For the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (16-4), Sunday was one of those days where everything clicked. Playing with an edge, the Badgers got on top of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-8) early, played consistently sound defense and let the threes fly, dominating Nebraska for most of the 40-minute game that ended in an 83-55 victory.
Led by the one-two punch of guards John Tonje and John Blackwell, the Badgers offense operated with explosiveness from the jump. Tonje led all scorers with 27 points, meshing his 3-point jumper with an ability to slash through the lane. With five threes, Tonje continued to stay hot from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Blackwell added 14 points, hitting four threes. Guard Kamari McGee also put forth 14 points for Wisconsin off the bench, hitting three threes.
“I think they’re one of the best teams in the country,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said following the game. “They’ve got five guys that can make a shot, five guys that can make a play off the dribble. They’re very hard to guard, especially when they get comfortable early.”
With an offense operating at high levels, Wisconsin mustered up its best defensive performance of the season, holding Nebraska to 55 points and limiting the effectiveness of the Cornhuskers’ most dynamic scorer, guard Brice Williams. The Badgers held Williams, who is averaging 18.5 points per game this season, to 11, shooting 4-12 from the field.
“We knew after Tuesday’s game [and 85-83 loss at UCLA] that we had to step it up defensively,” McGee said. “We knew it wasn’t our scoring, but at the either end. So, when we came back into practice, we just locked in a lot more than we have been and just had to turn it around and come out this game better defensively, and we did.”
Any indication that Wisconsin was reeling after their road loss to UCLA was squarely squashed within the first few minutes of the game.
Led by fiery starts from Blackwell and Tonje, Wisconsin got off to a scorching 19-2 run to open the game. Back-to-back threes from the two got the scoring started for Wisconsin. After Tonje converted on a fast-break bucket and another three, Wisconsin had an 11-2 lead, and Tonje had nine points.
On Wisconsin’s next three possessions, Blackwell scored a driving lay-in, hit a three and then found Nolan Winter open for another. Playing near-perfect basketball, the Badgers built a 19-2 lead and had an already energetic Kohl Center fully ignited.
But with a large advantage, Wisconsin took its foot off the pedal in the next few minutes. As they have been prone to this season, the Badgers continued to relinquish early leads Sunday. Over the next ten minutes, Nebraska rattled off a 19-5 run of their own, bringing the game to 24-21 with 5:48 remaining. The Badgers looked like a shell of the version of themselves they showed in the first five minutes, playing sluggish and dull, letting the Huskers get back in the game.
But any intensity the Badgers may have lost was regained in the remainder of the half, as an explosive fast-break dunk from Jack Janicki, a barrage of threes and a renewed sense of defensive purpose built Wisconsin’s lead back up to 17 points.
Nebraska scored the last five points of the half, and at halftime, the Badgers led 40-28.
In the first six minutes of the second half, Wisconsin added seven points to their advantage. While the Badgers played solid defense, Max Klesmit, after being held scoreless in the first half, connected on a mid-range jumper and three, and the Badgers had slowly strengthened their chokehold on the Huskers.
But after a vicious dunk from Tonje, made sweeter with it coming in the vicinity of former-Badger Connor Essegian, Wisconsin had firm control of the game.
A medley of threes from Blackwell and McGee pushed Wisconsin’s lead into the 20s around the 10-minute mark, and the Badgers coasted to victory from there.
For the Badgers, this victory represents a snapshot of their potential. Wisconsin has formed an identity as a dangerous offensive team but has yet to prove much consistency defensively. Saturday, Wisconsin continued to strike fear offensively, but also found an intensity on defense that led to an authoritative, decisive victory.
