John Tonje netted 17 points as No. 24 Wisconsin held off a late comeback from Ohio State, securing a 70-68 win on Tuesday night, which marked the sixth consecutive victory for the Badgers.

Wisconsin entered halftime with a solid lead, up 37-20, but Ohio State rallied to reduce the deficit to just one point at 65-64 with a layup from Micah Parrish with 16 seconds remaining. Tonje, however, played a crucial role in keeping Wisconsin ahead, converting crucial free throws down the stretch.

Notably, Tonje’s late 3-pointer had previously pushed Wisconsin ahead 65-57 with just over four minutes on the clock. In addition to Tonje’s performance, John Blackwell contributed 15 points and Steven Crowl added 14 for the Badgers, leading their coach Greg Gard to reach the milestone of 200 career wins.

On the other side, Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 21 points, while Devin Royal chipped in with 12 points as the Buckeyes fell to a record of 10-7 and 2-4 in Big Ten play.

Wisconsin struggled to begin the second half, missing six of their first seven shots. This allowed Ohio State to narrow the gap to 39-30, thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Thornton and John Mobley Jr. A subsequent 3-pointer from Royal finished off a 9-0 scoring run that brought the Buckeyes within four points at 48-44, just over 10 minutes into the half.

In terms of insights from the game, Ohio State has faced a tough stretch, losing three of their last four contests by a narrow total of just 11 points. For Wisconsin, the highlight was the return of guard Max Klesmit, who rejoined the starting lineup after missing a previous game due to an ankle injury.

A significant moment in the match came when Kamari McGee snagged an offensive rebound after Blackwell missed a free throw. McGee then made both of his free throw attempts with 11 seconds left, denying Ohio State a chance to take the lead.

As for statistics, Wisconsin maintained an impressive free-throw shooting performance, connecting on 25 of 28 attempts. This exceptional percentage was highlighted by Tonje, who impressively went 10 for 10 from the charity stripe, reinforcing Wisconsin’s status as the nation’s top free-throw shooting team, operating at 85.1% before the game.

Looking ahead, Ohio State is set to host Indiana on Friday, while Wisconsin will begin a two-game stint on the West Coast, facing USC on Saturday and UCLA on Tuesday.