Badgers and Wildcats warm-up for second half
(KWMN)-The Gophers lost in their opening game to Michigan State at the Big Ten tournament, but I saw it fit to keep an eye on the rest of the Big Ten–keep your enemies close.
Without Chucky Hepburn, the Wisconsin Badgers used a career day from AJ Storr, and an efficient performance from Steven Crowl to upend Northwestern 70-61.
St. Johns transfer forward, AJ Storr, scored a career high 30 points for the Badgers on 10/16 from the field, including three triples on five attempts. He was the main attraction all game long for the Badgers, nailing big shot after big shot.
“Keep going. keep going until the clock hits zero. Just keep going,” Storr said, when asked what goes through his mind when he’s having a game like he had.
Steven Crowl finished with 19, Max Klesmit added 10 points, and the Badgers rolled.
Northwestern guard, Boo Bouie, a first team selection in the Big Ten, started the game hot for the Wildcats. It helped give Northwestern a 21-10 lead to open the game. It was a physical, gritty effort from both sides early, and with Bouie’s hot start it felt like the Wildcats were well on their way. The Badgers answered with a 20-5 run of their own however, and it gave them the lead.
Head coach for the Badgers, Greg Gard, said following the win,
“Obviously a completely different game than yesterday [vs. Maryland]. Had to gut it out, dig in defensively. It wasn’t a great start, but the guys did a phenomenal job defensively, and were able to make shots.”
The battle continued throughout the matchup, but Boo Bouie slowed down in the second half, only scoring eight points in the final 16 minutes. He still finished with 29. Wisconsin had a 10-point lead with six minutes to play, and the lead fluctuated from 10, to as low as six, but Northwestern was never able to get over the hump. The Badgers used a big three ball from Freshman John Blackwell with two to play, and Storr followed it up with a huge block and steal on the other end that virtually sealed the victory for Wisconsin.
Junior Max Klesmit, in his second season with the Badgers after transferring from Wofford, played the role of distributor with Chucky Hepburn sitting out. Klesmit finished with seven assists, leading the team. Typically, Klesmit is lighting it up from the 3-point line, but today he was needed elsewhere.
“Max is a warrior. Gutty. Got huge heart. A competitor. Showed that today,” Gard said of his sharpshooter.
There have been two Badger teams throughout the season. One that beat #3 Marquette and started Big Ten play 8-1. And the other that was blown out by Providence and lost eight of 11 to close the season. In their opening round game, we saw the Badgers hit their shots with ease, blowing out the Terrapins of Maryland 87-56 and shooting over 60% from deep. Today they showed they can play gritty and win an ugly basketball game that needed defense more than anything.
When the Badgers are on, it feels like they can compete with anyone in the nation, when they’re off, and don’t have the defense to back it up, they look like a team that will see a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament. So far in the Big Ten tournament, we’ve seen the former.
“I think getting healthy was a big piece, starters have been different parts of our team throughout the year…I always felt the ace of this team has been the depth…We’re not dependent on one or two people, we’ve got a lot of places we can go [with the ball]” Gard said.
He referenced the spark that the bench provides, with the likes of Kamari McGee and John Blackwell. Blackwell struggled offensively today and got into foul trouble early–a big reason why he only played 24 minutes. For McGee, he showed that spark, coming in relief of Blackwell with Hepburn out. McGee had more than one defensive moments that got the Badgers back on track.
The Badgers will be tested with the top seed in the conference in Purdue–a team that’s beaten them twice already on the season–tomorrow afternoon in the Big Ten semifinal. They’ll tip at noon from the Target Center, with a trip to the Conference Championship on the line.
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