No. 18 Wisconsin brings a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday’s second leg of a Los Angeles road swing when the Badgers visit new Big Ten Conference counterpart UCLA.
Wisconsin (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten) began its maiden conference voyage to Los Angeles on Saturday with an 84-69 win at Southern California. John Blackwell’s 28 points paced the Badgers and improved his season scoring average to 16.1 points per game.
Blackwell’s effort also showed the high-scoring Wisconsin offense can continue to produce without its No. 1 scorer, John Tonje, putting up points. Tonje leads five Badgers with double-figure scoring averages with 17.2 points per game but went scoreless on Saturday with USC running a defensive scheme focused on slowing him down.
“It just shows the leadership of our team,” Blackwell told reporters following the game. “We didn’t get too chaotic. We handled (a USC) run and weathered the storm and went on a run and finished the game off right.”
Balance is becoming a signature of the surging Badgers.
Max Klesmit helped pick up the slack on Saturday with 18 points as Wisconsin’s scoring average rose to 82.4 points per game. The Badgers ranked No. 28 nationally in scoring offense through Sunday’s games.
UCLA (12-6, 3-4) looks to limit another outstanding offensive opponent while extending its own scoring performance following a 94-70 rout of Iowa on Friday. The Bruins snapped out of a four-game losing skid, holding a Hawkeyes offense that led the nation in scoring coming into Friday’s contest to 21-of-47 shooting from the floor.
UCLA, meanwhile, shot a torrid 36 of 58 on field-goal attempts and Eric Dailey Jr.’s career-high 23 points powered the Bruins’ second-highest scoring game of the season.
The emphatic win improved UCLA to 9-1 at home and marked the culmination of an emotional return from their East Coast road swing through Maryland and Rutgers.
The trip to the Big Ten’s furthest eastern outposts coincided with the wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles area, which UCLA coach Mick Cronin noted following Friday’s contest.
“Great game for us considering what we’ve been through with the situation here at home,” Cronin said. “I want to thank our band that was here and everybody who took the time to come (Friday night). We needed your support, and I know everybody’s got something else on their minds, but the support is much appreciated.”
Cronin was also appreciative of the contributions from William Kyle III, who scored a season-high 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. Expect to see more of the power forward on Tuesday.
“(Longtime San Antonio Spurs coach) Gregg Popovich had a great line, ‘Make me play you’. And Will deserved to keep playing, he made me keep him in, and he played great,” Cronin said. “The Big Ten league is a big, strong league, and we’ve struggled with that.”
Establishing a physical presence inside will be vital for UCLA against Wisconsin, a team that shoots 57.4 percent from inside the 3-point arc. The Badgers also flourish at getting to the foul line, scoring 22.2 percent from their points at the charity stripe — 50th-most in the nation, per KenPom.com.
–Field Level Media
