Wisconsin basketball (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) extended its win streak to four with a 75-63 triumph against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Monday.
The Badgers never trailed against a short-handed Rutgers crew. With Superstar freshman Dylan Harper battling an illness and future NBA prospect Ace Bailey shooting just 3-of-16 from the field, the Scarlet Knights struggled to discover any consistency on the offensive end. Greg Gard’s group took full advantage.
Following his 32-point outburst against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 3, sophomore guard John Blackwell tallied 21 points off eight-of-15 from the floor and four-of-four from the charity stripe. Veteran center Steven Crowl dominated once more with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists of eight-of-11 from the field, and wing John Tonje added 15 points and nine rebounds in a productive outing.
The Badgers defeated a young and scrappy Scarlet Knights squad with limited contributions from both Max Klesmit and Nolan Winter. Klesmit went down with a right ankle injury after a three-point attempt in the second half, and Winter scored just three points in 23 minutes of action.
Wisconsin maintained a lead for the entire contest despite shooting under 32% from deep, collecting just six total free throw attempts and managing Klesmit’s injury,
Night night Scarlet Knights pic.twitter.com/mZ5Gr440gn
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 7, 2025
The Badgers led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but Rutgers clawed back in the second stanza to make it a three-point affair at the 6:45-minute mark. From that point forward, Gard’s group orchestrated a 13-2 scoring run for the ensuing five minutes of action.
As veteran teams tend to do against young, inexperienced groups, the Badgers closed it out with poise in the final moments. Harper, who accounts for nearly 23 points per game, didn’t scratch the score sheet. For Rutgers fans, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Wisconsin will be back in action on Jan. 10 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Kohl Center.