John Tonje scored a game-high 22 points as No. 15 Wisconsin pulled away from feisty Chicago State in the second half for a 74-53 win in Madison, Wisc., on Saturday.
Nolan Winter had 12 points and six rebounds and Steven Crowl had nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blcks for Wisconsin (8-0), which begins Big Ten play on Tuesday against visiting Michigan.
Jalen Forrest scored 10 points and Gabe Spinelli had six points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars (0-9).
Max Klesmit (five points, five assists) drilled a deep 3-pointer early in the second half to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 37-27. On the Badgers’ next possession, Tonje connected on a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 spurt. The Badgers opened the second half on a 21-7 run and led by double digits the rest of the game.
A three-point play by Winter gave the Badgers a 42-30 lead with just under 15 minutes left. Moments later, Winter, a 7-foot sophomore center who has shot 50 percent from 3-point land this season, hit one from the top of the key and Wisconsin went up 46-30.
Wisconsin opened the game on a 7-0 run punctuated by a Winter layup. But the Cougars hung in there with a Cameron Jernigan steal and fastbreak tomahawk dunk to cut the deficit to 14-8.
The Badgers opened a double-digit lead when Crowl snuck a pass to a cutting Tonje for a jam and a 21-10 advantage.
Both teams started out cold from the field. Wisconsin shot 38.7 percent from the field in the first half and just 18 percent from 3-point range (3-of-16).
Chicago State also struggled from beyond the arc in the first half, connecting on just 1-of-12 treys. The only make came in transition from Greg Spate (eight points), cutting the Wisconsin lead to 30-25 and triggering a Badgers timeout with 1:36 left. The hosts took a 32-25 lead into the break.
–Field Level Media
