(UW ATHLETICS/LEARFIELD) MADISON – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team bludgeoned UCLA, 80-72, Tuesday at the Kohl Center as four Badgers reached double-digit scoring.
Nick Boyd led the way with 20 points, while tallying 8 rebounds and 5 assists. He’s scored 20-plus points in eight games this season, the second-most in the Big Ten. He is the first Badger to lead the team in all three categories this year.
Nolan Winter had 18 points on the day, hauling in 8 boards and matching a career-high with 3 assists. The big man finished 8-for-9 from the charity stripe, the second-most makes in his career at the line.
John Blackwell dropped 17 points of his own, adding 3 assists and 4 rebounds. Andrew Rohde had an efficient outing with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Brookfield native grabbed 6 rebounds – a UW-high for the senior transfer.
Badgers coach Greg Gard said that despite some scuffling at the end, he like what he saw from his team.
Gard said that hitting 3-pointers early in the game helped their overall game.
The Badgers’ Nolan Winter talked about the offense taking shape with the starters scoring 69 of the team’s 80 points.
Gard said that the team is taking steps but there is a long way to go.
The Badgers coach said that the half-court defense was good.
Winter said that the team’s defense was especially good in the first 6 minutes of the game.
The Badgers got off to a 16-4 start thanks to four triples. They held UCLA without a bucket for four straight minutes during a portion of that stretch. UW used another big spurt after the 12-minute media timeout, sparking an 11-0 run that was capped off by Winter’s three-pointer.
UW converted that momentum into a 45-31 halftime lead. Wisconsin’s eight made triples were the second-most in a first half this season as Boyd and Winter were each in double-figures.
Bucky came out of the break and stifled several UCLA comeback bids, thanks in part to Blackwell’s 10 points in the period. Jack Janicki fought off a 13-4 Bruin run before the 8-minute media timeout with a huge three-pointer to all but bury the contest.
Comments