Tag: max klesmit

WATCH: Max Klesmit’s journey back home to Wisconsin basketball

Max Klesmit is back with Wisconsin basketball

There are few reasons more important than Max Klesmit’s scoring surges as to why Wisconsin basketball has jumped to the top of the Big Ten and looks poised for a deep NCAA Tournament run.

The Wisconsin native has scored in double-figures in four of his last five games, including a pair of 20+ point performances in wins over Indiana and Northwestern respectively.

Big Ten Network took a look at how Klesmit, who grew up in Neenah, ended up at Wisconsin after not initially ending up with the Badgers out of high school. He is now as important a piece as any on a team poised for a March run:

Badgers drop a couple spots in the latest AP Top 25 poll

Badgers drop a couple spots in Top 25

After the Badgers men’s basketball team went 1-1 last week versus Penn State on the road (loss) and Indiana at home (win), they fell a couple spots to being the 13th-ranked team in the latest AP Top 25 Poll on Monday.

Wisconsin narrowly fell to the Nittany Lions 87-83 on Tuesday night at State College before getting back into the win column 91-79 over the Hoosiers at the Kohl Center on Friday night.

The Badgers entered last week as the 11th-ranked team in the nation, but they’ll now head to Minnesota for a matchup with the Gophers on Tuesday night at 6PM a couple notches lower on the totem pole.

Max Klesmit scored 20 consecutive points in the second half against Indiana and he’ll look to keep up his stellar play versus Minnesota.

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Wisconsin is now one of the best offensive teams in the country

Wisconsin is now one of the best offensive teams in the country

If someone read that headline at the start of 2023, I can almost guarantee they would assume it would be referring to the Wisconsin football team and Phil Longo’s air raid offense.

That is not the case. Greg Gard’s Wisconsin basketball team shot their way to a 91-79 win over Indiana last night, improving to 14-4 on the season and 6-1 in Big Ten play. Notably, the performance also thrust the group to KenPom’s No. 4 team in overall offensive efficiency.

The team is now ranked behind only Alabama, Purdue and UConn. Not only impressive given the company, but especially so given Wisconsin’s classic defense-first identity.

The Badgers average 1.14 points per possession and 76.5 points per game. Those two numbers may not jump off the page, but one must consider the context of the team playing at a slower pace — hence KenPom’s ‘efficiency.’

The excellent offensive season can be attributed to Greg Gard’s recent transfer addition of A.J. Storr, but also Max Klesmit’s breakout and the steady play of veterans Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl. Then add John Blackwell’s significant potential as a true freshman and the deepest bench we’ve seen the team have in years, and you get a dangerous offensive group no matter the five on the floor.

This may be Gard’s best shot at a Final Four yet.

WATCH: Indiana guard ejected for dirty elbow on Max Klesmit after torrid stretch

WATCH: Indiana guard ejected for dirty elbow on Max Klesmit after torrid stretch

Max Klesmit is playing out of his mind again. The veteran guard went on another white-hot stretch tonight against Indiana. Midway through the second half, he’s now up to 23 points on 7/9 shooting and 5/6 from three.

At first, the three-pointers were shades of Kyle Korver shooting over defenders. Then the ensuing dribble moves and crafty passes looked more like Klay Thompson during one of his hot performances. It’s become a true breakout month for the Wisconsin guard.

Klesmit’s dominance in the second half tonight was enough that upon returning to the offensive side of the court, Indiana guard C.J. Gunn threw a dirty elbow while the ball was being walked up the court.

The play was reviewed and Gunn was ejected with a flagrant 2. As many pointed out, he couldn’t guard Klesmit for the last 10 minutes so instead resorted to cheap shots.

Klesmit’s run in essence closed out the game after Indiana had cut the Badgers’ deficit to seven. Wisconsin went on an 18-2 run with the guard’s hot streak, and are currently in position to come away with their sixth conference win of the season.

WATCH: Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit does his best Klay Thompson impression

WATCH: Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit does his best Klay Thompson impression

Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit is on an absolute tear.

The veteran guard dropped 18 points including 2/4 shooting from three in the Badgers 71-60 win over Ohio State earlier this week.

