Wisconsin basketball Montana NCAA Tournament game reaction

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Wisconsin started its NCAA Tournament quest with a stress-free 85-66 win over No. 14-seed Montana.

John Blackwell led all scorers with 19 points off 7-of-12 shooting from the field. His efforts were complimented by strong games from two key frontcourt members: starting center Steven Crowl (18 points, four rebounds, two assists on 8-of-10 shooting) and reserve forward Xavier Amos (11 points, two rebounds, four assists and two blocks). The latter played arguably his best game as a Badger, leading a bench unit that helped to deliver a game-clinching run in the second half.

Wisconsin led just 51-47 with 15:14 left in the game. Bench forward Carter Gilmore drilled an important three-pointer, extending the advantage to seven points. Gilmore wasn’t finished: he grabbed the ensuing defensive rebound and added another layup on the offensive end, pushing the lead back to nine. Kamari McGee then assisted on a Nolan Winter three-pointer to extend Wisconsin’s advantage to double-digits. Montana would soon cut that lead back to nine points with a Kai Johnson three-pointer with 12:22 left. Amos, however, provided a quick response, cutting inside for an easy dunk to push the score to 61-50 in favor of the Badgers. Montana would not come within 10 points for the rest of the game.

The Badgers shot a whopping 73% from inside the three-point line against the undersized Grizzlies. Blackwell (7-of-10 from two), Crowl (6-of-7), Amos (4-of-5) and Gilmore (2-of-2) were all terrific in that regard. They scored above their season average (85 vs.  79.7) despite a pedestrian shooting performance from outside (7-of-23, 30.4%).

Wisconsin will now face the winner of No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 VCU in the second round on Saturday. Before the page is turned and the Badgers continue their postseason run, here are some of the best reactions from the comfortable first-round win.

Carter Gilmore was again key to a big win

Gilmore shushed the Montana crowd after a big three

Big Cat’s message: cherish tournament wins,…

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Source link : https://badgerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/badgers/mens-basketball/2025/03/20/wisconsin-basketball-montana-tournament-game-reaction/82574686007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-20 20:30:00

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