THE BADGERS RUNDOWN
The Wisconsin Badgers shut down the Montana Grizzlies 85-66 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament After a close first half, the Badgers pulled away in the second half thanks mainly to dominant interior play on both ends of the floor. With this win, the Badgers will move on to the second round to face the BYU Cougars where they hope to dance into the Sweet Sixteen.
The Montana Grizzlies made it a close game in the first half, but in the second, it was all Wisconsin with John Blackwell leading the way with 19 points. Despite a quieter night from John Tonje, the Badgers were able to rally around their intense defense and interior offense to stamp out any chance of a Montana comeback. Five players scored in the double-digits including four starters and one of their bench players. Showing just how much of an offensive arsenal the Badgers have coming into the next round of the tournament.
Nolan Winter, Steven Crowl, John Blackwell, John Tonje, and bench player Xavier Amos all had great scoring nights on Thursday. The frontcourt duo of Nolan Winter and Steven Crowl combined for 28 points, while the 6’7 forward Xavier Amos almost replaced Max Klesmit this game, as he was in foul trouble for much of it. Coming in and scoring 11 points in just 13 minutes along with a couple of blocks and some solid defense, especially late in the game which helped the Badgers lead balloon.
John Blackwell’s excellent perimeter defense on Money Williams characterized his impact on the Badger’s win. Holding the talented scorer to just 8 points on 2-8 shooting, the usual 13-15 ppg scorer felt Blackwell’s presence in the backcourt. While he is allowed to have some pride in this victory, Blackwell gave credit to just how talented Williams is in his postgame interview.
“I just tried to make everything difficult for him.” States John Blackwell, “Because a guy like that is just a hooper if he gets in a rhythm, it’s going to be hard to stop him.”
UPCOMING
BYU Cougars will face off against the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. The #6-seeded Cougars took on the VCU Rams right after the Badgers had finished their match, BYU would eliminate the #11-seeded Rams 80-71. The Badgers take on the Cougars for only the second time in the history of the program, winning their first match-up over 14 years ago.
The Badgers take on one of the hottest offenses in the nation this weekend as they hope to continue their dance into the next round. Richie Saunders has easily been one of the best scorers on this BYU squad, averaging 16 PPG on 50/40/82 splits. But this team is chalked full of shooters, making them a similar matchup to Wisconsin. The Cougars have five rostered players each shooting over 38% from three, the Badgers will need the same defensive intensity and a little more on offense from Tonje if they’re hoping to skate by BYU.
If the Badgers want to continue their exciting storyline, they’ll have to win the battle on the boards, second-chance points have been a major detriment to this team. Keba Keita is a 6’8 center whom the Badgers will have the size advantage on, but that didn’t matter last game as Montana was still able to compete on the boards as the Badgers outrebounded them just 38-34. The Grizzlies had an even larger size discrepancy than BYU does with the Badgers, but as we know with the magic that is March Madness, whoever wants it more will take it.
