After a surprising undefeated run through its initial nonconference schedule, No. 11 Wisconsin will be tested against Michigan on Tuesday night in the Big Ten opener for each team in Madison, Wis.
The Badgers (8-0) beat winless Chicago State 74-53 on Saturday and are off to their best start since opening the 2013-14 season with 16 consecutive victories. Wisconsin’s two best wins are a 15-point victory over then-No. 9 Arizona and a six-point triumph over 7-1 Pitt.
However, 10th-year Badgers coach Greg Gard knows the Big Ten is a different beast.
“We know now we jump back into deep water Tuesday night with league play opening up,” Gard said Saturday. “We’ve got a really good Michigan team coming in here, so we use Sunday and Monday to prep for that and get ready to jump into Big Ten play.”
Graduate transfer John Tonje, who had a game-high 22 points against Chicago State, leads Wisconsin with 22.9 points per game.
Tonje is shooting 94.5 percent from the free-throw line (69-of-73) for a Badgers team that enters Monday as the nation’s most accurate team from the stripe (86.4 percent).
Fellow guard John Blackwell adds 14.9 points for Wisconsin, while 7-footers Nolan Winter (9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds) and Steven Crowl (8.5 points, 5.3 rebounds) complement the backcourt production.
“I think we’re all excited to finally play some bigger-name teams, some Big Ten teams,” Crowl said. “Michigan’s coming off a championship down in Fort Myers … They’re going to come in here hungry. I think we’re all looking forward to those bigger-time games.”
Michigan (6-1) has been idle since a 78-53 victory over then-No. 22 Xavier in the Beach Division final at the Fort Myers Tip-Off last Wednesday in Florida. The Wolverines have won five straight since a 72-70 loss to Wake Forest.
Michigan held Xavier to 34.5 percent shooting and had a commanding 38-20 edge in points in the paint despite being outrebounded 38-36.
“That was an extremely gritty performance, especially defensively,” Wolverines coach Dusty May said.
“We were as active as we’ve been, we were as physical as we’ve been. It’s a good starting point for us, as we have a long season in front of us and a lot of room to grow.”
Tre Donaldson leads Michigan’s balanced attack with 13 points per game, while Roddy Gayle Jr. averages 12 points and Nimari Burnett chips in 10.
Danny Wolf paced the Wolverines with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Xavier. The 7-footer averages 10.9 points per game and grabs a team-high 9.9 rebounds.
He and the 7-foot-1 Vladislav Goldin, who have combined for 23 of Michigan’s 33 blocks, will provide a challenging matchup inside against Crowl and Winter.
“Wolf is really skilled,” Gard said. “The little bit I’ve watched of him, he’s like a 7-foot point guard with handling the ball, and they’ve got other good players around them, as well.”
The Wolverines have won the last two meetings with the Badgers, including a 72-68 victory at Michigan last season. Wisconsin has won eight of the last 11 matchups in Madison.
–Field Level Media
