What stood out from Wisconsin’s win over Arizona on Friday?
The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats 103-88 to improve to 4-0 on the season, getting their biggest win of the season in an electric game at the Kohl Center.
It was a dominant offensive performance from Wisconsin, who found a way to beat Arizona at their own game, maintaining a high pace and strong efficiency for 40 minutes to remain undefeated.
Here are the team notes and individual notes from the game, courtesy of UW Communications.
Team Notes
- Wisconsin improved to 4-0 on the season with a 103-88 win over No. 9 Arizona. ④ UW hosted its first sellout of the 2024-25 season, playing in front of an announced crowd of 16,838.
- The Badgers have now started the season 4-0 for the first time since 2022-23 and the 3rd time under head coach Greg Gard. UW also opened the 2018-19 season with 5 straight wins and the 2022-23 season with 4 straight.
- Wisconsin claimed its 13th win over a top-10 opponent in 10 seasons under head coach Greg Gard.
- Friday night’s 15-point win was UW’s largest over a Top-10 team since Largest margin of victory against a Top Ten team since a 67-49 win (18 points) over No. 5 Michigan State on Feb. 2, 2010.
- The victory was UW’s first ranked win since March 16, 2024, vs. No. 3 Purdue. The win was UW’s first ranked win during the regular season since knocking off No. 3 Marquette on Dec. 2, 2023.
- Since 2001-02, when former coach Bo Ryan and Greg Gard (then associate head coach) arrived at Wisconsin, the Badgers have gone 51-27 (.654) at the Kohl Center vs. Top-25 teams. That includes a mark of 16-13 vs. top 10 teams.
- Head coach Greg Gard improved his overall record to 190-107 (.640), including a mark of 114-33 (.776) at the Kohl Center.
- UW is now 69-22 (.758) in regular season, non-conference games under Gard, including a mark of 51-5 (.911) at the Kohl Center.
- Wisconsin moved to 364-70 (.839) all-time at the Kohl Center – the 11th-best home record in the country among active venues. The Badgers are now 18-3 at home dating back to the start of last season.
- Wisconsin went 41-for-47 (87.2%) from the free throw line and is now shooting an NCAA-leading 90.0% (90-for-100) from the charity stripe on the season.
- Wisconsin’s 41 makes at the line tied UW’s program record – 41 at Illinois, Jan. 1, 1955.
- John Tonje posted a 21-for-22 clip from the line, good for the most makes in school history. The previous high was 17 by Dale Koehler (Dec. 6, 1975) and Nigel Hayes (Jan. 26, 2016).
- UW has out-scored its first 4 opponents 90-to-48 at the free throw line. The Badgers have made (90) more FTs than their opponents have attempted (70).
- Wisconsin’s 103 points were its most against a ranked opponent in program history. The Badgers broke the century mark for the first time against a ranked opponent since Feb. 10, 1970, at No. 14 Iowa (L, 100-119).
- UW’s 103 points were its most in a game since scoring 105 in last season’s opener versus Arkansas State (Nov. 6, 2023).
- Wisconsin scored 100+ points for the first time against a Power 5 school since posting 101 vs. Northwestern on Feb. 3, 1993.
- The Badgers totaled 17 assists to Arizona’s 6. Wisconsin has totaled 17+ assists in back-to-back games.
- Wisconsin converted 12-of-27 attempts from deep. The Badgers have hit 11+ threes in 3 of 4 games this season. Wisconsin hit 11+ threes in 2 games last season.
- Arizona did not hold the lead during the game. The game was tied for only 1:06.
Individual Notes
- Graduate student John Tonje poured in a career-high 41 points, the most for a Badger since Frank Kaminsky tallied 43, the UW program record, in a win over North Dakota (Nov. 19, 2013). Kaminsky was inside the Kohl Center on Friday night.
- Tonje broke the Wisconsin single-game record for made free throws, finishing with a 21-for-22 clip at the line.
- Tonje scored 41 points on only 14 shots. No Division I player has scored that many points on only 14 shots since at least 2011.
- Tonje posted an 8-for-14 clip from the field, including a 4-for-6 performance from deep.
- Entering the game, Tonje had scored 30+ points once in his career – A 31-point performance during his time at Colorado State (vs. Oral Roberts, Nov. 9, 2021). His 4 threes were his most since hitting 5 on Dec. 11, 2022, with Colorado State.
- Tonje scored 22 first-half points, the most for a Badger in a half since Brad Davidson vs Michigan State on Feb. 25, 2018 (23).
- Sophomore John Blackwell added 14 points, helped by a 7-for-8 clip at the line. He registered a +22 +/- when on the floor in the win. Blackwell tallied his 17th career double-digit scoring game.
- Graduate Student F Steven Crowl dished out a game-high 6 assists. He also hauled in 4 rebounds and scored 8 points.
- Senior G Max Klesmit finished with 13 points and a perfect 6-for-6 mark at the stripe. Klesmit has scored in double figures in 3 straight games and 67 times in his career.
- Redshirt Freshman Jack Janicki scored his first collegiate points and finished with 9 in a career-high 19 minutes.