The Wisconsin Badgers’ men’s basketball team defeated Bradley 81-62 in their Round 1 matchup of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday.
Fueled by a career night for Steven Crowl, Wisconsin easily took care of business at the Kohl Center. The seven-footer scored a career-high 36 points while also reeling in nine rebounds versus the Braves.
Crowl was an uber-efficient 12-for-16 from the field while nailing five three-pointers on seven attempts, also a career high from deep. Coming off of an eight-point performance against Ohio State in the Badgers’ disappointing Round 1 loss at the Big Ten Tournament, the big man went off Tuesday.
Teammates Max Klesmit (16 points) and Connor Essegian (14 points) also joined Crowl in double-digits and the three of them alone outscored Bradley 66-62 in the game.
For the Braves, Rienk Mast did his best to keep them in the game, scoring a team-high 14 points while snagging a game-high 12 rebounds, but his efforts weren’t enough.
Greg Gard and the Badgers will now move on the to second round of the NIT on Sunday, taking on three-seed Liberty at the Kohl Center (time TBD).
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
