit hit a trio of threes in the first half, leading the way for the Badgers. It was a two-pronged attack for Wisconsin, as Tonje was more of their attacker, while Klesmit found success from deep in the first half.
Tonje had a three of his own, while Blackwell went 1/3 from deep, leading to Wisconsin shooting 5/10 from beyond the arc in the first period.
In the second half, Klesmit’s success continued, as the guard hit three more three-pointers, leading the way once again for the Badgers. He finished with 26 points, hitting six threes in a strong night for the senior guard.
Wisconsin saw a similar amount of success from three overall, shooting 6/12 in the second half, as it was still a productive outing and a different look than the first two games where some of those shooting struggles stood out.
Overall, the Badgers shot 11/22 from deep, and their three-point attempts accounted for 41.5 percent of their total shot selection. We’ll see how that trend continues as the early part of the season goes on.
Second half run
For the second straight game, the Badgers were able to pull away from Montana State, thanks to a second-half run.
After going into halftime with a 39-33 lead, Wisconsin started the second half strong, going on an 8-0 run after an early Montana State three to get the lead to 47-36. Max Klesmit was the catalyst there, hitting a pair of threes as he started to get hot, pushing the Badgers ahead by double-digits.
Later, Wisconsin had another 13-3 run, with John Blackwell pouring in a three and a two early, while Max Klesmit had a pair of free throws and a layup. Kamari McGee capped things with a layup in transition, boosting the lead up to 62-45.
The Badgers had a rougher stretch over the next few minutes offensively, but still held up well enough on the defensive end to keep this one a double-digit game going into the stretch run of the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin ultimately held on 79-65 for their second straight win, fending off a feisty opponent to start the year 2-0.
Whereas we’ve seen the offense go on cold spells over the last two years, it’s a good sign that Wisconsin has found a way to grow as the game has continued earlier this year, as it was yet another second-half run that ultimately sealed the deal for the Badgers.