After a ragged start, Wisconsin buckles down to stop Holy Cross in its men's basketball opener

After a ragged start, Wisconsin buckles down to stop Holy Cross in its men’s basketball opener

Posted by Admin November 5, 2024 Basketball

MADISON – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team tipped off the season Tuesday night shortly after 7 p.m.

When the Badgers actually started to play was closer to 7:30.

Undaunted by a slow start, Wisconsin overcame a 16-point first half deficit to score an 85-61 victory over Holy Cross Monday night in front of 13,451 at the Kohl Center. The game was the season opener for both teams.

Senior guard John Tonje finished with 23 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He also went 8 for 8 from the free throw line and grabbed five rebounds.

Sophomore guard John Blackwell added 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Sophomore forward Nolan Winter added 15 points all in the second half. Senior center Steven Crowl grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with seven points.

The difference in the game came on the defensive end where UW held Holy Cross to 33% shooting in the second half and to 35% shooting (14 of 40) after falling behind by 16 points to the Crusaders at the 11:42 mark of the first half.

“They really stepped up their defensive intensity, their defensive pressure, and really forced us out of our comfort zone after we got off to such a hot start,” Holy Cross coach Dave Paulsen said. “That’s what a team that is used to winning does, a disciplined team.”

That defense took the form of on-the-ball pressure from senior guard Kamari McGee, more active hands in the passing lanes by all the UW defenders and running Holy Cross’ Gabe Warren off the three-point line.

Warren finished with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting. He hit four of his seven attempts from three-point range.

The 6-6 sophomore got plenty of good looks early because of an error in the scouting report that sometimes happens early in the season.

“Warren was labled as a non-shooter in our scouting report, so that went out the window after the third one,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “(Us) not finishing in the paint or us missing wide-open threes and then having them come (and score) in transition, they were able to get some confidence and obviously he felt confident.

“But I like how we responded and battle back and grew defensively as the game wore on and wore them down significantly.”

Badgers’ comeback fueled by first-half and second-half runs

Wisconsin led by as many as 30 points before the final buzzer. As the game wore on Holy Cross had a harder time running its offense.

Two runs were key to the Badgers’ comeback.

UW went on an 18-2 run that spanned about 6 ½ minutes and tied the game, 25-25, with 5 minutes 17 second to go in the first half. Tonje had eight points during the run, including six of the final eight points.

And in the second half the Badgers went on a 16-0 run that gave them a 55-40 edge with 12:25 to play. Tonje, Blackwell and senior Max Klesmit hit threes during the run. Carter Gilmore added a three-point play.

Wisconsin led by at least nine points the rest of the night.

It was strong debut for Tonje, who played just eight games last season at Missouri due to a foot injury.

“It was tough to sit out a year,” Tonje said. “I love basketball so it’s great to come out here and have a start. Early in the game we’ve got to be more aggressive and figure it out. I’m glad for the result.”

Nolan Winter, Xavier Amos among UW’s contributors

Besides opening the season with a victory, the game allowed Gard to good a look at Winter work in the post where he hit all six of his shots in the second half.

The coach also saw Northern Illinois transfer Xavier Amos deliver help settle the Badgers defensively in the first half. Ditto for Gilmore, a senior.

McGee, who was part of the first substitution, played almost 28 minutes and finished the night with seven points and four assists. His plus/minus of plus-35 spoke to the impact he had on the defensive end.

It is the part of the game where Gard wants to see the most growth.

“Hopefully as you go through a season you grow half to half and this group understands (that),” he said. “Obviously I think we can score. How we continue to grow defensively will be extremely important.”