The No. 18 University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers (24-8, 13-7 Big Ten) won a tightly-contested Big Ten Tournament second round matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats (17-16, 7-13) 70-63 Thursday, March 13 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
Both teams struggled to get points on the board to open the game, but Wildcat junior Nick Martinelli sank a jumper to give Northwestern a five-point lead over eight minutes into the game. The Badgers wouldn’t go away, though, as grad student Steven Crowl knocked down two free throws and sophomore John Blackwell drained a 3-pointer to tie the game back up at 14-14.
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Both teams continued to go back and forth, and the Badgers pulled ahead for their first lead of the afternoon, 20-17, thanks to a 3-pointer from senior Kamari McGee. Following McGee’s three, the Badgers would gain momentum and never lost the lead from that point despite a fervent effort by the Wildcats.
Heading into halftime, the Badgers went on a six-point run, giving them a seven-point lead and further solidifying their control on the game. Through the first half, the Badgers struggled from beyond the arc, going 3-for-12. But, Wisconsin’s defensive strength allowed them to profit off Northwestern’s turnovers, contributing for 10 of the Badgers’ 37 points.
The second half served as a bounce-back half for the Badgers, who came off a disappointing 11-point loss to the already-eliminated Penn State. Confidence was high for the Badgers, who ballooned their lead to as high as 18 points in the second half.
The Badgers’ passion might have been too high, as with just under nine minutes remaining Crowl received a technical foul for his reaction to a big block on Wildcat grad student Ty Berry. Crowl finished the game with seven points and recorded seven rebounds.
With 11 more rebounds, Crowl could move into the top-5 all-time rebounders for UW. Crowl currently sits at 831, while fifth place Joe Chrnelich grabbed 841 during his time in Madison.
Sophomore Nolan Winter had a standout performance when it mattered most, netting 18 points and grabbing six rebounds. His 18 points nears his season high of 20, which came against Butler in December.
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Grad student John Tonje, who deservedly received All-Big Ten First Team honors, also dropped 18 on the Wildcats alongside seven rebounds. Having scored double-digit points in all but two games this season, it’s no surprise that Tonje is currently third on the all-time single-season scorers list with 637 points. Badger legend Frank Kaminsky sits at the top of that list with 732 points, only 95 points above Tonje.
Looking ahead in the Big Ten tournament, the Badgers will face off against the UCLA Bruins in the quarterfinals, who defeated the Badgers 85-83 during their regular-season matchup. The Bruins jumped in the Big Ten standings after their win over USC in the final game of the regular season, and earned the double bye over Purdue and Wisconsin due to tiebreakers.
The Badgers will tip off at 1:30 p.m. in Indianapolis, Ind. on the Big Ten Network.