(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The No. 11 Wisconsin men’s basketball team powered its way to a 95-74 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini this Tuesday at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers were led by another brilliant performance from reigning Naismith Player of the Week, John Tonje, as well as strong, physical play from Wisconsin’s big men.
Tonje scored 31 points in the game, his second straight 30+ point scoring game, becoming the fourth Badger in school history to record back-to-back 30-point games. Steven Crowl added a season-high 20 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists. John Blackwell scored 16 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
Badgers coach Greg Gard said that he knows their potential but he has to continue to challenge the players.
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Gard talked about the play of John Tonje and what makes him so good.
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Gard said that an aggressive Steven Crowl makes them better.
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The Badgers made a huge push in the second half, outscoring Illinois 41-26 in the final 17 minutes of the game, and 48-33 overall in the second frame. The Badgers led for the majority of the game, up at halftime, 47-41.
Wisconsin played a physical game down low to keep Illinois out of striking distance. The Badgers out-rebounded Illinois 39-30, and outscored the Illini, 48-28 in the post.
Steven Crowl found Nolan Winter on multiple plays in the paint, leading to two emphatic dunks. The pair combined for 15 rebounds in the game.
The defense played a key role in the Badger’s second-half run, forcing nine Illini turnovers after intermission, compared to Wisconsin’s two. Illinois shot just 43% from the field in the game.
Wisconsin ended a nine-game losing streak to Illinois, and improves its record to 21-5, with a 11-4 mark in conference play.
Notable:
- The No. 11 Wisconsin men’s basketball team powered its way to a 95-74 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini this Tuesday at the Kohl Center.
- Wisconsin clinched a winning Big Ten record for the 22nd time in the last 25 seasons, most of any school in the conference.
- Wisconsin reached 90 points in back-to-back games for the first time since doing so in 3 straight from Dec. 14-28, 1995. The last time the Badgers scored 90+ in back to-back Big Ten games was Feb. 20 and 26, 1992 in a 92-78 win over Illinois and a 96-78 win over Michigan.
- Tonje recorded his fourth 30-point game of the season. He’s scored 20+ points 11 times and 25+ in six games this season. The Badgers are 6-0 when Tonje scores 25+.
- Tonje has now scored 30+ in back-to-back games. He’s the fourth Badger to ever achieve the feat, joining Michael Finley, Rick Olson and Clarence Sherrod.
- Graduate Student Steven Crowl scored a season-high 20 points, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range
- Crowl now has 803 career rebounds, surpassing Tyler Wahl (800) and Nigel Hayes (802) for seventh place on UW’s all-time list
