John Tonje went almost 35 minutes without missing a field target attempt to lead No. 18 Wisconsin to an 86-70 blow-out of UCLA in the Big Ten tournament quarter on Friday in Indianapolis.
Tonje joined his first nine shots from the floor and went 6 out of 6 from 3-point interval for a game high 26 points. The fifth seeded Badgers (25-8) made a Big Ten tournament record 19 of their 32 attempts beyond the bow in the game.
Wisconsin matched the Mark Iowa set in 2022 when it hit 19 out of 29 in a victory over the Northwestern.
Badgers moves on to Saturday’s semi-finals to meet No. 7 Michigan State, the top seed of the tournament that struck Oregon 74-64 on Friday.
On Friday, Wisconsin 5:28 entered the game before getting his first points from inside the bow. Tonje and John Blackwell each met a couple of 3 points for Badger’s first 12 points.
Tonje added two more, and together with a pair of Steven Crowl baskets in the interior, Wisconsin had a lead of 22-14 at under-12-minute media-timeout in the first half.
Fourth-seeded UCLA (22-10) did not come within seven points the rest of the way.
Wisconsin 3-point barrier continued, with Badgers who shot 12 out of 19 during the first half. The lead grew to 19 points with the break, and Tonje had 13 points, four returns and four assists at the break.
He finished with a game with high binding nine returns to complement his explosive points performance. Blackwell added 18 points and shot 4 out of 8 at a long distance.
Blackwell helped prevent the tide when UCLA mounted a short rally to start the second half. Bruins went on a quick, 7-0 driving to pull within 12, but Blackwell responded with a 3-point set by an Xavier Amos assistant after his offensive recovery.
After falling after 22 points, UCLA struggled back to reduce the deficit to 14 points on a Dylan Andrews 3-pointer with 11:25. Wisconsin then exploded for a 15-2 run that put away the game.
Kamari McGee, who shot 3-of-3 from the outside, got 14 points and pulled four assists for Badgers.
Sebastian Mack led Ucla with 18 points before they fouling. Kobe Johnson was the only other Bruinscores in double figures with 14 points. Tyler BiloDeau matched Tonje’s game high nine returns, but he only shot 1 of 7 from the floor in 18 minutes and ended with two points.
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