LOS ANGELES, CA (WSAU) – The 24th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers won their seventh straight game on Saturday night when they defeated the USC Trojans 84-69.
Rising star sophomore John Blackwell led the way for the Badgers, scoring 28 points on a scorching 10-of-16 field goal and a solid 6-of-7 free throw. With 58.3% shooting from the field and a scorching 46.7% from beyond the arc, the Badgers scored 42 points in the first half while totaling 17 assists. Max Klesmit added 18 points on 50% shooting from the field despite shooting just 2-9 from three-point range.
Head coach Greg Gard praised his team’s effort on offense saying scoring 84 points despite a bad night from top scorer Jon Tonje is impressive, “You score 84 points and John [Tonje] doesn’t score. There have been so many nights that he’s carried us and helped us. I think that’s what makes this team really, really good, is that we have a lot of pieces and a lot of weapons.”
“We’re not dependent on one specific guy or two specific guys, in that case. And then they’ve grown. That’s a credit to the players and our staff. They’ve grown and gotten better. We’re still trending upward, which we need to continue to do,” Gard continued.
Coming into Saturday’s game, Tonje was averaging an impressive 17.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game but finished scoreless on 0-3 shooting in 22 minutes played against the Trojans.
The Badgers will stay in Los Angeles on Sunday as they prepare to face UCLA on Tuesday night. Tip-off from the City of Angels can be heard on WSAU at 8 p.m. CST.
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