INDIANAPOLIS — Nolan Winter and John Tonje each contributed 18 points, steering No. 18 Wisconsin to a 70-63 win over Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
Wisconsin, the fifth seed, advances with a 24-8 record to face the No. 4 seed UCLA in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Winter showcased precision shooting, making 4 out of 5 field goals and converting 9 of 10 attempts from the charity stripe.
Nick Martinelli headlined the scoring for the No. 13 seed Wildcats, who finished with a 17-16 record, amassing 22 points, followed by Jordan Clayton’s contribution of 10 points for Northwestern.
Ahead by eight, Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit executed a crucial 3-pointer, extending the lead to 53-42.
Kamari McGee joined in, sinking another 3-pointer that pushed the score to 56-42 with just under nine minutes left.
Tonje’s back-to-back 3-pointers further augmented the Badgers’ lead to 62-46.
Overall, Wisconsin achieved a 42% field goal percentage, whilst effectively restricting the Wildcats to 37% shooting.
The free throw battle was closely matched, with Northwestern converting 18 of 22 attempts and Wisconsin managing 18 of 23.
At halftime, Wisconsin boasted a 37-30 advantage. Both teams mirrored each other initially, each hitting 39% in the first half.
However, the key differentiator was Wisconsin’s efficiency from the free-throw line, making 12 of 15, in contrast to Northwestern’s 6 of 7.
Notably, despite trailing by 18 in the second half, Northwestern showed resilience, narrowing the deficit through a late 12-2 offensive burst.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, improved significantly in the later stages, limiting themselves to just 10 turnovers while capitalizing on Northwestern’s mistakes with a 17-5 advantage in points from turnovers.
A pivotal juncture came as Wisconsin, ahead 50-42, embarked on a 14-4 scoring spree, initiated by Klesmit’s 3-pointer, to stretch the lead further to 64-46.
Key to their performance was their improvement from the arc, improving from 3 of 12 in the first half to 5 of 13 in the latter half, hitting four consecutive triples during a crucial momentum shift.
Wisconsin next faces a challenging matchup against UCLA on Friday in the Big Ten quarterfinals, while Northwestern remains hopeful for a selection into the NIT or College Basketball Crown bids as their next engagement.
