John Tonje, John Blackwell lead No. 18 Wisconsin men’s basketball past Nebraska

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MADISON – You had to like Wisconsin’s response.

Five days ago the Badgers men’s basketball team left UCLA with a two-point loss marked by a handful of defensive breakdowns. The vibe afterward was one of a team that knew it let one get away and was confident it would get things fixed in time for its next game.

Sunday UW put its words into action with an 83-55 wire-to-wire victory over Nebraska at the Kohl Center that was marked by a more connected effort defensively and one of the team’s best three-point shooting day of the season.

The Badgers, who are ranked No. 18 by the Associated Press and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches poll, improved to 16-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten. Nebraska ( 12-8, 2-7) lost its sixth straight game. Former Badger Connor Essegian had eight points on 3-for-10 shooting in his return to Madison. Senior Brice Williams led the Cornhuskers with 11 points.

BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 83, Nebraska 55

Graduate guard John Tonje finished with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting and was 5 for 11 from three-point range. Sophomore guard John Blackwell posted 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting and senior guard Kamari McGee came off the bench to hit four of six shots and scored 11 points.

Wisconsin hit 17 three-pointers and shot 45.9% from beyond the arc.

The Badgers led by 17 points on two occasions in the first half, but put away Nebraska for good with a 16-2 run during the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) drives past Nebraska forward Andrew Morgan (23) to score during the first half Sunday at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The spurt turned a 44-33 UW advantage into a 60-35 lead with 10 minutes 27 seconds to go.

Five Badgers scored during the run, which started with a three-point play by senior Carter Gilmore that was created off a nice dish from junior Xavier Amos.

Senior Max Klesmit followed with a three-pointer and Tonje added a drive and dunk that pushed the Badgers’ lead to 52-33 at the 14:06 mark of the second half.

Nebraska snapped…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/john-tonje-john-blackwell-lead-201703842.html

Author : Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Publish date : 2025-01-26 20:17:00

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