While the football team may be reeling, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team continued their impressive start on Sunday, coming back from behind to beat the Pitt Panthers 81-75, improving to 7-0 on the season.
Wisconsin had another slow start, thanks to some poor shooting numbers, but found a way to cut the lead to seven by halftime before exploding with a 54-point second half to execute the comeback and have their best start to a season since 2014-15, when the Badgers made it all the way to the NCAA Championship.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 81-75 win over the Pitt Panthers on Sunday.
John Tonje
Badgers fans have gotten used to the John Tonje experience early in the season, most notably when the transfer guard dropped a career-high 41 points to help upset the then-No. 9 Arizona Wildcats last Friday.
But, that doesn’t make it any less fulfilling when a Tonje takeover happens. Which is exactly what went down on Sunday.
The graduate transfer poured in 33 points on the day, shooting 11/19 from the field and 10/10 from the free throw line. On a day where the threes weren’t falling, Tonje did what he’s shown to excel at: drive downhill to the rim and attack. He was 10/14 inside the arc, while earning a significant amount of free throws as well.
More importantly, the guard scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half, finding out how to click after a 2/8 performance from the field over the first 20 minutes. Tonje shot 9/11 overall in the final period, knocking down one of his two three-pointers, while also hitting six free throws.
Wisconsin had a go-to scorer with AJ Storr last year. Early on, Tonje is a frontrunner for an All-Big Ten team and has fit perfectly with Greg Gard’s offensive style as a feature wing, helping the Badgers get to some of their best marks in program history from a scoring perspective.
Second halves
Wisconsin did a great job getting out ahead against the UCF Knights on Friday, which allowed them to hold the lead for the entire game, while keeping their opponent at a double-digit distance for much of the contest.
That wasn’t the case against a feisty Pitt team that showed physicality early, prompting Wisconsin to fall into a 22-9 deficit over the first 11.5 minutes on Sunday.
But, as they’ve done in a number of different games, the Badgers found a way to come back, and it was thanks to yet another elite second-half effort, as Wisconsin poured in 54 points to beat Pitt by six and win the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
Wisconsin has a core of experienced veterans, which has proven to be important as games go on, while their depth has been crucial to not only match up well with teams, but to have different players that defenses must account for on any given play.
Tonje was the spark and Wisconsin still gave up 41 points in the second half, but it was a collective effort over the final 20 minutes, as the Badgers defended the three really well, allowing Pitt to shoot just 2/13 from the period. The team hauled in seven offensive rebounds, turned the ball over just twice, and got to the free-throw line, capitalizing on opportunities in the comeback.
The Badgers need to start games better. And they should even out with their scoring marks. But, the way they’ve been able to rally and come together in the second halves when a game is on the line has been impressive. And that came together again on Sunday.
Greg Gard
Head coach Greg Gard deserves a ton of credit for the way Wisconsin has started.
Yes, the Badgers have an experienced group and Tonje has been a revelation out of the transfer portal.
But, Wisconsin needed to absolutely hit on players this offseason after losing a number of key contributors, and Gard went out and found a number of hits who fit well into the system he was looking to run.
Tonje was a perfect fit, as he was a downhill wing who could shoot the ball well and play off-ball. His addition has single-handedly propelled the Badgers to a Top 25 ranking, as he complements fellow guards Max Klesmit, John Blackwell, and Kamari McGee well in the backcourt.
Even Xavier Amos has begun to shine as a stretch four, although his minutes have been sporadic early on as he continues to figure out the defensive side of things.
But, Gard’s biggest adjustment has been the evolvement of the offense, which he talked about in length after Wisconsin’s win over Appalachian State, acknowledging that college basketball has changed to where scoring is an absolute necessity in today’s game.
As a result, Wisconsin is averaging 86.8 points per game and is on pace for their best offensive season ever, as they have a strong complementary team where a number of different players can pick up the load on a given day.
This Badgers team was written off to begin the season because of the lack of perceived star power. But, Gard has gotten his team off to a strong start, and Wisconsin looks like a legitimate threat this year, not only in the Big Ten, but also on the national scale.
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