No. 18 Wisconsin turns back Northwestern at Big Ten tourney

Field Level Media|published: Thu 13th March, 17:08 2025

Mar 13, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nolan Winter (31) and Northwestern Wildcats center Matthew Nicholson (34) look to rebound the ball during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

John Tonje scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and No. 18 Wisconsin defeated Northwestern 70-63 in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis.

Nolan Winter matched Tonje's 18 points and four other Badgers scored between seven and nine as fifth-seeded Wisconsin (24-8) advanced to face fourth-seeded UCLA on Friday.

Nick Martinelli had a game-high 22 points, K.J. Windham scored 14 with five assists and Jordan Clayton had 10 points for the 13th-seeded Wildcats (17-16).

Northwestern outrebounded Wisconsin 36-32 but lost 14 turnovers that the Badgers turned into 17 points.

The Wildcats jumped out to a nice start, with Clayton's layup and 3-pointer establishing the first of three five-point leads. Steven Crowl (who finished with seven points) and John Blackwell (eight) clawed Wisconsin back to tie the game.

After a Blackwell three-point play, Kamari McGee hit a triple and Winter added a jumper for a 22-17 Badger lead. They grabbed the largest lead of the half when Tonje hit a shot from the paint with one second on the clock, making it 37-30 Wisconsin.

Wisconsin held Northwestern to one made field goal in the first 6:42 of the second half to begin pulling away. The Wildcats made just 9 of 26 shots (34.6 percent) from the field after halftime.

For the game, Wisconsin outshot Northwestern 41.5 percent to 37 percent and made eight 3-pointers to Northwestern's five.

Wisconsin's lead reached 18 points on two occasions before Northwestern managed to trim it down to single digits in the final minute.

--Field Level Media