Wisconsin Badgers rolled to their sixth straight win after taking care of business against the Ohio State Buckeyes but the way there was not that smooth. Both John Tonje and Steven Crowl are not worried though.
It should have been a smooth one after they were able to keep their visitors to just 20 points in the first 20 minutes to build a 17-point lead.
However, the game almost slipped from the hands of the Badgers after the Buckeyes chipped the lead little by little until it went to a one-possession ball game when the shot clock was already turned off.
Bruce Thornton led the way for the visitors with his 21 points and timely buckets while Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. contributed 12 and 8, respectively.
The game finished 70-68 after the Buckeyes more than doubled their first half output with 48 while the Badgers only scored 33.
With the win, the Badgers climbed to 14-3 and gave their coach his 200th win in first attempt as well.
John Tonje, Steven Crowl not worried about late-game collapse
A lot can be said about how the game ended but the team’s veterans thought there are still good takeaways from the ugly win.
Tonje, who led the Badgers in points with 17, thinks the game will only harden them.
“It’s good to know you can’t sit on any lead and teams at this level can always come back,” Tonje said. “It was good to come out here and get a win and get this experience as well.”
For Crowl, who had 14 in the night, is not hang up on the amount of points they surrendered but he is more focused on the way they responded.
“Like coach said, it’s the sign of a good team when the shots aren’t falling tonight or there is foul trouble or you’re not guarding how you want, but you find a way to win in the end,” he said post-game.
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