RECAP: Wisconsin basketball survives Ohio State late comeback, notches sixth straight win

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Wisconsin basketball (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten) extended its win streak to six games with a 70-68 victory against the Ohio State Buckeyes (10-7, 2-4 Big Ten) on Tuesday.

After leading by as many as 17 points at the intermission, the Badgers witnessed the Buckeyes conduct a second-half rally to cut the deficit to just one point in the game’s waning seconds. Fueled by strong play from veteran wing John Tonje, Wisconsin prevailed from the foul line late to secure its fourteenth win of the 2024-25 season.

Tonje logged a game-best 17 points off a perfect 10-of-10 mark from the free throw line in the victory. Senior center Steven Crowl continued his strong play with 14 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard John Blackwell added 15 points, six rebounds and two assists.

It was truly a tale of two halves for the Badgers. Following a dominant second half performance against Minnesota on Jan. 10, Wisconsin picked up right where it left off by outscoring the Buckeyes 37-20 in the opening stanza.

Of note, the Badgers nailed 13 of 14 looks from the free throw line in the first half, as Crowl and Blackwell combined for 19 points at the break.

After the half, the Buckeyes retaliated with force. Following John Tonje’s nasty poster dunk near the 12:00-minute mark, Ohio State manufactured a 9-0 scoring surge to cut the deficit to four with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The two squads traded buckets for the ensuing five minutes before Tonje went on an individual tear from the charity stripe and behind the arc to bring UW’s edge back up to eight. OSU then scored seven unanswered points to make the margin 65-64 in favor of Wisconsin with 16 seconds remaining.

Free throws followed, and the Badgers ultimately prevailed despite two critical misses from Blackwell. The Buckeyes outplayed Wisconsin in nearly every facet during the second half. The Badgers’ aggressiveness in the first half and Tonje’s late takeover proved to be the difference.

Wisconsin will now head to the West Coast to take…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/recap-wisconsin-basketball-survives-ohio-043800693.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-15 04:38:00

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