Nolan Winter and John Tonje lead No. 18 Wisconsin over Northwestern 70-63
Cassie goes 1-on-1 with Nick Martinelli
Northwestern basketball has been hit with a rash of injuries, but Nick Martinelli has still established himself as a star. Cassie Carlson went one-on-one with the local product.
INDIANAPOLIS - Nolan Winter and John Tonje each scored 18 points to lead No. 18 Wisconsin to a 70-63 victory over Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
The Badgers (24-8), seeded fifth, will face No. 4 seed UCLA in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Winter hit 4 of 5 shots and 9 of 10 free throws.
"hese guys gave it everything they had. I'm just so sad I won't get to coach Matt and Ty anymore," NU head coach Chris Collins said. "They've meant so much to me the past five years. They've meant so much to our program. The excitement of our home court advantage, the wins, the tournaments. Those guys were a huge part of it. Just sad I won't get a chance to coach those guys anymore."
Nick Martinelli led the No. 13 seed Wildcats (17-16) with 22 points. Jordan Clayton added 10 points for Northwestern.
Leading by eight points, Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 53-42. Kamari McGee followed that with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 56-42 with 8:58 remaining. Two more 3-pointers by Tonje gave the Badgers a 62-46 edge.
The Badgers shot 42% from the field while holding the Wildcats to 37%.
Free throws were nearly even with the Wildcats making 18 of 22 while the Badgers were 18 of 23 from the line.
Wisconsin held a 37-30 lead at halftime. Both teams shot 39% in the first half. The difference was the Badgers made 12 of 15 free throws compared to 6 of 7 for the Wildcats.
Takeaways
Northwestern: Trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half, the Wildcats kept fighting down the stretch to narrow the final deficit. The Wildcats closed the game with a 12-2 run.
Wisconsin: The Badgers shot better in the second half and committed only 10 turnovers overall. Wisconsin had a 17-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Key moment
Leading 50-42, Klesmit’s 3-pointer started a 14-4 run that increased the lead to 64-46.
Key stat
After going 3 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half, Wisconsin sank 5 of 13 3-pointers in the second half, including four in a row in a key stretch.
Up next
Wisconsin will play No. 4 seed UCLA in Friday’s Big Ten quarterfinals. Northwestern will await a possible NIT or College Basketball Crown bid.
What Northwestern coach Chris Collins said after the game
"We hung in there, man. Look, we were running on fumes there, and they started to push it out. I think they got it to 16 or 18. For these guys to say, you know what, we're not going down like that. For us to fight the last seven minutes and get it back to 7. Just so proud of this group. I hear coaches talk about it all the time. Obviously, you have years where you win 27 games and go to tournaments and finish higher in the standings, but a year like this was as rewarding as any year I've had coaching. We've been thrown a lot of stuff this year, on and off the court, injuries, off the court. All kinds of stuff has been thrown at this group. For them to rally back and find a way to win 17 games and finish with a winning season, for our third winning season in a row – all you want to do as a coach, you want to feel like your guys left it on the floor and they gave you everything they had, and they did."