Wisconsin coach Greg Gard elaborates on Badgers’ final shot in regulation vs. Oregon

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Through 27 games, Wisconsin basketball has identified its undisputed offensive closer.

In his first season with the Badgers, star wing John Tonje is as collected in the clutch as any playmaker in college basketball. The North Omaha, Nebraska, native is responsible for 19.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.9 minutes per appearance for the Badgers in his first season in Madison. Performances in big wins over Arizona (41 points), Purdue (32 points) and Illinois (31 points) weight those impressive averages.

On Saturday, Tonje displayed his offensive prowess throughout the bulk of the first half vs. Oregon. The 6-foot-5 star scored 16 points in a six-minute stretch to propel Wisconsin to a 17-point edge ahead of intermission.

In the game’s final offensive sequence of regulation, however, Tonje did not receive an opportunity to display his game-clinching ability. After Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad nailed a three-point field goal to knot the contest at 66, UW head coach Greg Gard elected against calling a timeout and allowed the Badgers to orchestrate the final possession organically.

Veteran guard Max Klesmit, who went 3-of-9 from the field on Saturday, ended up taking the final shot of regulation — a step-back, mid-range jumper. His attempt hit the front rim. The Badgers would go on to lose in overtime.

After the contest, Gard justified his choice of enabling Klesmit to take the final shot instead of Tonje, who had scored 20 points up to that point. Here’s everything he said about that sequence:

“Tonje had it a lot,” Gard told media after the game. “And 20 shots is pretty inefficient. He took a lot of tough shots. I thought [JT] Bamba did a much better job on him in the second half. He was physical, wouldn’t let him get daylight. We tried to run some stuff and free him up off things, but Bamba was pretty well locked into him. And then when we did get to the rim you had Bittle in there too. That was a factor at the rim. Everybody can obviously second-guess it. But you know,…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/wisconsin-coach-greg-gard-elaborates-142714739.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-23 14:27:00

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