No. 24 Wisconsin builds big lead, withstands Ohio State rally

John Tonje scored 17 points and No. 24 Wisconsin held off visiting Ohio State's second-half comeback for a 70-68 Big Ten victory Tuesday night in Madison.

John Blackwell added 15 for the Badgers (14-3, 4-2), including a foul shot with 1.5 seconds left for a two-point lead. The Buckeyes (10-7, 2-4) had a chance to tie or win the game but Devin Royal stepped out of bounds before he could try to shoot a potential game-winning 3-pointer.

Steven Crowl hit for 14 points for Wisconsin, which won its sixth in a row and gave coach Greg Gard his 200th career victory. The Badgers lived up to their billing as the top foul-shooting team in Division I, converting 25 of 28, including 10 for 10 by Tonje.

Bruce Thornton scored a game-high 21 points for Ohio State, including 19 in the second half. The Buckeyes, who have lost three of their last four, got within a point three times in the final 16 seconds but couldn't complete the comeback.

Royal added 12 points for Ohio State, which made only 42.4 percent of its field-goal tries. Wisconsin won despite hitting just 20 of 48 attempts (41.7 percent) from the floor.

Blackwell and strong defense got Wisconsin off to a good first-half start that it lived off for the game's remainder. After Ohio State scored the first two points, it went 4 1/2 minutes without scoring and fell behind 11-2.

Blackwell accounted for the first nine points in that stretch, with two free throws, a 3-pointer and a pair of short jumpers in the lane. From there, the Badgers got the lead to double figures for the first time via Kamari McGee's mid-range jumper at the 10:38 mark that made it 17-6.

The Buckeyes closed within 29-20 with 2:54 left on Royal's layup but Wisconsin finished strong with eight consecutive points. Tonje's dunk with 21 seconds remaining sent it to halftime with a cushy 37-20 advantage.

The Badgers took advantage of frequent fouling by Ohio State in the opening half, converting 13 of 14 foul shots.

--Field Level Media