The Wisconsin basketball team has advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament with a win over UCLA.
The first year team previously won the lone regular season matchup against the Badgers in California after Wisconsin attempted to mount an impressive comeback. This time around, however, Wisconsin took an early lead and never quite looked back as John Tonje put together a tremendous first-half performance for the Badgers.
The guard scored 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting from long-range and added four rebounds and four assists in arguably the best half of play Wisconsin has had this season.
Wisconsin Basketball Exacts Revenge Against UCLA Bruins, Wins 86-70
The Wisconsin basketball team has had this date marked on the calendar since the seeding was announced for the Big Ten Conference Tournament as it represented a chance for revenge.
Wisconsin has been up and down at times on the court this season, but when given a chance to get even the Badgers have made the most of each opportunity.
The Bruins previously came out on top after center Aday Mara had a career game for the team, scoring 22 points and looking virtually unstoppable against the Badgers that night.
During the second game, however, the Badgers slowed down Mara and kept the entire Bruins offense under wraps for the majority of the game as nobody had the chance to take a comfortable shot.
John Tonje Delivers Near Perfect Shooting Performance for Wisconsin Basketball in Win
While the Wisconsin basketball team did an exceptional job stopping the Bruins, guard John Tonje carried the team on offense to help solidify the win for the Badgers.
Tonje began the game with a perfect first-half from the field, and then continued his perfect run well into the second-half of play. The guard eventually did miss a shot, but it would be the only field goal that Tonje would miss all night.
Tonje was still perfect from long-range, however, going 6-for-6 from three-point range for the Badgers who shot 59.4% from deep as a team against the Bruins.
The Wisconsin basketball guard finished the game with 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and one steal in a big-time win for Wisconsin. The Badgers may have been favored over UCLA, but the incredible performance from Tonje and the heart that the team showed was truly something to see.
With the previous loss still fresh in the minds of the team, the Badgers played excellent basketball and arguably some of the best ball the team has played all season.
The Wisconsin Badgers will another chance at revenge during the Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinals tomorrow against the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans previously walked away with a close win after the Badgers had a very off night shooting the basketball.
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