Why Badgers senior is key to a Big Ten Tournament run

Wisconsin won’t get far in the tournament without the voice of one of their leaders.

The Wisconsin Badgers pulled off a 70-63 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday, advancing to the Big Ten Quarterfinals where they’ll take on the UCLA Bruins on Friday.

It wasn’t a pretty victory for the Badgers, but none of them have really come pretty as of late, as Wisconsin struggled a bit offensively, shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 32 percent from three.

But, timely moments and strong defense led the way to their victory, keeping the Badgers rolling in the Big Ten Tournament.

To begin Thursday’s game, Wisconsin really struggled offensively, scoring just nine points over the first eight minutes of regulation. But then, they really started to settle down.

Who was the catalyst of that? None other than Max Klesmit, who made his return from injury on Thursday.

Wisconsin really wasn’t aggressive early on, as head coach Greg Gard acknowledged the team initially struggled with Northwestern’s physicality. That led to a lot of threes that weren’t necessarily poor shots, but also weren’t ideal, especially with the way the team was struggling to score.

Sensing the need for a change, Klesmit looked to be aggressive.

Early in the game, after forcing a turnover, Klesmit immediately drove into the lane for a layup, cutting the lead to 8-7. After checking back in two minutes later, the senior guard was fouled on a three-pointer, breaking Wisconsin’s scoring spell with two made free throws.

But, then came the true spark of aggressiveness. The Badgers were really struggling at getting to the rim, not taking advantage of ball screens enough, which led to the settling for triples. Going downhill on a ball screen, Klesmit attracted an extra defender and forcing a rotation, leaving John Blackwell wide open for a three.

That was Wisconsin’s best shot of the first nine minutes, as Blackwell was as open as could be, sinking the triple and starting the Badgers’ comeback.

From there, the aggressiveness started. John Tonje went in hard for a layup and couldn’t get it to go, but Blackwell was there for the cleanup and the putback on the next possession, earning an and-1.

Offensive rebounds got Wisconsin two more consecutive scores on their following possessions and suddenly, a 17-14 lead for Northwestern was a 22-17 Wisconsin lead.

That changed the momentum of the first half for Wisconsin, who controlled a tight game before a late 6-0 run game then a 37-30 lead at the end of the first half.

“I think after watching three games on the bench being hurt, you see the game at another perspective, and that was something I took for granted and didn’t really appreciate,” Klesmit said postgame.

“But, getting subbed out a little earlier in the first half and then going back in there and being able to watch how they were trying to guard things and what I could do to put myself in a good position to give these guys open looks, I think it helped, and it helped get some guys their rhythm and get them going. But, I’ve said it all year. I’m just doing whatever asks. I’m gonna do whatever I can to help my team out, help them win at the end of the day.”

In the second half, Klesmit continued the aggressiveness, getting a second-chance floater to go early as Wisconsin separated themselves over the first eight minutes of the half.

Then came a sweet sequence of plays, as the guard had a nice stepback three off the dribble, stopping some Northwestern momentum. On the following possession, he was aggressive once again, driving before finding an open Kamari McGee in the corner, boosting Wisconsin’s lead back to 14 and forcing a Northwestern timeout.

Klesmit hasn’t had his best year statistically, but his presence on the court provides the Badgers with another go-to option that they trust to be aggressiveness when his number is called.

When the threes aren’t falling, Wisconsin needs more of that and Klesmit just plays with that ‘edge’ that separates him from the pack.

“He’s started for three years for us, so there’s a lot of experience there. He’s extremely competitive. He’s got toughness and an edge to him that he plays with,” Gard said about Klesmit. “When he was out, we missed him. There’s no doubt he’s an important piece, as this whole group comes together. It would be the same for anybody else. We’re best when we’re whole.

“I thought early we didn’t handle our physicality well. I thought they were really pushing us into screens, and we didn’t counter it well enough. Once we got that figured out and were able to get downhill and get at the rim, things started to become a little better for us offensively.”

Klesmit ultimately played 23 minutes on Thursday, which was a good load, but not his usual starter minutes as he wore a pretty noticeable brace on his right ankle. Was that the plan going in, or did the Badgers’ double-digit lead in the second half allow for that?

“[It was] kind of how the game went,” Gard said about Klesmit’s minutes. “I decided once we got to that five-minute mark, four minute, whenever I pulled [him] out, we made a couple snafus that allowed it to get from 18 to 12 or wherever it got, but it was basically play him long enough to make sure we win the game. So that’s where it fell.”

While the senior would take any opportunity to play, he acknowledged that the lesser workload was beneficial for him as the Badgers move on to Friday.

“For sure, I think it was a little bit easier kind of getting eased in,” Klesmit shared. “I know You were talking about adjusting to the physicality. I was trying to get my lungs adjusted to running around and being back out here, but it was fun. And I think, just being with this group has been really special to everybody in here, and especially to us older guys. But just trying to keep it one game at a time and we got three more to learn.”

The Badgers are at their best when this team is complete, allowing everyone to play their role and off each other. Klesmit’s return solidified that on Thursday and Wisconsin will need him to continue being aggressive on both ends of the court as they continue to make a run in the Big Ten Tournament.

Next up is the UCLA Bruins on Friday, with tip-off set at approximately 1:30 p.m. central on what should be an exciting day of Big Ten basketball.