No. 21 Wisconsin Basketball scores thread-to-thread victory over Indiana

On February 5, 2025By Littum

Madison – Five minutes made all the difference for Wisconsin Tuesday night.

Badger’s men’s basketball team quickly got out of the gate and scored 19 of the first 21 points against Indiana. Opening games run set the tone for UWS 10^Th Wind in the last 12 games, a 76-64 win that raised its record to 18-5 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten.

Uw that is ranked No. 21 of Associated Press and No. 19 in USA Today Coaches PollParlayed, starting in an early 22-point lead.

The advantage was big enough for it to allow Badgers to resist a Hoosiers race that cuts the lead to 12 at half and trimmed it to as few as 11 points early in the second half.

Box score: Wisconsin 76, Indiana 64

These last 20 minutes were sometimes a grinding to UW. After hit 9 out of 16 (56.3%) in the first half from three-point range and 45.2% overall, it joined 41.1% of its shots in the second half, which included a larger dip from three-point range (3 for 13 or 23.1%)

“I thought we set the tone early. We took triangles early and turned the scoreboard quickly, but I thought we were really calling in and making good decisions defensively, ”said Badgers coach Greg Gard. “And at times we turned our defense to offense. It was the most important thing. “

Graduate Guard John Tonje ended with 15 points and five rebounds for Wisconsin. Senior Guard Max Klesmit added with 13 points and six assists. Sophomore spikes Nolan Winter added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed five rebounds

The legend of Carter Gilmore continued to grow. The fifth year’s senior hit three of four shots and placed 10 points that included 2 triangles.

Indiana (14-9, 5-7) lost its fourth straight battle and dropped its 21^st Straight competition at the Kohl Center. Sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako ended with 15 points for Hoosiers. Redshirt Senior Center Oumar Ballo, who entered the play that led Indiana in the scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 RPG), was limited to four points on 1-for-3 shooting and five rebounds at 26 minutes.

“It was something that was part of the game plan. We had to jump on them tonight, ”said Klesmit. “Ballo, these last five of six matches, have an average of 35, 36 minutes, so we knew that a way of taking advantage of his legs was to play on a faster clip.

“But I think we learned from the last game. Northwestern was a flatter start. KEEP Won’t just share it out and give it to you. You need to make sure everyone is ready from RIP. “

While Wisconsin’s violation did not flow so well in the second half, its start was a thing of beauty.

Badgers scored on seven of their first eight belongings. Four players scored during this stretch. Five Three-Pointers were made.

The result was a 19-2 lead before the first media-timeout. Wisconsin hit six of his first seven shots. It included 5 for 6 from three-point range.

UW continued to lead 26-4 while scoring at 10 of his first 13 belongings. Six badgers had a hand in putting points on the board during that part of the game.

That stretch lasted only 8 minutes but it made all the difference in getting the team’s 18^Th win.

“The biggest thing is to compete,” Gard said, as he asked his team’s fast starts. “That was the one message at the end. You can never replace the game hard and play smart and play together. “

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

Max Klesmit has one of its better all-round games

Here is Klesmit’s line: 13 points, 4-for-10 shooting, 2 for 6 on three-pointers, 3-for-3 free throwing, six assists, three stealing, zero revenue.

The performance exemplified the value he brings on the floor even when the shots do not fall.

He was critical during the game opening race. He helped Graduate Center Steven Crowl and winter on the team’s first two buckets. About 2 ½ minutes later, he connected to back-to-back triangles pushing the advantage of 19-2 at the 15: 40 mark.

At one point he accounted for 18 of Badger’s first 33 points at basket or assists.

“He does a lot of the little things that help us win,” Gard said. “Just the emotional leadership he brings. I thought he was a big part of our start not only offensively but defensively.

Everyone will look at, we went 6 for 7 from three to start. It was the defensive end where I felt we got control of the game early and made it difficult for them to get started and get what they wanted, and Max was a big part of it with just his presence, also the vocal Leadership that he brings. “

Steven Crowl, Nolan Winter Meet Challenge of IU’s Oumar Ballo

The last time Ballo was facing UW, played 7-foot for Arizona and made seven of eight shots, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots in a 25-point victory last season in Tucson. On Tuesday, his four points were a season of low in total in 22 games.

A player’s plus/minus in total does not always give an accurate indication of the individual’s influence, but Ballo’s minus-16 was symbolic of how little he was able to influence the game for IU.

“We all felt a little embarrassed about how we were performing there, and we knew he would be a huge part of getting a win tonight …,” said Klesmit. “I want to give the honor to both Nolan and Steve and Gillie to beat around there. (Riccardo) Greppi comes in there and just became adult men and plays big ten basketball.

“He’s massive. He is huge. His arms go forever, so it might be a little scary, but I thought our 4s and 5s did a good job of putting on that challenge head and really digging in defensively. “

Also begin to the second half critical

The first 5 minutes of the second half were not as explosive as the first, but the stretch of the game allowed Badgers to restore its control over the game. Indiana pulled with 12 points, 40-28, at the break, but Badgers started the second half 11-4 races pushing their lead to 19.

This race was driven by drive to the curve of Klesmit and Tonje as well as Winter’s ability to twice take advantage of discrepancies in the position.

Indiana did not start much with that deficit until the last 77 seconds, when it scored seven unanswered points after Wisconsin cleared his bench.