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Wisconsin basketball picked up a statement victory on Friday — a 103-88 triumph over the No. 9-ranked Arizona Wildcats.
Transfer wing John Tonje headlined the Badgers’ performance. He finished with 41 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 21-of-22 from the free-throw line. Those 41 points came within just two points of breaking Frank Kaminsky’s single-game program scoring record (43 points), while the 21 free throw makes did break the program’s previous record of 17 (Nigel Hayes, Jan. 26, 2016).
Wisconsin’s performance was again led by great three-point and free-throw shooting. Greg Gard’s team shot 48% from the floor, 44.4% from three (12-of-27) and 87.2% from the charity stripe (41-of-47). 103-point outings would have sounded impossible for previous iterations of the Badgers. Gard’s new-look, analytics-driven approach is leading to substantial results.
John Blackwell and Max Klesmit combined for 27 points in the victory, walk-on guard Jack Janicki played a big role with nine points off the bench, transfer forward Xavier Amos finished with eight points with two three-pointers made and Kamari McGee continued to excel in his role off the bench.
Every stat leads back to Tonje, who has given Wisconsin a dominant scoring presence that it desperately needed after A.J. Storr’s offseason departure. Tonje’s play and the Badgers’ big win should start to alter expectations moving forward.
Wisconsin improves to 4-0 on the young season with the statement victory. Arizona, meanwhile, drops to 2-1. The Badgers are sure to enter the AP Poll when it is updated next week.
Wisconsin returns to the court on Monday against UT-Rio Grande before a weekend road trip to the Greenbrier Classic.
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Story originally appeared on Badgers Wire
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/recap-john-tonje-stars-wisconsin-043802971.html
Author : Badgers Wire
Publish date : 2024-11-16 04:38:00
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