Winter was the key to Wisconsin’s activity in their win on Thursday. Will that continue?
The Wisconsin Badgers got past the Northwestern Wildcats 70-63 on Thursday, moving to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, where they’ll face the UCLA Bruins on Friday in the No. 5 vs. No. 4 matchup.
Wisconsin didn’t have their best day on Thursday, but it’s often tough to be at your ‘A’ game against a gritty Northwestern team.
Nevertheless, they still managed to pull through for a crucial victory, playing stellar defense and turning up their aggressiveness to seek out the free throw line.
John Tonje was the star of the show, but sophomore Nolan Winter had one of his best games of the season, accumulating 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the victory.
Winter was active early, scoring 10 first-half points by being active around the rim. He got two layups off offensive rebounds, had a pair of early free throws, and then propelled a 6-0 run late in the half with four consecutive points.
“First half, I thought he was active on the glass, kept a couple possessions alive, got him going a little bit, got fouled on a rebound,” head coach Greg Gard said about Winter’s impact after the game.
“Going to the free-throw line, to be able to get there 10 times, and he’s got a really unique skill set at 7 feet and the way he shoots it, and now he’s getting stronger and more confident to be able to put the ball on the floor. He has a lot of versatility to his game. You could just tell his confidence was growing and growing as possessions were going on.”
Winter has slowly began to evolve his game as a sophomore, growing from a three-point threat as a freshman to an all-around scorer this season, which has come with increased confidence.
“For me personally, I’m just not trying to be a one-trick pony,” Winter said after the game. “I’m trying to add a little more to my game, putting it on the floor, being able to score in the post, inside and outside. It was good for me today to have the confidence that I could get it on the floor and get around some defenders, as well as go outside and knock down a 3.
“Just these coaches kind of giving me the confidence to showcase my game like that, it’s huge for me. Going forward, I’m really excited for my future.”
During a game where Steven Crowl didn’t have as much of an impact on the offensive end, Winter’s presence and activity were huge for the Badgers, establishing an interior threat as a roller and rebounder.
But, the forward’s impact was seen past the stat sheet, as he had the difficult matchup of guarding Northwestern star Nick Martinelli, who was the Big Ten’s leading scorer this season.
Martinelli still had a solid game, scoring 22 points on 7/14 from the field, while shooting 11 free throws, but a lot of his success came off screens where he took advantage of smaller defenders to get easy buckets in the paint.
Winter made things more difficult for the Wildcats forward, as he was active defensively, which drew praise from head coach Greg Gard after the game.
“Quite frankly, I know he has 18 [points], but I was as impressed at the job he did defensively on [Nick] Martinelli, [the] league’s leading scorer. I thought he moved his feet really well. I thought he contested when he needed to and really helped set our tone defensively with the job he did on Martinelli.”
After an early foul in the second half, Winter was instrumental over the first five minutes of the period, forcing three missed shots from Martinelli, who couldn’t get a rhythm early on.
That activity set the tone, as the Badgers really started to separate themselves, stretching their lead out to double digits and remaining ahead for the entire half.
Winter has seen his role be sporadic at times this season, as his minutes have wavered depending on matchup. But, in a must-win game, the Badgers forward came to life, showing a needed level of aggression and activity offensively, while being a key cog against a tough matchup defensively.
The Badgers will hope that carries forward to the quarterfinals where they take on the UCLA Bruins on Friday, with tip-off set for approximately 1:30 p.m. central.