Now 13-3 overall, the Wisconsin Badgers improved to 3-2 in Big Ten play with their 80-59 routing over Minnesota. The Golden Gophers fall to an even .500, 8-8 (0-5), still searching for their first conference win. Minnesota has now lost three straight, as the Badgers ride a five game winning streak.
The Turnaround
Wisconsin suffered their first loss of the season to Michigan back on December 3rd. That loss turned into another to Marquette, followed by one more to Illinois. In the span of a week, the Badgers lost three games in a row, and started 0-2 in the Big Ten. Since those losses, Wisconsin has turned things around big time.
It all started with a 83-74 win over Butler, which was their closest win in their five game winning streak. They’ve outscored their opponents by 96 points in their last five games, an average margin of victory being by 19.2 points.
Things weren’t looking too good against Minnesota at first. The Gophers hung in there for the first 20 minutes, only trailing by one point at the half (30-29). Wisconsin outscored their Big Ten rival by 20 points in the second half, putting up yet another 50 point half. They most recently did this in a record setting performance against Iowa where they managed to score 62 points in the second half.
The Resurgence of Steven Crowl
One thing that Badgers fans have brought up about the team is their lack of a big man. Having height is one thing, but using it effectively is another. Steven Crowl is a fourth year starter, but now he’s finally putting the pieces together. For the third season in a row, he’s averaging more than 10 points per game. His rebound total has been down, but so has his turnover rate. With other players able to step up and score points, Crowl’s efficient shooting has slotted him into his role with the team.
In the past three games, Crowl has shot 18-22 from the field. The 26 minutes he played against Minnesota is the most he’s seen on the court since the team’s loss to Marquette on December 7th. During Wisconsin’s three game losing streak, Crowl only scored a combined 11 points. In their last five games, he’s put up 83 points.
An 18 point performance against Minnesota makes it three of his last five games with 18 points on the board. He’s shot 70% from the field or higher in all five of those games, a feat he only accomplished once from November 4th to December 10th. Not only is Crowl scoring, he’s making threes. The big man is 4-5 in his last two games from three point range, an impressive feat as he hadn’t made more than one three pointer in any game up until December 14th.
Kamari McGee’s Career Night
With Crowl leading the way with his 18 points, both John Tonje and Kamari McGee finished in double digits. Tonje struggled from the field, shooting just 40% overall and 1-6 from three. Even with the poor percentages, his 16 points were his most since the December 3rd loss to Michigan.
McGee has now played in 72 games with the Badgers after coming from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. The Minnesota game marked his first start with the program, and he had a season high 33 minutes. It marked the first time he surpassed 30 minutes all season long, also finishing with a Badgers career high 15 points. Patience has paid off for the former Phoenix star, as he averaged 11.6 points with UWGB. For the 2024-25 season, his average with Wisconsin is up to 7.6 points per game, five points higher than last season.
Coming Up
The Badgers are in a stretch where five of six games are at home. That stretch ends this coming Tuesday, January 14th as Ohio State comes to town. This is the lone meeting against the Buckeyes this season, a team that is 10-6 (2-3).
Ohio State has lost two of their last three, with both of those losses coming to ranked teams. They were competitive in both of those losses, a seven point loss to Michigan State and a two point loss to Oregon. Sandwiched in the middle of those losses was a 89-88 double overtime win over the same Minnesota team that Wisconsin just demolished.
