DENVER — Before they can survive and advance, the Wisconsin Badgers have precious few days to adapt.
East Region No. 3 seed Wisconsin insists it already turned the page from a disappointing loss in the Big Ten tournament championship game and focused on reaching new heights — at altitude — in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against No. 14 Montana.
Wisconsin (26-9) lost to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament title game on Sunday, an outcome that likely cost the high-octane Badgers a short trip down the road to Milwaukee for the first two rounds.
Coach Greg Gard is not worried about the travel, tight turnaround or playing in the thin air in Colorado.
“I’ve seen us get sent away and play really well, and I’ve seen us get sent close and not maybe play as well,” Gard said. “It works both ways. I’ve seen us play really well in Milwaukee, and I’ve seen us not play well … It’s going to be against a good team and do what you need to do to take care of business, and put yourself in position to move on.”
It is a homecoming of sorts for Player of the Year candidate John Tonje.
Wisconsin’s leading scorer at 19.2 points a game played four seasons at Colorado State, 70 miles north of Denver, before going to Missouri and then the Badgers. Tonje and John Blackwell, who is averaging 15.5 points a game, are the only two Wisconsin players scoring in double figures. But the Badgers don’t sweat scoring, either. Seven-footer Steve Crowl (9.6 points per game), Nolan Winter (9.5) and Max Klesmit (9.4) are all capable of leading the team in points.
The Badgers average 80.5 points per game and are 28th in the NCAA in margin of victory at 9.7 points using a roster of players who won’t shy away from an 3-pointer. They ranked 28th in the NCAA in 3-point attempts at 28.4 per game and have seven players with 20 made treys this season, led by Tonje’s 80.
Montana (25-9) is making its 14th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is 2-13 in its previous trips. The Grizzlies lost to Wisconsin in a 13-4 matchup in 2012, 73-49, in Albuquerque.
The last time the Grizzlies made it, they lost as the No. 14 seed to Michigan for a second consecutive tournament (2018, 2019). Their last win in the NCAA Tournament came in 2006 when they beat Nevada as the No. 12 seed.
This Montana squad is an automatic qualifier, beating Northern Colorado in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference tournament on Wednesday and waited three days to find out its fate.
“We’re always just happy to be in the field,” coach Travis DeCuire said. “You always sometimes wonder about certain matchups, style of play, pace, like that. I need to watch a lot more film to have an opinion, but there’s no question they like matching us up with the Big Ten.”
The Grizzlies also feature a balanced scoring attack, led by Money Williams, who is averaging 13.3 points a game. Malik Moore (12.8), Joe Pridgen (11.5) and Kai Johnson (11.1) are the others who are averaging in double figures in scoring for Montana.
Wisconsin is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Gard, who succeeded Bo Ryan midway through the 2015-16 season.
–Michael Kelly, Field Level Media