Then today, he backed it up big time. With three minutes left in the second half against Northwestern, he’s up to 24 points on 9/12 shooting from the floor and 5/7 from three. There was a sequence earlier in the half that looked like a Klay Thompson sequence from back in his heyday: a big three-pointer, followed by a great defensive play, followed by another basket.

In a season with A.J. Storr, Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl leading the way, a jolt like that from a role player like Klesmit makes the team that much more dangerous going forward.

 

Badgers crack latest AP Top 25 poll

Wisconsin in top 25 for the first time this season

The Badgers men’s basketball team is out to a 6-2 start to the 2023-2024 campaign and they officially cracked the latest AP Top 25 poll Monday, coming in as the 23rd-ranked team in the country.

Wisconsin is coming off of a 75-64 win over third-ranked Marquette on Saturday at the Kohl Center, a game that they never trailed in. In that game, wing Max Klesmit scored a team-high 21 points while going 5-for-10 on three-point attempts.

Greg Gard’s squad has now won five consecutive games including a 65-41 victory over Virginia at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on November 20, who were ranked 24th in the country at the time.

They’ll be back in action Tuesday night on the road at Michigan State (4-3) at 6PM.

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Wisconsin social media reacts to a statement win over Marquette

Wisconsin social media reacts to a statement win over Marquette

A Wisconsin basketball season that started rocky has begun to get rolling. The Badgers used a tremendous first half from Max Klesmit and physicality on the glass and defensive end to down No. 3 Marquette 75-64.

The Kohl Center sellout crowd certainly made a difference, as they were engaged from the opening tip. Klesmit led the way with a monster first half and finished with 21 points to lead all scorers. He knocked down five of his ten three-point attempts on the afternoon.

Despite a 9-0 Marquette spurt to begin the second half, the Badgers regained their composure and closed it out on the defensive end and the boards. Wisconsin out-rebounded Marquette 38-23 on the day and looked like the more physical, stronger basketball team.

Here is how Wisconsin social media reacted to the win that lifts the Badgers to 6-2 and drops the Golden Eagles to 6-2 on the young season:

Three Wisconsin basketball veterans to use COVID year, return in 2024-25

Good news for the Badgers entering this year and next:

Wisconsin basketball officially got its 2023-24 season underway last week with the running of Bascom Hill. The team will first take the court on November 6 for a home matchup with Arkansas State.

The Badgers have high expectations entering the season after returning Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl, Steven Crowl and others, and also adding guard A.J. Storr in the transfer portal. They are a veteran group that figures to yet again compete for a Big Ten title.

Before we get into the season, there was a positive piece of news coming out of the program yesterday: Wisconsin officials said that Steven Crowl, Max Klesmit and Carter Gilmore all plan to use their COVID year of eligibility and return in 2024-25.

The Badgers will return their veterans as an influx of high school talent joins the program. Wisconsin’s class of 2024 ranks No. 27 nationally with top point guard Daniel Freitag leading the group.

This lines up to be a successful few years at the Kohl Center.

WATCH: Highlights from Max Klesmit’s first season at Wisconsin

WATCH: Highlights from Max Klesmit’s first season at Wisconsin

Max Klesmit made a name for himself with the Badgers in 2022-23, specifically down the stretch of the campaign.

The Wofford transfer averaged 8.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest while shooting a career-best 38% from beyond the arc. He had at least 16 points in four of Wisconsin’s final seven games of the year as he finished with his best basketball.

It wasn’t only the offense, but the defense that made Klesmit so effective in 2022-23. He was often tasked with guarding the best perimeter scorer, and he was usually up to that task.

Check out the best of Klesmit in his first year as a Badger:

Wisconsin men’s basketball 2023-24 Big Ten matchups announced

The Badgers men’s basketball team had a relatively disappointing season in 2022-2023, finishing the regular season with 17-14 record.

The Badgers men’s basketball team had a relatively disappointing season in 2022-2023, finishing the regular season with 17-14 record while missing the NCAA Tournament.

They did make participate in the NIT (National Invitation Tournament), making it all the way to the semifinals where they fell to North Texas 56-54. Overall, they did salvage what was a challenging campaign, giving their roster additional in-game practice together.

Now with the entire starting lineup returning for the 2023-2024 season, Greg Gard and his staff have an opportunity to get redemption. After the Badgers went 9-11 in Big Ten matchups this past season, here’s how their conference contests will pan out in 2023-2024.