Badgers take down Wildcats, advance in B1G tournament | Wisconsin Badgers
Defense powers Wisconsin to the quarterfinals
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nolan Winter and John Tonje each scored 18 points to lead No. 18 Wisconsin to a 70-63 victory over Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
The Badgers (24-8), seeded fifth, will face No. 4 seed UCLA in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Winter hit 4 of 5 shots and 9 of 10 free throws.
Nick Martinelli led the No. 13 seed Wildcats (17-16) with 22 points. Jordan Clayton added 10 points for Northwestern.
Leading by eight points, Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 53-42. Kamari McGee followed that with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 56-42 with 8:58 remaining. Two more 3-pointers by Tonje gave the Badgers a 62-46 edge.
The Badgers shot 42% from the field while holding the Wildcats to 37%.
Free throws were nearly even with the Wildcats making 18 of 22 while the Badgers were 18 of 23 from the line.
Wisconsin held a 37-30 lead at halftime. Both teams shot 39% in the first half. The difference was the Badgers made 12 of 15 free throws compared to 6 of 7 for the Wildcats.
Wisconsin moves on to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, taking on the 4th seeded UCLA Bruins on Friday. The matchup starts at approximately 1:30 p.m. CT and will air live on Big Ten Network.
The Badgers will have a pair of events on Friday for fans in Indianapolis .UW will have a sendoff for the team from the Omni Hotel (40 W Jackson Pl, Indianapolis, IN 46225) at 11:15 a.m. CT (12:15 p.m. ET). Join the UW Band, UW Spirit Squad and Bucky Badger and cheer the Badgers on!
After the sendoff, fans can gather for a pre-game pep rally at Brother’s Bar and Grill (255 S Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46225) from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT (12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. ET). UW will be giving away shirts, beads, buttons, fanny packs and more!
