Rutgers Scarlet Knights may have the star power but rolling Wisconsin Badgers got the win in their Monday night encounter as the latter leaned on their veterans to buck slow start, led by sophomore John Blackwell.
Super rookies Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper hosted the Badgers in hopes of getting back to winning ways but their visitors were just too much.
Blackwell scored 21 points to lead the Badgers while usual suspects Steven Crowl and John Tonje scored 18 and 15, respectively.
Bailey and Harper came to the game with great attention from scouts but Blackwell did not care.
“You can’t treat them no different,” Blackwell said about the match up with the two rookies.
“I mean, everybody can hoop.”
Badgers threw everything at the two young guys as they failed to make a dent on the Badgers defense.
Bailey finished with just nine points and seven assists in 27 minutes while Harper failed to score in 15 minutes.
Tyson Acuff led the Rutgers with 17 points.
John Blackwell praises team’s maturity after slow start
Badgers came to the game on the heels of a three-game winning start. The momentum did not carry on as they struggled to start the game against their hosts.
It is understandable as the Rutgers were undefeated at Jersey Mike’s Arena before Monday.
Coach Greg Gard’s squad had 16 turnovers once the dust settled but good thing for them, the offense clicked.
Blackwell said it is their maturity that propelled them to victory.
“This game shows the maturity and leadership we have on this team,” he said.
“They went on their runs, the crowd got into it, and we never wavered, never went away. We showed our pace and finished it the right way.”
Gard agrees.
“As it always is when you come in here and try to come out on the (winning) side, it’s going to be a rock fight at times,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “I thought we were showed some grittiness and some toughness, maybe when things didn’t flow as smoothly as they can sometimes for us offensively.”
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