Wisconsin looks to bounce back from its disappointing end to the regular season when the 18th-ranked Badgers face Northwestern Thursday afternoon in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
The 13th-seeded Wildcats (17-15) advanced with a 72-64 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday behind Nick Martinelli’s 28 points.
Fifth-seeded Wisconsin (23-8) suffered an 87-75 upset Saturday at home against Penn State, which cost the Badgers a double-bye in the tournament. Penn State, which finished 17th in the 18-team conference, had lost 22 straight games against the Badgers and hadn’t won in Madison in 30 years.
When the Badgers and Wildcats met Feb. 1 at Northwestern, Wisconsin rallied for a 75-69 win thanks to a 50-point second half.
“They have such a juggernaut offensively,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said after Wednesday’s win. “We gave them 50 points in the second half. So much of it again is going to be our defense. They’ll hit you from five different spots.”
The Badgers lost three of their final five games. They let a 15-point second-half lead slip away in a 77-73 overtime home loss to Oregon, then led Penn State by 13 late in the first half before falling by 12.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard spent a lot of time dissecting and analyzing the loss to Penn State.
“We needed to flush it quick and move on and get ready for what’s coming at the end of this week,” Gard said Tuesday. “We touched on it briefly yesterday. One nice thing about younger adults, they move on faster than a 50-some-year-old head coach does.”
Wisconsin averages 80.8 points per game, the most since the 1970-71 squad set the school record with 86.3 points per game. The Badgers have scored at least 80 points in 16 games this season, most in school history.
Wisconsin is 32-1 when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer over the last two years.
John Tonje, a unanimous first-team all-conference pick, averages 18.9 points and John Blackwell adds 15.6 per game. Blackwell has averaged 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds over the last four games.
Starting guard Max Klesmit missed the last three games with a lower leg injury, but said he expects to play Thursday.
“Feeling good, going to play,” Klesmit said Tuesday. “I think I’ve put myself in a really good position to make a deep run here in this Big Ten tournament and this NCAA Tournament.”
The Badgers lead the nation in free-throw accuracy at 83.6 percent and they’ve made more (514) than their opponents have attempted (511).
Martinelli, a second-team all-conference pick, leads the Big Ten with 20.4 points per game and Ty Berry averages 10.6.
The Wildcats have been hard hit by injuries. Senior guard Brooks Barnhizer, who averaged 17.1 points and a team-high 8.8 boards, was lost for the season in late January with a foot injury. Guard Jalen Leach (14.3 ppg) went down in early February with an ACL injury.
Wisconsin has won the Big Ten tournament three times (2004, 2008, 2015) and advanced to the title game eight times.
“We’ve got a chance here over the next four days to chase another championship,” Gard said. “So, that’s where our minds are right now.”
–Field Level Media
