What stood out from Wisconsin’s win over Appalachian State on Sunday?
The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Appalachian State Mountaineers 87-56 to improve to 3-0 on the season, jumping out to a big lead in the first half and running with it for their biggest win of the early season.
It was a dominant performance from Wisconsin, who managed to find their groove defensively for a productive outing at the Kohl Center, setting themselves up well ahead of their Friday night showdown against the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats.
Here are the team notes and individual notes from the game, courtesy of UW Communications.
Team Notes
- Wisconsin improved to 3-0 on the season with an 87-56 win over Appalachian State. The Badgers have now started the season 3-0 for the 4th time under head coach Greg Gard. UW also opened with 3 straight wins in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23.
- Head coach Greg Gard improved his overall record to 189-107 (.639), including a mark of 113-33 (.774) at the Kohl Center.
- UW is now 68-22 (.756) in regular season, non-conference games under Gard, including a mark of 50-5 (.909) at the Kohl Center.
- Wisconsin moved to 363-70 (.838) all-time at the Kohl Center – the 11th-best home record in the country among active venues.
- Wisconsin enjoyed a 24-0 scoring run during the first half Sunday, the team’s largest run since scoring the first 25 points of the game in a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/27/20).
- During Sunday’s run, UW held App. State scoreless for a span of 8:22, recording 15 consecutive stops. During the run, the Badgers forced 6 turnovers and held the Mountaineers to 0-for-10 from the field.
- UW is averaging 83.7 ppg on the season, having scored at least 79 points in each of the season’s first 3 games for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
- Wisconsin had 5 players score in double figures for the first time since doing so at Indiana (2/27/24).
- The Badgers held the Mountaineers to 37.5% shooting and just 56 points. UW has now won 20 consecutive games when holding opponents to 70 or fewer points.
- UW tallied 14 steals in the game, its most since posting 14 vs. Rutgers (3/7/24).
- The Badgers forced App State into 18 total turnovers, while coughing it up just 6 times themselves.
- Wisconsin went 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the free throw line and is now shooting an NCAA-leading 92.5% (49-for-53) from the charity stripe on the season.
- The Badgers made their final 13 FTs of the game.
- UW has out-scored its first 3 opponents 49-to-20 at the free throw line. The Badgers have made (49) more FTs than their opponents have attempted (30).
- The Badgers outscored the Mountaineers 48-24 in the paint and 8-0 in fast break points.
- The last time UW held a team to zero fast break points was vs. Ohio State (2/13/24).
Individual Notes
- Graduate student John Tonje tallied double-digit points for the third time in three games, finishing with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Tonje is averaging a team-high 17.7 ppg on the year.
- Graduate Student F Steven Crowl scored a season-high 17 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. With 222 career assists, Crowl now owns the most by any Big Ten player measuring 7 feet tall or bigger.
- Senior G Max Klesmit finished with 15 points and 4 assists and tied his career high with 5 steals. Klesmit’s 5 steals are his most since joining Wisconsin. Klesmit has scored in double figures in back-to-back games and 66 times in his career. Klesmit is averaging 16.0 ppg on the season.
- Sophomore Nolan Winter tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. Winter’s 8 rebounds match his career high, set last game vs. Montana State.
- Junior F Xavier Amos recorded 10 points, his most as a Badger. He also added 6 rebounds.